Coenzyme Q10 – CoQ10 for short – is an antioxidant that is produced naturally by the body and used to regulate blood sugar and support various growth and maintenance functions.
The amount of CoQ10 produced by the body decreases with age leaving individuals susceptible to an array of negative health outcomes including heart disease, cognitive decline and more.
CoQ10 supplements can fill the void and help a person stay strong and vigorous while avoiding some common ailments such as heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and migraines.
12 Benefits Of CoQ10
Below are some of the most important potential benefits provided by CoQ10 supplements.
1: CoQ10 may help protect your lungs.
Lung damage can be brought on by poor protection from antioxidants and excessive oxidative stress in your lungs. Asthma, chronic pulmonary disease (COPD), and other lung diseases can arise because of this.
One study, involving 41 patients ranging from 25-50 years of age who suffered from persistent to moderate asthma, showed that corticosteroids were reduced after CoQ10 supplementation (1).
Another study found that CoQ10 levels are linked to the degree of oxidative stress. After researching individuals with chronic pulmonary disease (COPD), people with lower CoQ10 levels showed an increase in oxidative stress (2).
2: CoQ10 can lower your blood pressure.
High blood pressure can put you at risk for developing cardiovascular diseases prematurely. As such, controlling and lowering your blood pressure can help you avoid strokes, heart attacks, and other dangerous health problems.
Studies have supported CoQ10 being an effective treatment for hypertension (3). Hypertension is when your blood pressure is too high, and lowering this is vital for optimal circulation and heart health.
3: CoQ10 can help protect against developing degenerative diseases.
CoQ10 is touted for its ability to protect your brain. Your brain is the control center of your body, and without proper brain health, all sorts of problems and diseases can emerge in your body.
One article published in 2009 showed that CoQ10 can protect you from Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Alzheimer’s disease (4). Another study cited that CoQ10 decreased amyloid pathology and helped improve mice with Alzheimer’s disease (5).
Another article cited CoQ10 benefits for Parkinson’s disease (6). Evidence also suggests that Alzheimer’s disease is caused by oxidative damage that is brought about by mitochondrial dysfunction. Research indicates that CoQ10 can be a good option for neurodegenerative disease (7). However, more conclusive evidence is needed to confirm.
4: CoQ10 can keep your skin youthful.
Your skin not only affects how young and vibrant you look but also protects you from bacteria and free radicals. A study published in 2016 hinted that CoQ10 could play a vital role in skin protection. Specifically, the study noted that CoQ10 provides antioxidant effects to your skin and reduces free radicals (8).
Furthermore, low levels of CoQ10 were linked to melanoma progression (9). Melanoma is the worst kind of skin cancer, and getting enough CoQ10 is an excellent way to fight off this malevolent illness. As such, CoQ10 can help you maintain your youth well into your later years by protecting your skin.
5: CoQ10 may be able to help with age-related diseases.
It’s not surprising that our body starts to deteriorate as we get older.
Since CoQ10 provides your body with a bunch of health benefits, including better brain health, heart health, skin health, and reduced risk of cancer, it’s a surefire way to keep your body young. In a study of 443 elderly individuals, each participant was given CoQ10, and it resulted in them needing less time in a hospital (10).
6: CoQ10 can help you reduce the risk of cancer.
Studies show that low levels of CoQ are proven to increase the risk of breast cancer in Chinese women (11). Although cancer can show up in healthy individuals, it’s often a result of your body lacking proper nutrients. Moreover, another study revealed a substantial deficiency in CoQ10 in patients with cancer (12).
Prostate cancer is a notorious cancer that many men face as they get older. Thankfully, the right supplement can reduce men’s chances of getting it. CoQ10 shows promising effects for people with prostate cancer (13).
7: CoQ could reduce your muscle pain.
Statin medications can cause unwanted side effects, such as asthenia or myalgia. Thankfully, CoQ10 has shown signs that it can help mitigate these symptoms. Patients taking statins that consumed CoQ10 for 3 months showed reduced myalgia (14).
Taking CoQ10 can also help you maintain good heart health by allowing you to continue to take a statin to reduce your cholesterol without any side effects.
8: CoQ10 may reduce headaches and migraines.
Emotional triggers, such as stress and anxiety, can be a hidden culprit behind your migraines. Fatigue, lack of sleep, and overexerting yourself physically can all cause migraines too. Since these symptoms are common in our society, it’s not unusual for individuals to have a regular migraine.
Fortunately, CoQ10 can help with this. 1550 patients with frequent headaches or CoQ10 deficiency were tested and concluded that CoQ10 improves headaches and migraines (15). Another study published in Nutritional Neuroscience found that CoQ10 reduced migraines in patients (16).
In addition, a 2018 meta-analysis showed that CoQ10 could alleviate migraines as well (17). Furthermore, the journal of Neurology issued a study on 42 migraine patients and found CoQ10 to be an effective protocol for migraines (18).
9: CoQ10 may play a role in increasing exercise performance.
Interestingly enough, CoQ10 could be a natural performance enhancer that many don’t know about. One study demonstrates that CoQ10 can aid those with mitochondrial disorders, which can, in turn, help improve cellular energy output (19).
In another study, CoQ10 shows performance-enhancing effects during repeated bouts of supramaximal exercise (20). A 2008 study involving 17 volunteers receiving either 100 mg of CoQ10 per day or a placebo for 8 days showed slower fatigue time (21).
Moreover, a 14-day CoQ10 supplementation trial with trained and untrained individuals demonstrated that CoQ10 increases time to exhaustion (22).
10: CoQ10 could prevent diabetes.
There are three main types of diabetes, type 1, type 2, and gestational. While some are hereditary, others can be avoided by following a healthy lifestyle. If you’re prone to suffering from diabetes, taking a promising supplement could be just what you need.
The Journal of the American College of Nutrition published a study in 2017 that found after 12 weeks of supplementing with CoQ10, insulin levels decreased in diabetic nephropathy patients (23).
Furthermore, another study involving 50 patients showed an improvement in glycemic control after consuming CoQ10 (24).
11: CoQ10 could improve your heart health.
When you improve your heart health, your chances of suffering from serious health issues, like myocardial infarction and other heart diseases, significantly decrease. Eating a balanced diet and exercising for your heart health is of utmost importance, but a quality supplement could enhance it even more. Growing research is supporting that CoQ10 deficiency is linked with cardiovascular issues (25).
One study showed an improvement in cardiovascular symptoms and a reduction in chronic heart failure across 420 patients supplementing with CoQ10 (26).
A 2009 study also stated, “Significant improvement has been observed in clinical and hemodynamic parameters and exercises tolerance in patients given adjunctive CoQ10 in doses from 60 to 200 mg daily in various trials conducted in patients of heart failure, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, and other cardiac illnesses” (27).
12: CoQ10 may help with fertility.
Maintaining good fertility is tied to your reproductive health, and if you plan on having a child, you must get this taken care of. According to one study, semen parameters increase when supplementing with CoQ10 (28).
Conclusion
CoQ10 supplements can help you fend off an array of health problems including heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, cognitive decline, migraines and more. There is also evidence they can help you achieve more from your workouts and mitigate fertility issues. If you are looking for a potent antioxidant that can help you obtain greater overall health, consider CoQ10.