CoEnzyme Q10 - The Other Vitamin

The startling fact is that CoEnzyme Q10 is a vitamin essential to our very lives, yet very few of us have ever heard about it until recently. Discovered in 1957 by Dr. Fred Crane at the University of Wisconsin, CoEnzyme Q10 is a nutrient necessary to the functioning of every cell in our bodies. Our bodies could not survive without CoEnzyme Q10. If body levels start dropping, so does our general health. Scientists have estimated that once body levels of CoQ10 drop below the 25% deficiency levels, many health problems begin to flourish, including high blood pressure, heart attacks, angina, immune system depression, periodontal problems, lack of energy, weight gain, and even early death! A 75% drop in CoQ10 levels is fatal.

Benefits

Coenzyme Q10™ is found in every cell in the human body and is key to the process that produces 95% of the energy consumed at the cellular level.

It participates in this important role by acting as part of another class of substances, known as enzymes. These important compounds are proteins found in plants, animals, humans - ALL living things. Their role is to facilitate, to act as a catalysts, in countless chemical reactions that take place in the human body. In essence, they make reactions happen without themselves being consumed in the reaction. When calcium is turned into bone, and enzyme makes the reaction possible, but the enzyme itself does not end up becoming part of the bone. When we digest our food, when we flex a muscle, when our heart beats, in some way an enzyme is playing a key role.

Enzymes consist of two parts, a protein portion made up of one of a variety of amino acids, and a cofactor portion that is either a mineral (like calcium, magnesium, or zinc) or a vitamin, the vitamin is called a coenzyme.

Coenzyme Q10 is a naturally occurring molecule that has a structure similar to vitamin K.

As part of an enzyme, it acts as a catalyst in the vital biochemical pathway that leads to cellular energy production.

Specifically, every cell must have a special substance known as ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which provides all the cell's energy. The energy obtained from the food we eat is used to make this fuel for the cells, and when a cell needs energy, it breaks the bonds that hold the ATP molecule together. When this chemical bond is broken, it releases energy equivalent to approx. 7,000 calories, more than twice the energy a person consumes in an entire day. However, the body, at any given time, only stores enough ATP to sustain vigorous activity for 5 - 8 minutes. Thus, ATP must be produced constantly, and for this ATP to be produced, there must be a ready supply of CoQ10.

This explains why, in particular, COQ10 is found in high concentrations in muscle cells and especially in the muscles that form the heart - because the heart is constantly in motion, it creates a great demand for energy, and at the same time, a need for the CoQ10 to create it.

Preventative Value of CoEnzyme Q10 (CoQ10)

Numerous studies have shown that pre-treatment with CoQ10 helps heart patients come through open heart surgeries in better health and with shorter recovery times than those who have not been so treated. This is because CoQ10 possesses the ability to protect the heart during periods of aschemia, or oxygen deprivation. Miraculously, CoQ10 has helped cardiomyopathy patients to live well beyond their usual life expectancies! Perhaps more importantly, supplementation with CoQ10 has a preventative effect--preventative against lack of oxygen, poor Vitamin and mineral supplementation, and against certain heart medications. Yes, heart medications. Strange as it may seem, certain heart medications that are prescribed to reduce cholesterol levels actually block the production of CoQ10!

How Does CoQ10 Work?

CoEnzyme Q10 is also known as ubiquinone, a member of the quinone cyclic compounds such as Vitamins E and K. CoQ10 can supply or remove oxygen from biologically active molecules. Every cell in your body contains many intercellular components called mitochondria, which produce 95% of the total energy of the body. CoQ10 is an integral part of the membranes of the mitochondria where it is involved in the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the basic energy molecules of the cell. Supplementing CoQ10 aids in the body's cellular respiration and energy production; it's that simple.

Why Haven't I Heard Of CoQ10?