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Coenzyme Q10 :
Here’s The Least You Need To Know About This Vital
Anti-Oxidant
Coenzyme
Q10 is found within every cell in the body for the very good reason
that it’s absolutely essential for the production of energy within the cell
mitochondria. But the value of
coenzyme Q10 goes far beyond its role in the production of energy,
vital though this is.
To give
just one example:
coenzyme Q10 has been widely used in Japan since 1974 as a drug for
the treatment of the congestive heart failure which is a characteristic
degenerative disease of old age, and for other cardio-vascular problems. The heart tissue
of patients with congestive heart failure characteristically shows signs of
increased oxidation – ie free radical damage, and
coenzyme Q10 is widely recognised as a powerful anti-oxidant, the
most important defence against free radicals.
For
those not medically trained the high concentration of coenzyme Q10
within the heart might be evidence enough of its crucial
importance to this vital organ, and it’s also found in high concentrations in
the brain, kidney and liver, equally vital organs which demand abundant supplies
of energy.
But
despite conceding coenzyme Q10’s value as an excellent anti-oxidant,
conventional Western medicine is still reluctant to draw the obvious conclusion
and prescribe it as a treatment for congestive heart failure or other diseases.
However,
coenzyme Q10 is
recognised in the
Coenzyme
Q10 has also been shown to have positive effects in retarding the
advance of Parkinson’s disease, in reducing migraine headaches, in lowering
blood pressure and to be of benefit for various cardiovascular conditions,
including atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).
The
anti-oxidant properties of coenzyme Q10 are also very important in
their own right, and it’s active in every cell in tackling free radicals. Being fat
soluble, coenzyme Q10 also appears to move easily within the cells’
fatty tissues, such as membranes, preventing damage from the lipid peroxidation of these tissues caused by free radical
attack. Coenzyme
Q10 appears to be particularly effective against superoxides; these are the most damaging
type of free radical because they’re released upon the metabolism of oxygen
within cells, literally with every breath we take.
Worse
still; superoxides react with other by-products of
energy production to form hydroxyl, the most pernicious free radical of all, and
to attack the mitochondria of the cells themselves. Since it is the mitochondria which
ultimately produce the energy for all the body’s vital reactions, mitochondrial
damage due to free radicals can only mean the production of less and less
energy, and the gradual deterioration and degeneration of the entire
organism. It has consequently been
argued that the rate of mitochondrial damage is the key to the rate of ageing
itself.
And by
one of life’s cruel ironies, just as the rate of free radical damage increases
with advancing age, so the body’s rate of production of coenzyme Q10
decreases. Production
actually appears to peak as early as around the age of 20 or thereabouts, and
declines gradually thereafter, but with the rate of decline accelerating after
age 40. By the age of 80, the
average person is probably only producing a little over half of their peak
levels. And this is just at the time when the ability to absorb other
anti-oxidants from food is also declining rapidly.
The
lesson appears clear: to maintain
maximum youthful vigour for as long as possible it’s necessary to ensure the
maximum possible supply of coenzyme Q10 throughout life.
Unfortunately,
good food sources of coenzyme Q10 are hard to come by unless you’re a
fan of offal, such as beef liver, or oily fish, like sardines. And even if you’re one of those who can
stomach these foods, you’re unlikely to want to eat them in the kind of
quantities you’d need to make a significant difference to the amount of coenzyme
Q10 in your cells.
Fortunately coenzyme Q10 is readily available as a safe dietary supplement, and you’ll certainly have plenty of company if you decide to add it to your daily regime. For all the reasons given above, coenzyme Q10 products and multi-supplements including it achieved sales of around $200 million in 2002 (American Family Physician, September 2005).