Coenzyme Q10

Coenzyme Q10 is also critical for energy production. Although a lot is found in the diet, it can become depleted during periods of excessive energy demands. Levels of coenzyme Q10 are also significantly lower in women who use oral contraceptives or Premarin and Provera, which may in turn increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. In addition, most cholesterol lowering drugs deplete coenzyme Q10. This is especially tragic because this deficiency can cause or aggravate the congestive heart failure (CHF) seen in patients with heart disease — and doctors are largely unaware of this, simply blaming it on the heart disease. Giving ribose, coenzyme Q10, magnesium and acetyl L-carnitine should be done routinely in almost everyone with heart disease. In fact, a review of over a dozen studies showed that coenzyme Q10 increases heart function significantly in heart failure patients. Even patients on the heart transplant list (or even too sick to make it on the list) sometimes go back to being able to function with these nutrients!

In addition to helping energy and heart disease, studies have demonstrated that coenzyme Q10 can:

• Enhance immune function.
• Decrease the frequency of migraine headaches.
• Raise low sperm counts.
• Help slow Parkinson’s Disease.
• Improve exercise tolerance in sedentary people.

To be properly absorbed, it is critical that coenzyme Q10 contain or be taken with a small amount of oil containing food.

More Information Online

Nutritional primer

We have a 20,000 word primer on nutrition at our website that provides more detail with study references on each nutrient. Click here to visit the "Coenzyme Q10" section of our primer.