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Imagine trying to drive your car after someone had crimped the fuel line from your fuel tank to your engine. The car would still run but would quickly lose power on a hill or under a load.
This is much like our bodies when they have insufficient Co Enzyme Q10. CoQ10 acts like the fuel line in your car by transporting energy within cell energy factories called mitochondria to make the energy we need.
CoQ10 is an essential vitamin-like substance we mostly make in our liver. While we normally make all the CoQ10 we need, some people because of age, health problems or medications can benefit from taking good quality CoQ10.
Be aware that the market is now flooded with low-cost semi-synthetic CoQ10 which is chemically different from the naturally fermented CoQ10 that I recommend.
The most common reason for CoQ10 supplementation is for those using cholesterol lowering (statin) medication. The side effects of statins are so common that they are diagnosable diseases called statin myopathy and neuropathy.
The most common side effects are muscle stiffness, pain and weakness. This can also cause general fatigue which often feels like a lack of motivation.
Statins inhibit the enzyme needed to make cholesterol. Unfortunately, this enzyme – called HMG-CoA reductase – is also needed to make CoQ10. Blocking this enzyme reduces cholesterol but also CoQ10 by as much as 50 per cent.
Drug companies are aware of this problem and had patents for combining CoQ10 with statins. Until such drugs are available, I recommend those on statins supplement with 100mg-200mg of naturally fermented CoQ10. If people have low energy or other health issues, I often add a mitochondrial complex that includes CoQ10.
John Arts (B.Soc.Sci, Dip Tch, Adv.Dip.Nut.Med) is a nutritional medicine practitioner and founder of Abundant Health Ltd. For questions or advice, contact John on 0800 423559 or email: john@abundant.co.nz Join his newsletter at: www.abundant.co.nz