Deficiencies in CoQ10 (also known as Coenzyme Q10) can cause or aggravate many conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and periodontal disease.

"After age 20, levels of Coenzyme Q10 in your body decline gradually. After 50, it plummets."

Healthy levels of CoQ10 help to lower your blood pressure and assist circulation as well as maintain healthy muscle tissue in your heart.

CoQ10 is also one of the most powerful antioxidants known to man.

CoQ10 levels decline as we age. This is significant because evidence suggests that a vast number of diseases including dystrophy, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Neurological disorders and certain cancers are not only treatable with CoQ10 but may in fact be caused, at least in part, by a deficiency in CoQ10.

What can CoEnzyme Q10 do for you?

Take a look at what Coenzyme Q10 can do for your health:

Slows down the aging process as it protects your body from the damage of free radicals

Support your immune system defences

Is beneficial for promoting cardiovascular health

Plays a crucial role in the maintenance of periodontal health

Research has shown that your immune system function is reduced when your levels of CoQ10 are depleted.

What is CoQ10?

Coenzyme Q10 resists easy classification. Because it's an organic compound acting as an enzyme or coenzyme, necessary in small amounts for normal body function, most researchers consider it a vitamin.

CoQ10 is needed in every single cell in your body. It's found in meats and some protein-rich nuts, but the concentrations in these foods are normally weak.

How about fifteen pounds of peanut butter - or an equally improbable three-and-a-half pounds of sardines - which provide just 100 mg of Q10!

Now I love peanut butter - but fifteen pounds..... a day!

This is the amount the University of Washington School of Medicine Physicians' Update calls "a reasonable daily amount."

To get optimal amounts of Q10, you need to take a supplement.

Why you need CoQ10?

Coenzyme Q10 is recognised as an essential component in your body's production of ATP (also known as "muscle fuel").

Without ATP, our muscles cannot move. Without CoQ10, we can't manufacture ATP.

After age 20, levels of CoQ10 in your body decline gradually. After 50, it plummets.

Coenzyme Q10 is also one of the most powerful antioxidants every discovered, and has been found to improve athletic performance, and help intensive training athletes recover quicker.

In short, CoQ10 may well be one of the most important and versatile nutrients ever discovered. The only downfall of CoQ10 relates to its oral absorption.

A Breakthrough in CoQ10 research

Fortunately, however, a recent breakthrough in CoQ10 delivery technology was recently discovered, meaning you can now make the most of this amazing nutrient.

"When I coined the word vita-nutrient, I was thinking of Coenzyme Q10. It is neither vitamin nor mineral nor amino acid, yet it is absolutely vital to our health and vital that we get enough of it." Dr Robert C. Atkins, M.D. from his book, "Dr. Atkins' Vita-Nutrient Solution"

Although it's present in virtually every cell in your body, very few people are aware of how important it is or how many different health benefits CoQ10 provides.

In fact, CoQ10 plays so many different roles in health, you really need a book to detail all of them!

CoQ10 combats effects of heart attack.

Coenzyme Q10 is shaping up to be a heart's best friend. But only a small fraction of people who could benefit actually know about it.

"There's no question that coenzyme Q10 can play a significant role in recovery for heart attack,"

adds Dr. Peter H. Loengsjoen, a cardiologist in Tyler, Texas, who has authored many journal articles on the use of CoQ10.

"In hundreds of studies, and in my own practice, I've seen results that we would have said were highly unlikely, if not impossible."

Beyond the heart

In addition to its critical role in ATP and energy production, CoQ10's powerful antioxidant property diminishes as levels fall, decreasing your body's disease-fighting abilities.

CoQ10's antioxidant strengths also make it a likely candidate in helping prevent or treat other diseases where free radicals have a major effect (such as cancer).

Oxidative stress is suspected as a possible trigger for many diseases, including breast and colo-rectal cancers.

Other applications for Coenzyme Q10 include possible roles in treating neurological disorders, controlling insulin levels, treating periodontal disease, and enhancing athletic performance.

These far-ranging benefits are supported by a number of clinical studies.

Dosage and delivery

Getting the right amount of CoQ10 into your bloodstream and maintaining sufficient levels in your body is more complex than just taking CoQ10 capsules.

A major factor in the bioavailability of CoQ10 is the delivery system for the coenzyme. CoQ10 "molecules" are so large that some researchers believe they stretch the definition of the word.

Their size means these fat-soluble molecules need assistance for optimal absorption. Unfortunately most CoQ10 supplements today cut corners on the delivery system, meaning a less than effective product for us as consumers.

CoQ10 in a form your body can use.

The most effective Coenzyme Q10 capsules now contain both emulsified CoQ10 and a fatty oil to ensure maximum absorption.

CoQ10 that is pre-emulsified in an oil base relieves your body of having to perform this task and can "increase absorption levels by a factor of up to three times".

Absorption of fat soluble CoQ10 can be up to nine times as great as in crystallised Q10, according to a study reported in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 1998.

This absorption technology, refered to as Tru-Sorb technology, was recently licensed for use in the USA and Europe by Changes International (now part of Goldshield Elite).

Your Quick Guide to CoQ10

CoQ10 is needed by every cell in your body to promote optimum health

It plays a significant role in recovery from heart attacks, and equally importantly in helping prevent them

Improves blood flow, which can help to reduce high blood pressure.

Powerful Antioxidant

Natural body levels and the ability to synthesise it in your body drop after age 20 and plummet after age 50. Supplementation is both advised and recommended.

Also known as ubiquinone, taken from the Latin word ubique, meaning 'everywhere'. The English word ubiquitous, meaning "appearing everywhere at the same time", also gives a hint as to the highly regarded nature of CoQ10.

Some delivery systems such as the patented Tru-Sorb system are shown to be 900% more absorbable than the normal type.

Copyright 2005 Mike Spencer