Q10facts

The question that I get asked about the most is whether there is any benefit from supplementing with Coenzyme Q10 if a person does not have a diagnosed CoQ10 deficiency?

Yes, I think there is a benefit. We should not be waiting until an obvious CoQ10 deficiency manifests itself. Instead, we should be giving people in their 40s and above the following advice:

1. Your cells’ bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 will decline with increasing age. Taking various medications, statin medications in particular, will also inhibit your body’s own production of Coenzyme Q10.
2. The heart muscle cells need sufficient Coenzyme Q10 to produce enough ATP energy. To prevent the development and worsening of heart disease, you need to take daily CoQ10 supplements to get your plasma CoQ10 levels above 2.0 mcg/mL. If you already have symptoms of heart disease, you probably need to get your plasma CoQ10 levels above 2.5 mcg/mL [Langsjoen 2014].
3. Taking 2 or 3 times 100 mg of Coenzyme Q10 daily, together with a meal, for 12 to 24 weeks, should get your plasma CoQ10 levels up to the target level. Firstly, taking more than 100 mg at a time will not bring much extra benefit. Secondly, taking the Coenzyme Q10 together with some fat in a meal will improve the absorption of the Coenzyme Q10.
4. You must continue to take CoQ10 supplements even after you reach a plasma concentration of 2.0 mcg/mL. If you stop taking the CoQ10 supplement, your blood levels will decline. Moreover, the Coenzyme Q10 will not go from the blood into the tissue cells unless you have a higher concentration of CoQ10 in the blood.

What is a CoQ10 Deficiency?

In the USA, the normal level of plasma CoQ10 is quoted to be 0.45 to 1.50 mcg/mL. I feel that the 0.45 – 0.60 mcg/mL plasma levels are found in individuals with clinical conditions.

Japanese cardiologists have reported a significantThe outcome of a clinical trial is thought to have statistical significance, or to be statistically significant, if the outcome is likely not caused by chance at a given statistical significance level, typically at the 0.05 level. Statistically significant outcomes may or may not be clinically significant.  ... Read more about this term connection between low Coenzyme Q10 status and the risk of death from heart disease and other causes [Shimizu 2020].

• The researchers collected and examined blood samples from 242 men and women admitted to Juntendo University Hospital’s coronary care unit in Tokyo.
• They followed the heart disease patients for a three-year period.
• 58 of the 242 patients (24%) died during the follow-up period from heart disease, cancer, infection, and other causes.
• The patients who died had an average blood CoQ10 concentration of 0.48 micrograms per milliliter. The patients who survived had a higher average blood CoQ10 concentration of 0.58 micrograms per milliliter.
• Overall, the researchers found that patients with a “higher” blood CoQ10 concentration of 0.46 or greater micrograms per milliliter had a 52% lesser likelihood of dying from all causes than did the patients with blood CoQ10 concentrations below 0.46 micrograms per milliliter.
• Nota bene: The patients with the low CoQ10 blood levels were the patients with the higher dosages of statin medications.

Why Low CoQ10 Levels are Associated with Heart Disease Mortality

This research shows that heart disease patients with lower blood CoQ10 levels are at greater risk of dying sooner than heart disease patients with higher blood CoQ10 levels [Shimizu 2020].

• Statin medications are known to inhibit the body’s endogenous production of Coenzyme Q10; logically, every heart patient taking a statin medication will need adjunctive Coenzyme Q10 treatment. Okuyama et al [2015] have explained the mechanisms by which statin medication may increase the risk of developing atherosclerosisAtherosclerosis is the thickening of the artery walls brought about by the build-up of plaque (plaque is made up of cholesterol and other fatty substances and waste products and calcium and fibrin) and the subsequent slowing of the flow of blood through the clogged arteries. More research is needed into the role of Coenzyme Q10 in the prevention and adjunct... Read more about this term and heart failureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately.  In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... Read more about this term.
• Lower blood CoQ10 levels are also associated with greater age [Shimizu 2017]. Malnutrition among senior citizens may be contributing to low CoQ10 status; this is another argument for supplementation.
• Adequate levels of Coenzyme Q10 are associated with reduced levels of blood bio-markers for inflammationInflammation is an immune system response to an injury to cells or tissues. It is the body’s attempt to defend against invaders such as bacteria andviruses and to mend the damage done by invaders. Typically, inflammation manifests itself in the form of fever and swelling, in the swarming of white blood cells and the release of cytokines to fight against... Read more about this term, in particular interleukin 6, C-reactive protein, and tumor necrosis factor alpha [Fan 2017].

