| Answer: | A Coenzyme QlO(CoQlO) is not classified as a vitamin because most of us can make it in the body. It' s a vital antioxidant that protects cells from carcinogens and also helps in the recycling of vitamin E. But its magical properties lie in its ability to improve the cell' s use of oxygen.
Here' s how it works. In the final, and most significant part of catabolism - the body process to do with breaking down complex substances into simpler ones that happens with the release of energy -hydrogen is released to react with oxygen. The actual reaction, of course, occurs at atomic level. Electrons of these elements are passed from one atom to the next in what is called the electron transfer pathway. These tiny charged particles are highly reactive and need to be very carefully handled. They are like nuclear fuel - a very potent, but very dangerous, energy source. It is in this last, vital stage that CoQIO gets in on the act, by controlling the flow of oxygen, making the production of energy most efficient, and preventing damage caused by dangerous oxides or free radicals.
There is evidence that CoQIO levels are lower in people with cancer and that the need for CoQIO increases when you have the disease. For this reason, researchers are now looking at supplementing with extra CoQIO as a cancer treatment. It is also highly beneficial in the treatment of cardiovascular disease and essential to take if you' re on statin medication, since this drug inhibits the body from making CoQIO.
No studies have reported toxicity of CoQIO even at extremely high doses taken over many years. There is no reason to assume that continued supplementation with CoQIO, as is advised for many vitamins, should have anything but extremely positive results.
CoQ exists in many foods but not always in a form that we can use. There are many different types of CoQ, from CoQl up to CoQIO. Yeast, for example, contains C0Q6 and CoQ7. Only CoQIO is found in human tissue, and this is the form that should be supplemented. However, we can utilize ' lower' forms of CoQ and convert them into CoQIO. This conversion process, which occurs in the liver, allows us to make use of CoQ found in almost all foods. Problems arise for some people, especially the elderly, whose ability to convert lower forms of CoQ into the active CoQIO becomes impaired or non-existent. Exactly why and to what extent this occurs is not known. But for them, CoQIO is effectively an essential nutrient -that is, they need to supplement it as their bodies cannot make it, which is probably why so many people are deficient.
Some foods contain relatively more CoQIO - all meat and fish (especially sardines), eggs, spinach, broccoli, alfalfa, potatoes, soya beans and soya oil, wheat (especially wheatgerm), rice bran, buckwheat, millet, and most beans, nuts and seeds.
Many supplement companies produce CoQIO products. The best dosage is probably between 10 and 90mg a day, and it' s best taken in an oil-soluble form. |
