CoQ-10 is Now Being Referred to as a DRUG???

~~     I had to laugh when I read this study on another positive benefit of CoQ-10, and in the same study came to understand that it was now being referred to as a DRUG.  I have been supplementing my patients and myself with CoQ-10 for decades now. I came to understand the positive Health benefits of this “essential nutrient” early in my career. This substance is used by our bodies every nano-second of every day of our lives.
     A brief explanation of the method that our bodies use this substance to affect our overall function will assist you in understanding why I found this reference so humorous. You see Co-Enzyme Q-10 as it is actually called is a substance which is found in the center of every cell in your body. It is used by an organelle in the cell called the mitochondria. Its purpose is to assist in converting sugar, in this case glucose into energy in the form of ATP. That energy or ATP production could not occur without CoQ-10, which is actually a “coenzyme” in the Krebs Cycle. The Krebs Cycle is the process through which the glucose molecule is converted to energy or ATP. Think of the mitochondria as little nuclear power plants inside of each cell in your body. The glucose is like the “rods” of nuclear material that will ultimately produce energy. If however those rods are never exposed in the correct environment (under water) they can not produce that energy. The CoQ-10 is kind of like the hoist that pulls the protective lead sleeve off of the nuclear rods, and allows the reaction to occur. Without exposing the rods no reaction occurs and no energy is produced. In the same way, if the CoQ-10 is not available the whole process of converting glucose to ATP within each cell in your body never occurs. As a result of this we can experience fatigue, tissue degeneration, wasting of muscles, and an untimely death.
     Now that you have an understanding of the function of CoQ-10 let’s look at this study and what it demonstrates aside form the DRUG label that was placed on CoQ-10.
     First of all this was a multi-center, double blinded, placebo controlled study, which was presented at the 2013 Heart Failure Congress. Here is the amazing part of the story. The researchers note that CoQ-10 is the first “drug” to improve heart failure mortality in over a decade. According to the lead researcher of this study, it (CoQ-10) should be added to standard treatment.
       In heart failure patients CoQ-10 levels decrease in the heart tissue (cardiac muscle), and as this disorder progresses the levels of CoQ-10 continue to drop. It is important for you to understand a few things about this complicated topic. First of all virtually all cardiac patients are placed on statin drugs (cholesterol lowering drugs). Statins block the production of CoQ-10 in the body. So by using this class of drugs to drop cholesterol levels, the side affect that is produced is that CoQ-10 levels drop significantly as well.
     What these researchers found was that heart failure patients treated with CoQ-10 had significantly lower cardiovascular mortality, and fewer hospitalizations for heart failure. In fact the major adverse cardiovascular event rate was reduced by 50%.
     My point here is this. Bravo for CoQ-10 once again. But let’s call it what it is. CoQ-10 is a naturally occurring nutritional supplement which has been used by those of us in the Natural and Holistic Health Care disciplines for decades. When used in the context of this research study I would be willing to go as far as labeling CoQ-10 a “Neutraceutical”, but not a DRUG!
     Once again I want to remind you that in the nutritional supplement world you get what you pay for. If you need more information about CoQ-10 feel free to let us know, and for those of you who bring this article into the office with you we will give you 10% off of your next or first purchase of our CoQ-10 supplement.