Coenzyme Q10 - Ubiquinone is everywhere

The health conscious among us have most likely heard the term “coq10” being bounced around as the next big supplement. Lately,  Coenzyme Q10 or Ubiquinone has literally mentioned everywhere: from a glossy fashion magazine article of skin care to a DR. OZ television special on the most important supplements. This essential nutrient that our cells need in order to produce energy and fight off free radicals has been hailed as the next best thing since Vitamin C, helping people to be active and look younger, and has now even garnered its very own display rack in many health food stores.

What is Coq10?

Coenzyme Q10, or Ubiquinone is an essential enzyme that our bodies produce that plays a very important role in cellular biological energy (ATP) production. It is also a very powerful antioxidant on par with the much better known Vitamin C, helping to neutralize free radicals and reduce the effect of aging.  It is referred to Ubiquinone because it is essentially needed everywhere, or at least everywhere a cell happens to be, which means are bodies need to produce a lot of it throughout our lifetime.

Now, the question that you may want to ask is: why would I need to take supplements of this stuff if it already can be found everywhere in the body? Good Question. Here is what the latest health research tells us:

While a young and healthy body can produce all the Coq10 it needs, once father time has his say, our bodies eventually start to produce less and less amounts of the stuff. In fact, many scientists studying aging actually use the enzyme as a biological marker for the aging process correlating its decline with getting longer in the tooth.  This lack of adequate amounts of Coq10 can then add fuel to the aging fire, making our cells less likely to withstand stress and properly regenerate.

Studies on aging rodents have shown that those treated with CoQ10 supplements ended up living a third longer than those who were not. While researches on its effect on human longevity remain only theoretical, it has been shown to be beneficial in certain medical conditions like heart disease and high blood pressure.

Also the skin

Coenzyme Q10 can help your skin in several different ways. First, as a powerful antioxidants, it helps fight off the skin damaging effects of Free Radicals. Secondly, is can help boost your skin cells regenerative powers, and aid in the production of collagen, elastin and other important molecules that help keep you looking young. While it is still up in the air as to whether topical skin care products with added CoQ10 can actually be effective since the enzyme can be rendered inactive when exposed to air, some studies have shown promise for the reduction of crow’s feet.