The Powerhouse Nutrient

September, 2004

The following article also was given to me by a patient and was written by Richard M. Delany, MD. This particular article was written for a magazine called Total Health, volume 25, #3. I have used COQ10 in my practice for quite a number of years and have also had quite a bit of personal success treating myself for gum problems and digestive problems. Personally I have also seen changes in my ability to exercise while on high levels of COQ10. There was so much wonderful information in this article I wanted to share it.

COQ10 is a powerful, fat soluble, vitamin like substance found naturally in all forms of animal life. It is synthesized in the membranes of the cells in humans and is vital to the production of energy. It is the power plant of the body that is found in most cells, with especially high concentration in the heart, the organ that requires high levels of energy for normal operation. In addition, it is a potent antioxidant, similar to Vitamin E.

COQ10 is the spark plug that ignites the body’s engine by jump starting energy production in all cells. The body then uses that energy to fuel all its vital processes, including muscle contraction and digestion. Without an adequate supply of COQ10, the body cannot maintain normal levels of activity nor can it ward off or fight health disorders. COQ10 is effective in increasing energy levels, in treating heart disease, enhancing the immune system, in reversing periodontal disease, in providing antioxidant activity and preventing certain side affects of common drugs. COQ10 supplements have been utilized by millions of people for close to thirty years without adverse effects. At this time there has been no toxicity shown even at high dosages.

As is true with many nutrients and functions of the body as we grow older the level of COQ10 in our bodies decreases. Low levels of COQ10 have been reported in people with heart failure, cardiomyopathy, gingivitis, hypertension, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, and AIDS, as well as people on kidney dialysis, undergoing chemotherapy, and people taking statin medications. Those who wish to boost their level of energy and their level of wellness should consider discussing supplementation of COQ10 with their health care provider.

To illustrate the wonder of COQ10 lets discuss it in terms of specific aspects of our health.

• Heart disease- COQ10 deficiency is common among patients with heart disease. Clinical studies have shown that COQ10 use can significantly improve heart muscle function with no adverse effects or drug interactions. In fact the use of COQ10 before heart surgery protects the heart muscle and improves recovery rates.
• High blood pressure- COQ10 modulates blood pressure by reducing the resistance to blood flow.
• Cancer- Studies have shown that blood levels of COQ10 are much lower in patients with cancer than they are with people without cancer. Adding COQ10 to the therapy of these patients can protect them from cytotoxicity.
• Aging- tissue damage can be reduced by COQ10 antioxidant and free-radical quenching properties. In this regard COQ10 supplementation may be important in regards to slowing aging and treating certain degenerative diseases.
• Periodontal disease- People who are suffering from this chronic inflammation of the gums exhibit low levels of COQ10. Supplementing with COQ10 has proven to be an extremely helpful addition to appropriate dental care and may help to prevent more invasive dental care in the future.
• Cholesterol- The now famous statin drugs such as Lipitor have been amazingly helpful in stabilizing and lowering high cholesterol. Unfortunately, research has shown that the method by which statin drugs work to block cholesterol also has the potential to block the production of COQ10. Since people who take statins may already suffer from low levels of COQ10, such added depletion is important. The combine use of COQ10 and statins, however can prevent the depletion of COQ10 and thereby help to minimize the risk of statin-induced cardiac dysfunction, liver dysfunction, muscle weakness, cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure. Elderly people know first hand how the statin drugs can cause muscle aches. By pre-treating these people with COQ10 for a month and then adding in low dosages of statins while maintaining a daily does of COQ10 they are often able to take the statins without recurrent muscle pain.

Unfortunately, most physicians don’t know about COQ10 or many of the nutrients or vitamins that are known to be depleted by prescription medications. Hopefully as time goes on and this research makes it into clinical practice it will become mandatory to supplement people with those nutrients that are depleted by specific drugs they are taking. Certainly, since research has proven that the depletion of certain nutrients are caused by some prescription medications one can argue that it should be considered malpractice to prescribe medications without supplementing the appropriate nutrients that are depleted.

Like all products, nutrients come in different levels of quality. It is important to realize that COQ10 can exist in a natural or synthetic form. Natural COQ10, which is generally accepted as preferable, is fermented from yeast. It is identical to our body’s COQ10. Synthetic COQ10, on the other hand is chemically processed using tobacco. Buying from a reputable and quality driven company is of the utmost importance. This is where having a relationship with a healthcare provider who has researched the different companies is of vital importance. Just buying things off shelves without knowing much about the company can result in a waste of money and lack of results.