Here’s another question and answer from my February interview with Dr. Cynthia Shelby-Lane regarding the need for coenzyme Q10 to prevent heart disease.
Lisa Nelson, RD: How much coenzyme Q10, if any, should individuals with heart disease supplement to see benefits?
Dr. Shelby-Lane: CoenzymeQ10-H2, also known as ubiquinol, is the reduced form of coenzymeQ10 (CoQ10) that is over five times more bioavailable than ordinary (standard) CoQ10. CoQ10 plays a vital role in the mitochondria, which are responsible for over 90% of the body’s energy production. Mitochondria can truly be described as the cell’s “blast furnaces,” and CoQ10 plays a critical role in the utilization of oxygen inside these mitochondria. CoQ10 also acts as an antioxidant to protect the mitochondria against the massive free radical production that occurs during the cell’s energy-producing respiratory cycle.
What is ubiquinol?
The active, already-reduced form of coenzyme Q10 that the body can use directly, without converting it first. It’s more readily absorbed than standard CoQ10.
CoQ10 is produced naturally in all cells, but there is an age-related decline in CoQ10 production that has been linked to a wide variety of disorders in humans. Heart cells were the first cells discovered that suffered major declines in CoQ10 with age, but we now know that CoQ10 levels decline with age in almost all cells. It is vital for our health to supply dietary CoQ10 to offset the inevitable age-related decline in CoQ10 levels that occurs throughout the human body.
Continue reading