Evidence from CoQ10 Supplementation and Heart Disease Studies

• Professor Urban Alehagen’s KiSel-10 Study has shown that daily supplementation of senior citizens with Coenzyme Q10 and selenium-enriched yeast for four years cuts the risk of heart disease in half [Alehagen 2013].
• Professor Svend Aage Mortensen’s Q-Symbio Study has shown that adjunctive treatment of chronic heart failure patients with Coenzyme Q10 for two years significantly reduces the risk of death from heart disease and of death from all causes [Mortensen 2014; Mortensen 2019].

Bottom Line: CoQ10 Status and Cardiovascular Disease risk

Adequate levels of Coenzyme Q10 are essential to the cells’ production of ATPATP (adenosine triphosphate) molecules are the high-energy molecules with easily broken phosphate bonds that release energy to the energy-requiring processes in the cells. Coenzyme Q10 is essential to the process of ATP production.... Read more about this term energy; moreover, Coenzyme Q10 is an important lipid-soluble antioxidantAntioxidants are substances that protect the cells and lipoproteins against the harmful effects of free radicals. They are substances that prevent the oxidation of other molecules and compounds. There are two broad categories of antioxidants: enzymatic and non-enzymatic. Non-enzymatic antioxidants are substances like Coenzyme Q10, vitamin C, vitamin E, glutathione, and various carotenoids. Prominent enzymatic antioxidants include catalase, glutathione peroxidase,... Read more about this term that scavenges harmful free radicalsFree radicals are unstable and highly reactive molecules that are produced in the body during normal oxygen metabolism. Free radicals derived from oxygen are known as reactive oxygen species. Free radicals play both helpful and harmful roles in the body. Free radicals steal electrons from other substances in order to become stable. In so doing, the free radicals oxidize those... Read more about this term [Shimizu 2017].

• improved cellular energy production
• enhanced antioxidantAntioxidants are substances that protect the cells and lipoproteins against the harmful effects of free radicals. They are substances that prevent the oxidation of other molecules and compounds. There are two broad categories of antioxidants: enzymatic and non-enzymatic. Non-enzymatic antioxidants are substances like Coenzyme Q10, vitamin C, vitamin E, glutathione, and various carotenoids. Prominent enzymatic antioxidants include catalase, glutathione peroxidase,... Read more about this term protection against lipid peroxidationOxidation is the chemical reaction of a substance with oxygen. Peroxidation is the extreme form of oxidation that results from free radicals’ stealing electrons from lipids, either in the cell membranes or in the lipoproteins. The final product of lipid peroxidation is highly reactive malondialdehyde, a bio-marker for oxidative stress and damage.... Read more about this term
• anti-inflammatory effects
• reduced endothelial dysfunctionEndothelial dysfunction may be thought of as the failure of the cells lining the inside of arteries and veins to regulate properly blood vessel relaxation and contraction, blood clotting, immune function, and platelet adhesion. Endothelial dysfunction prevents the blood vessels from dilating sufficiently and can lead to increased risk of atherosclerosis, heart attack, and stroke. Coenzyme Q10 supplementation is associated... Read more about this term

Typically, the CoQ10 supplement is given by mouth as a capsule or as a liquid. It is possible, of course, to squeeze the CoQ10 filling out of a capsule onto the dog food.

Pharmacokinetics Study of Repeated Oral CoQ10 Dosing of Spaniels

Now, a research team in Denmark has investigated the pharmacokinetics of oral dosing of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels over a three-week period [Christiansen 2020].