CoQ10 also known as Coenzyme 10 is an essential nutrient to our overall health. In its active form it is called ubiquinone or ubiquinol. It is utilized by every cell in the body. It works just like an antioxidant that protects our bodies from free radical damage. Free radicals are produced by the foods we eat as well as the medications we consume which add more stress and damage to our bodies. CoQ10 is also a pivotal part to energy production during the electron transport cycle inside our mitochondria. The great side of this is that CoQ10 is naturally produced in our bodies already. So should you supplement with some CoQ10?
That is a fair question to ask. Although our bodies do produce CoQ10 it is usually a good suggestion to supplement as well. As we age, our production of CoQ10 slows down and will do so also with the types of foods and chemicals we ingest. Research has shown that around the age of 40 is when we start to see this decline in our bodies ability to produce its own CoQ10 as well as decline in the conversion to its active form ubiquinol. Individuals with diabetes and heart disease have lower levels in their system and when taking medications for those conditions the decline is even greater.
Free radical damage is the factor behind functional aging declines we see in individuals. CoQ10 is one of the first antioxidants to work to offset these changes. So not only does it help with cholesterol issues when plaque builds up but it can help with oxidative stress caused by insulin resistance due to diabetes. So when statin drugs are used for high cholesterol, they work to decrease the livers natural production of cholesterol and a byproduct would be to decrease the natural production of CoQ10. So anyone one a statin should absolutely be supplementing themselves with CoQ10.