If you are over 50, or you take a statin medication, CoQ10 is one of the most important nutrients to understand. Your body depends on it to make energy, yet it makes less of it every decade, and one of the most commonly prescribed medications in America lowers it further.
What Is CoQ10?
Coenzyme Q10, or CoQ10, is a compound found in nearly every cell in your body. It has two main jobs:
• Energy production. CoQ10 is an essential shuttle in the electron transport chain, the final stage of energy production inside mitochondria. It carries electrons from one part of the chain to the next. Without it, the chain cannot efficiently produce ATP.*
• Antioxidant protection. CoQ10 helps protect cell membranes and mitochondria from oxidative damage.*
Your organs with the highest energy demands, including the heart, liver, kidneys and muscles, have the highest concentrations of CoQ10.
Why CoQ10 Levels Decline With Age
Your body makes most of its own CoQ10, and production is highest in young adulthood. Studies of human tissue have found substantially lower CoQ10 levels in older adults than in younger adults, especially in the heart.
Food provides only a small amount. Meat, fatty fish and organ meats are the richest sources, but a typical diet supplies only a few milligrams a day, far less than the amounts used in research.
The Statin Connection
Statins are among the most widely prescribed medications in the United States, taken by tens of millions of Americans to lower cholesterol. They are effective and important medications for many people.
Here is what many patients are never told: statins work by blocking an enzyme (HMG-CoA reductase) early in a pathway the body uses to make cholesterol. That same pathway is also used to make CoQ10. When the pathway is slowed, cholesterol production drops, and so does CoQ10 production.
Research consistently shows that people taking statins have lower blood levels of CoQ10. Scientists continue to study what this means for how people feel, and research on whether CoQ10 supplements help with statin-related muscle complaints has produced mixed results.
Important: Never stop or change a statin on your own. If you take a statin and are interested in CoQ10, talk with your prescriber or pharmacist. It is a reasonable, common question, and they can help you decide what makes sense for you.
Other Medications to Ask About
CoQ10 can interact with some medications, so check with your pharmacist or doctor first if you take:
• Warfarin or other blood thinners. CoQ10 may reduce warfarin's effect.
• Blood pressure medications. CoQ10 may modestly lower blood pressure, which can add to their effect.
• Diabetes medications. Monitor blood sugar when starting any new supplement.
• Chemotherapy. Ask your oncology team before taking antioxidant supplements.
Ubiquinone vs. Ubiquinol
CoQ10 comes in two forms:
• Ubiquinone is the oxidized form. It is the form used in the majority of published CoQ10 research.
• Ubiquinol is the reduced form. It is sometimes marketed as better absorbed, especially for older adults.
Your body converts between the two forms constantly. Both can raise CoQ10 levels, and absorption of either depends heavily on taking it with food that contains some fat. Nucetra™ uses ubiquinone, the well-studied, stable form, and is taken with meals.
Tips for Getting the Most From CoQ10
• Take it with food. CoQ10 is fat-soluble. A meal with some fat improves absorption.
• Be consistent. Blood levels build over several weeks of daily use.
• Pair it with energy partners. CoQ10 is one step on the energy assembly line. Nutrients like carnitine, PQQ and B-vitamins support other steps.*
The Bottom Line
CoQ10 is essential for making cellular energy, and your body makes less of it as the years go by. If you take a statin, your levels may be lower still. The best next step is an informed conversation with your pharmacist or doctor.*
Nucetra™ Energy Support provides 100 mg of CoQ10 alongside Acetyl L-Carnitine, Citicoline, PQQ and methylated B-vitamins, to support multiple steps of cellular energy production in one caffeine-free formula.
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