Most nutritionists will advise you to up your CoQ10 levels with a supplement or via food sources if you are on a cholesterol-reducing medicine. Coq10 has numerous benefits and is synthesized by your body and stored somewhere in your cells’ mitochondria.
The body’s mitochondria help produce energy, protect the cells from oxidative damage, and protect the body from disease-causing bacteria or viruses—the production of CoQ10 decreases as you age. Thus older adults are at greater risk of suffering from it.
Coenzyme Q10 is an antioxidant that the body naturally produces. It is available in two forms, Ubiquinol (Coq10), the active antioxidant form, and Ubiquinone (Coq H), or the oxidized form. Coq10 is available in many food sources such as fish, liver, whole grains, beans, nuts, eggs, and dairy products. It is also available in oranges, strawberries, soybeans, etc.
The Many Health Benefits of CoQ10
CoQ10 has several important roles to play in your body. One of its most important functions is generating energy in your cells. Its other key role is to serve as an antioxidant and protect your cells from oxidative damage.
Uncontrollable amounts of free radicals can lead to oxidative damage, which can affect regular cell functioning. This leads to many health conditions.
Beneficial for Heart Health
Coenzyme Q10 is extremely beneficial for heart health and can protect from heart failure. There are countless studies on CoQ10 that are shown to reduce normal cholesterol levels, improve heart muscle strength, and protect the health of blood vessel walls.
The heart is one of the most metabolically active organs in our body, and a deficiency in CoQ10 can affect the heart first. The heart muscle requires energy support, and so does every organ in your body. Any health condition which reduces the levels of CoQ10 in the body can affect the heart’s energetic capacity, making it more vulnerable than ever.
Protects Your Lungs
Lungs are always in contact with oxygen. This is one of the reasons that they are more prone to oxidative damage. With greater oxidative damage to your lungs, it has poor antioxidant protection and lower levels of CoQ10. This results in lung diseases such as asthma and (COPD) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
It Helps in AntiAging
CoQ10 can improve your skin quality, lending it youthful skin. As we know, CoQ10 levels reduce as we grow older. Many women over thirty years of age have low levels of CoQ10 in the skin. The reduced levels of CoQ10 result in a reduced amount of collagen and elastin.
Collagen can make your skin firm, and the elastin denotes flexibility to your skin. As you start growing older with dipping collagen levels, your skin starts to wrinkle and sag. With its strong antioxidant content, CoQ10 activates cell renewal, reducing the harmful free radicals, which leads to skin aging.
Boosts the Exercise Performance
Oxidative stress can lead to the weakening of muscle function and reduction of exercise performance. Also, suppose there is abnormal mitochondrial function. In that case, it can lead to reduced muscle energy, impacting the way the muscles contract efficiently, and there is difficulty in providing proper energy output in exercise.
CoQ10 can help in improving exercise performance as it reduces oxidative stress in the cells and helps boost mitochondrial functions. CoQ10 can add heft to your exercise sessions and reduce extreme fatigue, which may impact exercise performance. With proper COq10 supplementation, you may feel a difference in your energy levels while performing exercises. It may also reduce the feeling of fatigue after an intensive exercise session.
May Help With Chronic Conditions Such as Diabetes
Oxidative stress leads to cell damage. Widespread oxidative stress may lead to metabolic conditions such as diabetes. CoQ10 has been one of the most powerful supplements which improve insulin sensitivity, which also helps in regulating blood sugar levels. CoQ10 increases CoQ10 concentrations in the blood as much as three times in people with diabetes who are generally are low in this key compound.
Although a well-balanced diet can provide adequate levels of Coq10 in your body, in some cases, you may need to supplement it. However, whether you may need a supplement will completely depend on your current health condition. Ask your health practitioner about the dosage, who will tell you whether you need to supplement or not.