Cardiovascular disease is one of the top killers in the United States today; generally contributing to 1 in every 4 deaths1.
Every year roughly 735,000 Americans suffer a heart attack and the majority are men1. The risk factors for cardiovascular disease include: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking1. Other conditions include diabetes, overweight/obesity, no physical activity, excessive alcohol consumption, and general poor diet choice1.
Cardiovascular disease is a problem due to oxidative stresses put on the body with these poor choices. Coenzyme Q10 (Ubiquinone/CoQ10) is one of the most important anti-oxidants to help the body process these stresses. CoQ10 is naturally produced in the body by the precursors iron, magnesium, and vitamin B62. The average American diet will provide us with 3-5mg of CoQ10 in food sources of meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit, however that is not enough to battle against the high stress load2.
The tissues of the heart, liver, kidney, and skeletal tissues contain the highest levels of CoQ102. These levels are compromised daily with poor nutrition and lifestyle choices. When CoQ10 becomes depleted in the tissues of the heart the risk of a cardiovascular disease increases2.
Supplementation of 100-300mg of CoQ10 has found to be safe and effective3. Patients who started taking CoQ10 with their blood pressure medication were found to have better heart function and eventual decrease of the hypertensive drug4. There also may be a correlation with decreasing muscle pain side effects when taking cholesterol medication (statin drugs). Caution should be taken with anyone on blood thinners (warfarin/coumadin). Always talk with your doctor before starting a new supplement/vitamin regimen.
There are so many positives to CoQ10- do your heart a favor and talk to your doctor about the benefits of supplementing with CoQ10!
- Available at: cdc.gov. Accessed January 28, 2017.
- Available at: researchgate.net. Accessed January 28, 2017.
- Available at: nature.com. Accessed January 28, 2017.
- Available at: sciencedirect.com. Accessed January 28, 2017.