CoQ10 is a pretty popular supplement added to everything from energy drinks to “brain boosting” pills but is there really any proven benefit to orally taking this supplement?
Short answer: Maybe, at best. So far the evidence seems to suggest that usually the average person produces enough CoQ10 to gain all the benefits it yields. Taking it orally is not shown to guarantee any sort of advantage but let’s back up. What is CoQ10?
CoQ10 is a fat-soluble compound that is made in the body as well as obtained from a balanced diet. It is credited with facilitating the production of adenosine triphosphate or ATP. It’s also helpful in the creation of other necessary compounds from ATP or mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Additionally it’s an antioxidant so, overall, great stuff. Taking CoQ10 orally seems to show the most benefit when the issue it is addressing is directly connected to a genetic mutation limiting the production of CoQ10. This makes sense as the body would be producing an abnormally low amount of CoQ10 so the supplemental CoQ10 would help bridge that gap, if imperfectly.
CoQ10 is popping in a ton of products but perhaps most commonly in exercise-related products however, the research doesn’t suggest that there is a measurable increase in energy or mental clarity from consuming CoQ10. In fact, the research doesn’t tie CoQ10 to a measurable benefit in the treatment of most chronic health issues such as diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, etc.
There is some evidence that it might be helpful in mitigating the harm that treatment for some forms of cancers causes, specifically chemo. Additionally, it may increase the success of traditional congestive heart failure treatment for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery. In fact, in one study, supplemental CoQ10 seemed to reduce the mortality rate of bypass patients when compared with a control group. Even so, more research is needed to really say conclusively that CoQ10 alone caused this reduction.
At best, if a person has low levels of CoQ10, it might suggest that there is a deeper health issue at play. Low levels of naturally occurring CoQ10 may be an early warning sign for a number of other issues but according to the current research there are only a few select situations in which taking CoQ10 supplementally might actually be beneficial. The bottom line is that the increasingly popular inclusion of this compound in energy drinks has not been conclusively proven valuable. As always, this article is for informational purposes only, not prescription or diagnostic use and you should always talk to a health professional about your specific medical background before taking any supplemental ingredients like CoQ10. For the average person, we hope this might help you sidestep some of the more pervasive scams surrounding CoQ10 and be better equipped to make a decision for yourself about its usefulness!
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