Ubiquinol - Is it Right for You?

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is important for your body’s daily functions that it is also known as “ubiquinone” because it's 'ubiquitous' in the human body -- CoQ10 is actually used by every cell in your body.

For instance, CoQ10 is required for your cells to produce energy, and is an integral part of helping cells take fat and other substances and convert them into usable energy.

CoQ10 can also help protect your body from free radical damage. Free radicals are oxygen atoms deficient in electrons that become highly reactive. This in turn causes potential damage to your tissues and DNA.

It is because of its powerful antioxidant protection that CoQ10 is often recommended for a wide variety of heart-related conditions, such as heart attack, high blood pressure and congestive heart failure, which require extra protection from free radical damage.

CoQ10 has actually been the subject of thousands of research studies, and in addition to the new finding above that CoQ10 may help reduce the risk of fatty liver in people with obesity, CoQ10 may also:

• Help you produce more energy for your cells

• Boost your heart health

• Act as an antioxidant to protect you from free radicals

• Help you reduce the signs of normal aging

• Help you maintain blood pressure levels within the normal range

• Provide a boost to your immune system

• Support your nervous system

If you're under 25 years old your body is capable of converting CoQ10 from the oxidized to the reduced form. However, if you're older, your body becomes more and more challenged to convert the oxidized CoQ10 to ubiquinol. Aside from aging, numerous other factors can also impact this conversion process, including:

• Increased metabolic demand
• Oxidative stress 
• Insufficient dietary CoQ10 intake
• Deficiency of factors required for biosynthesis and ubiquinol conversion 
• Potential effects from illness and disease 
• Age-related changes in your genes

If you're over 40, it is highly recommended taking the reduced form of coenzyme Q10 because it's far more effectively absorbed by your body. Some reports say your CoQ10 level decline becomes apparent as early as your 20's. If you're younger than 25, your body should absorb regular CoQ10 just fine.

If you take statin drugs to lower cholesterol, making sure you take ubiquinol is even more important. These drugs work by reducing an enzyme in your liver, which not only reduces the production of cholesterol, but it also reduces the production of coenzyme Q10. When you lower the production of CoQ10, you increase your risk of a variety of different health problems.

Premature aging is one primary side effect of having too little CoQ10 because this essential vitamin recycles other antioxidants, such as vitamin C and E.

CoQ10 deficiency also accelerates DNA damage, and because CoQ10 is beneficial to heart health and muscle function this depletion leads to fatigue, muscle weakness, soreness and eventually heart failure. Therefore, it is absolutely vital to supplement with CoQ10 if you're taking a statin drug.