CoQ10: Health and Energy for Everyone
May 12, 2019We all want to achieve a healthier lifestyle. While both a balanced diet and regular exercise are necessary to feel like our best self, sometimes our body needs a little booster. If you’re looking to feel more energised and experience a full body rejuvenation, CoQ10 might be the answer you’ve been looking for!
What is CoQ10 and what does it do?
There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to Coenzyme Q10, also known as ubiquinone and CoQ10 (pronounced “co-q-ten” for short). CoQ10 is a fat-soluble coenzyme and antioxidant that is used by every cell within the body.
Coenzyme Q10 assists in the chemical reactions within our cells that produce energy. Its primary function is to act as a gatekeeper for nutrients so our cells can use the proteins, carbohydrates, and fats in our food, converting these nutrients into cellular energy. It helps our bodies use food more efficiently for energy. Basically, CoQ10 is essential for all our tissues and organs to keep working!
To top that off, CoQ10 also has strong antioxidant properties, neutralising those nasty free radicals and preventing or reducing oxidative damage within our cells.
This vitamin-like substance is naturally produced in the liver and is found in all our cells. The heaviest concentrations of CoQ10, however, are found in internal organs that have high metabolism rates: the heart, brain, liver, and pancreas. This makes sense, as these organs require the most energy to function.
Health benefits of CoQ10
There are plenty of studies on the health benefits of CoQ10. Let’s dive in to some of the main ones!
- Cardiovascular protection
Researchers say CoQ10 has significant cardiovascular protective effects. High levels of CoQ10 consumption could protect the heart from damage, lowering the risk of heart attack and heart failure. In addition, CoQ10 may play a role in lowering blood p0ressure, allowing sufferers to fight hypertension without the use of pharmaceutical drugs which can sometimes have harmful side effects.(1)
- Nervous system health
CoQ10 is beneficial for people concerned about nervous system health and body movement. Early research on cerebellar ataxia (brain damage that leads to loss of muscle control) found that CoQ10 improved balance, speech and movement. It also helps support nerve/muscle coordination, healthy memory retention, and nervous-system transmission, i.e. firing signals from your brain to your body and vice versa.
- Healthy muscles and increased physical endurance
Our skeletal muscles require CoQ10 for energy, growth, and repair. It also helps reduce oxidative stress and improve exercise performance thanks to improved energy production, increasing exercise length and endurance during exercise.(2)
How do I get more CoQ10?
Unfortunately, as we age, CoQ10 production rates decrease. This happens around the age of 20 to 25 and gets progressively worse. But the good news is that CoQ10 is readily absorbed into the body through food and supplements. There are plenty of CoQ10 food sources, including meat, organ meats, fatty fish, green vegetables (spinach, cauliflower and broccoli), fruit (oranges and strawberries), legumes, as well as nuts and seeds.
You can also top up CoQ10 deficiencies with ubiquinone - an oxidised form of CoQ10 that our body converts to ubiquinol, CoQ10’s active antioxidant form. Supplementing with CoQ10 can help reduce oxidative stress in the body and boost energy levels.
Sometimes, we need help to keep up with life’s demands. If you’re looking to power up your energy production, introducing more CoQ10 may just do the trick. Abeeco’s Resveratrol + CoQ10 formula has helped people improve and sustain their energy levels, and is a great place to start!