Coq10 - What is Coenzyme 10 and Why is it Important for Heart Health?

Copyright (c) 2008 Hope Pope

It seems like we are constantly hearing about CoQ10 now... but what exactly is CoQ10?

Co Q 10 is actually made inside our bodies; however, as we get older, it gets depleted from our system. Co Q 10 is needed for the basic functioning of our cells.

Age reduces Co Q 10 from our bodies but medications will also do this. Guess what popular drugs decrease our natural Co Q 10 from our bodies? Cholesterol lowering drugs. Yes, you very rarely hear from the doctor that cholesterol lowering drugs are not good for our bodies. Doctors just prescribe cholesterol lowering drugs left and right without thinking about... or rather without telling us the whole truth.

And what is interesting (and apalling as well) is that studies have shown that people with heart problems often have low levels of Co Q 10 in their systems to begin with. So, take cholesterol lowering drugs, too, and it just lowers the necessary CoQ10 even more in our systems.

It is true, usually people with heart disease have extremely low levels of CoQ10 in their bodies. Coenzyme 10 has been proven to increase heart energy... and therefore, the heart becomes stronger and works better.

Studies have shown that taking Co Q 10 supplements have helped heart patients with fatigue, dispend, chest pain, and palpitations.

If you buy CoQ10 locally, you will most likely pay a lot of money (which can explain why a lot of people don't take it)... which is why a lot of people who want to take it don't. If you look carefully, though, you can find inexpensive supplements on the internet. Although, again, remember the old saying "you get what you pay for" and some of the cheap supplements are junk. And what a lot of people don't know is that a lot of vitamins are not "natural vitamins". They have preservatives in them... many of which have been shown to be dangerous.

Some vitamins and supplements even have dangerous preservatives in them... including trans fat. They are now pulling the trans fats out of fast food restaurants and adding them to our vitamins and supplements. Why?

The trans fats... or preservatives... make supplements and vitamins last longer and taste better. So be careful when shopping for CoQ10 supplements or any vitamins or supplements for that matter.