What are the functions of coenzyme Q10?

Coenzyme Q is a natural lipid compound present in every living cell. Due to their ubiquity in nature, they are also known as ubiquinones. Among them, Coenzyme Q10 is the most important coenzyme Q in the human body and is an essential compound for the human body.
Coenzyme Q10 exists in both oxidized (ubiquinone) and reduced (ubiquinol) forms, and the normal function of CoQ10 involves continuous interconversion between these two forms. Most of the coenzyme Q10 in the human body exists in the reduced form, so it is generally believed that the reduced form of coenzyme Q10 is more conducive to the absorption and utilization of the human body.

Coenzyme Q10 widely exists in cell membranes, especially in mitochondrial membranes, and is mainly distributed in tissues such as heart, kidney, liver and muscle with vigorous metabolism. The content of coenzyme Q10 in the human body is only 500~1500mg, but it plays an important role.
Role 1: The electronic "delivery brother", who plays a key role in converting food (carbohydrates and fats) energy into energy that can be used by human cells, and guarantees the energy supply for various life activities of cells.
Role 2: Antioxidant small expert, reduces oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation, and can also regenerate the famous antioxidant nutrients vitamin C and E back to their active forms.
Role 3: Anti-inflammatory helper, reducing the level of inflammatory cytokines, thereby helping to reduce inflammation in the body.

Coenzyme Q10 is found in the highest concentration in the heart, so it is generally considered to be most closely related to heart health. Clinical studies have found that 3 out of 4 heart disease patients have low levels of coenzyme Q10. Supplementing coenzyme Q10 can significantly improve the symptoms of heart failure and effectively reduce the mortality and hospitalization rate of heart failure patients. An expert consensus published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) states that coenzyme Q10 as a nutritional supplement is an effective way to improve statin-induced muscle symptoms.
In addition to heart health, deficient levels of CoQ10 have been linked to a variety of other degenerative conditions and diseases, including migraines, diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, and muscular dystrophy, among others. Studies have also found that coenzyme Q10 can effectively improve fatigue, improve sperm quality, and promote reproductive health.

The human body needs about 500mg of coenzyme Q10 per day. Foods with high coenzyme Q10 content include animal heart, liver, animal meat, fatty fish, nuts, etc. Taking pig heart as an example, 75 grams of pig heart can provide a maximum of about 21 mg of coenzyme Q10, which can only meet 4% of the daily requirement of the human body. It can be seen that the daily diet usually only provides a small part of coenzyme Q10.

There is also an important factor affecting production capacity-age. The ability of the human body to synthesize coenzyme Q10 usually reaches its peak around the age of 25, and then gradually declines. At the age of 65, the synthesis level is only about half of that at the age of 25. In addition, taking certain medications (especially statins) and some disease states can also cause a decrease in CoQ10 levels in the body.

Therefore, healthy young adults generally do not need additional CoQ10 supplementation. However, with increasing age, or affected by some specific diseases, relying on self-synthesis and daily diet may not be enough to compensate for physiological or pathological CoQ10 deficiency. In this case, proper use of nutritional supplements can help maintain adequate levels in the body.

If you would like to take or purchase some coenzyme Q10 powder, please contact us at chriswang@sheerherb.com.