The Benefits of Coenzyme Q10 & Ubiquinol

Ubiquinol is the reduced version of CoQ 10. What that means in layman's terms, is that the two are the same exact molecule, except CoQ10 has two more electrons.

This conversion between CoQ 10 and ubiquinol occurs in the mitochondria. The mitochondria burn fuel to provide energy for our cells. CoQ 10 and ubiquinol help the mitochondia to provide energy.

In addition to converting food into energy, ubiquinol also has a number of additional functions. Ubiquinol is a fat-soluble antioxidant. It's one of the very few antioxidants that are fat-soluble, which means it can work in the cell membranes. Ubiquinol is also the only fat-soluble antioxidant that's actually generated within your body and doesn't have to be ingested from your food.

Should you take ubiquinol or CoQ 10?

Ubiquinol production is active from early childhood up until your mid- to late 20s. By the time you hit the age of 30, it begins to decline. Young people are able to use CoQ10 supplements quite well, but older people do better with ubiquinol.

Some people cannot convert CoQ10 to ubiquinol at all in their bodies, so they definitely need to use ubiquinol, or they won't get any of the benefits. Research has shown that Hispanic and Chinese populations are especially prone to having this problem. There are genetic tests you can get that can identify whether you have this problem.

Recent research shows you can improve your body's conversion of CoQ10 to ubiquinol by eating lots of green leafy vegetables, which are loaded with chlorophyll. This must be in combination with sun exposure.

Once chlorophyll is consumed it gets transported into your blood. Then when you expose significant amounts of skin to sunshine, that chlorophyll absorbs the solar radiation and triggers the conversion of CoQ10 to ubiquinol.

You can also improve absorption of CoQ10 by taking it with a small amount of healthy fat, such as some olive oil, coconut oil, or avocado.

About 90% or more of the free radicals in your body are produced in your mitochondria. One of the functions of ubiquinol is to get rid of these free radicals.

Ubiquinol is particularly beneficial for your heart health and can reduce C-reactive protein. You can have a blood test for C-reactive protein. If it is elevated, that suggests you have increased chronic inflammation, which in turn increases you chances of heart disease, as well as diabetes and other degenerative diseases. It is my opinion that C-reactive protein should be part of a standard annual blood test, but it is not.

Two other blood tests for inflammation are:

1. Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), which is an early marker of heart failure and is also elevated with alcohol consumption.

2. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) & N-terminal-pro-BNP (NT-pro-BNP), which can be ordered together and can indicate inflammation as well as the chances of heart failure.

There's an association between the levels of these tests and ubiquinol as well. When ubiquinol is supplemented, these numbers go down and genes associated with them are turned off or down-regulated.

At least 1 in 4 American adults over the age of 40 are currently taking a statin drug to lower their cholesterol. Soon that number is expected to reach 1 in 3.

Statins work by inhibiting the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, which is one of the facilitators of your body's production of cholesterol. But statins also impair production of CoQ10.

Besides shutting down your body's ability to produce ubiquinol, statin drugs also shut down the conversion of vitamin K1 to vitamin K2, which is critically important in many body functions, including heart health. Vitamin K2 works with vitamin D to get the calcium to the bones and teeth, where calcium belongs and not deposited into the blood vessels and soft tissues, where the calcium does not belong.

Dosing requirements will vary depending on your individual situation and needs, but some general guidelines can still be made. As a general rule, the sicker you are, the more you need.

According to Risa Schulman, Ph.D., who is a biologist and functional food expert who has spent the last two decades researching these and other supplements, states that the highest amount she's seen used in a research setting was 600 milligrams (mg) per day and that was for severely ill people. If you're just starting out with ubiquinol, start with 200 to 300 mg per day. Within three weeks, your plasma levels will typically plateau to its optimum level. After that, you can go down to a 100 mg/day maintenance dose. This dose is typically sufficient for healthy people. If you have an active lifestyle, exercise a lot, or are under a lot of stress due to your job or "life" in general, you may want to increase your dose to 200 to 300 mg/day.

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