A New Paradigm in Healing
Calendar
of
Classes
Coenzyme Q10 The Supplement
for Energy Production
by Jorge Carrera, M.D.
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a provitamin
that is part of the electron transport chain of every cell's
mitochondria ( the cell's power house ) and its main function is the
production of ATP to provide energy to the cell; in addition Co Q10 a
powerful antioxidant.
Co enzyme Q10 is present in every living organism from microbes to humans.
Coenzyme
Q6, Q7,and Q8 are present in bacteria and yeasts, Co enzyme Q9 is
found in rats and
mice while Coenzyme Q10 is present in humans. They are more abundant in the
heart,
liver, pancreas and kidney.
Coenzyme Q10 is not an essential nutrient since the body can produce it and
beef,
poultry, and broccoli, are good external sources; however, it can become
deficient under
certain medical conditions or with the use of certain medications. The
degree of
deficiency of Co Q10 appears to be directly related to the severity of
symptoms.
Co Q10 has been used to treat CHF(congestive heart failure),
hypertension, breast
cancer , stable angina (chest pains), cardiomyopathies (enlarged hearts),
diabetes and
periodontal disease.
Supplementation with Coenzyme Q10 is common in Europe, Russia and Japan.
In
Japan, Coenzyme Q10 has been approved to treat congestive heart
failure (CHF) since
the early 70'S.
CoQ10 has a chemical structure similar to vitamin K and the main
regulator of CoQ10
biosynthesis is the enzyme HMG-CoA which is the same enzyme that
is involved in the
biosythesis of cholesterol. A type of cholesterol lowering medicines
better known as
"Statins" lowers cholesterol level by inhibiting
the action of this enzyme. Unfortunately, it also causes a decrease in
production of CoQ10 in the body.
CoQ10 supplementation has shown to prevent lipid (fat) oxidation
better than vitamin e
since it inhibits both the initiation and propagation of fat oxidation while
vitamin e only
inhibits propagation.
CoQ10 is a lipophilic ( dissolves in fat) molecule and therefore can display
variability in
absorption depending on the formulation, those containing a lipid vehicle
such as
vegetable oil and vitamin e, show increase solubility and much better
absorption than the
purified coenzyme alone.
Dosage of 30-60mg/day era recommended to prevent CoQ10 deficiency. For
treatment of
CHF, angina or persons taking the "statin" type of cholesterol
lowering medication, the
dosage recommended is 150-600mg/day in dividing dosage twice or three times
a day,
depending of the severity of symptoms.
Side effects are minimal primarily gastrointestinal:
nausea, epigastric pain and
diarrhea; however, the prevalence of these side effects is less than
1%. Because of the similarity of CoQ10 to vitamin K, it can lower the
effect of the anticoagulant drug warfarin and the use of these two combined
products should be avoided.