CoQ10: The Heart of the Matter

Did you ever think about what drives you heart to beat over 100,00 times a day? How does it work so hard without ever stopping? The heart is fueled by Coenzyme Q10. This substance is also called ubiquinone as it is a powerful antioxident found in the cell membranes of virtually every cell in the body. It is also highly concentrated in the heart.

This substance is part of the body’s energy producing processes in the mitochondria, playing a critical role in ATP formation and it is also a potent antioxidant that protects against DNA damage.

Anti-aging experts report that after the age of 30, naturally produced levels of CoQ10 in the body begin to diminish. After the age of 50 the levels may be too low to support optimal heart function. By the age of 70, levels are so low they contribute to accelerated aging.

Further losses are caused by stress, illness and certain medications. The most implicated medications are statin drugs. These drugs inhibit the synthesis of mevalonate, the building block of both cholesterol and CoQ10.

Sadly, out of the millions of Americans give statin drugs, very few are informed by the prescribing doctors that they will need to supplement with CoQ10. It is NOT recommended by the reknown Mayo Clinic to supplement with CoQ10. Over time, these patients are actually doing their heart more harm than the highly questionable good supposedly accomplished by the stain drugs.

People have been brain washed about the need to reduce cholesterol to protect the heart, when, in fact, most cholesterol is protective of many tissues in the body, such as cell membranes, muscle tissue including the heart, gum tissue and most importantly the brain.

The statin drugs reduce the cholesterol available to the brain and over time brain function starts to decrease. How you ever questioned why Alzheimer’s and Dementia are in epidemic proportions in the last 20 years?

Millions of American are needlessly put on statins. People should be told to eat the correct good fats and not polyunsaturated fatty acids which drive oxidative damage. However these poor quality fats are recommended by the USDA and the FDA in support of the legal pharmaceutical cartels, multibillion dollar businesses that are not going to go away any time soon.

Traditional cultures eating their appropriate natural diets did not need CoQ10 supplements. They received this important substance from food. In the list of foods that supply significant amounts of CoQ10, not surprisingly, the heart is the organ that supplies the highest levels.

The Weston Price Foundation teaches that the organ meats should be consumed on a regular basis for this very reason. Have you had any heart lately? Leave a comment and let me know!

Resources: Cholesterol and the Heart.com

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Lourdes October 21, 2011, 9:49 am

Great post! I have been a long time follower of your site and just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your recipes and informative posts.

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- Jill October 21, 2011, 1:28 pm
  
  Hi Lourdes,
  Thank you for your kind words!
  
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Trisha Sheehan October 21, 2011, 10:21 am

If supplementing with CoQ10, is there a brand you prefer?

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- Jill October 21, 2011, 1:31 pm
  
  Hi Trisha,
  I would get any supplement from a reputable company — not from a box store or chain. You can even call the company and ask if they get independent lab assays that measure for the ingredients that are supposed to be in the supplement and check for purity as well. Or, better yet, if you see a holistic practitioner, perhaps they can provide a company they like.
  
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Janienielander October 21, 2011, 10:55 am

I would like to know as well, if there is a brand of CoQ10 that you would prefer. I have been wanting to buy some, but just not sure which one to buy. CoQ10 is costly so I want to buy the right one.

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suzyhomemaker.net October 21, 2011, 11:56 am

Thanks for the great post and important information. I wish more doctors would prescribe this. And less would prescribe statins for that matter.

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Cylkev October 21, 2011, 12:01 pm

Another fantastic source of CoQ10 is palm oil.

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- Jill October 21, 2011, 1:32 pm
  
  Hi Cylkev,
  I do not see any information about the amount of CoQ10 in palm oil. If you have a reference for that could you possibly send it to me? I would appreciate that!
  
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  - Cylkev October 21, 2011, 3:40 pm
    
    Hi Jill, I have seen this info widely, if you google red palm oil and CoQ10 a lot will come up, however the book on Palm Oil by Bruce Fife thoroughly covers a wealth of info on its health benefits (and why it is not an unethical product), you can read here, the CoQ10 info starts on p 65:
    http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=C0_C4-ev-xcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Palm+Oil+Miracle&hl=en&ei=XpGhTtDPIMyo8QPi0p3UBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
    
    Reply
    - Jill October 21, 2011, 4:43 pm
      
      Hi Cylkev.
      Thanks for the info and the link!
      
      Reply
    - Bruno February 21, 2016, 6:11 pm
      
      This study :
      http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25391686
      found about 40mg/kg of coQ10 in their crude palm oil, some of which was lost depending on the investigated processing method.
      
      Seems in line with what Bruce Fifer claims, 45mg/kg.
      
      Reply
Jill October 21, 2011, 1:21 pm

I was just telling a friend about the crazy paradox of Dr.’s prescribing statins to help “prevent” heart attacks, when the statins themselves increase the risk of heart attack by causing CoQ10 deficiency! I actually ate beef heart a few days ago by including it in a Mexican beef soup made from meaty beef soup bones. With all the spices and veggies (onions, garlic, tomatoes, chiles, and yellow crookneck squash) and beef from the bones (not to mention condiments), my family would never have guessed there was heart in it without me telling them.

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- Jill October 21, 2011, 1:33 pm
  
  hi Jill,
  That is the coolest way to serve it — disguised and no one is the wiser (but they are healthier! lol). Thanks for sharing that!
  
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  - Ronnie October 22, 2011, 12:21 am
    
    I keep a container in the freezer and when I clean a whole chicken, I save the heart and gizzard and add the accumulated pieces to chicken soup when I made it. I didn’t know it might have a benefit but makes a nice soup.
    
    Reply
    - Cylkev October 22, 2011, 7:25 am
      
      We make chicken broth almost daily and the chicken carcass always comes with the liver and heart x 2 per package. I always mince this and add it into mince for making meatballs or whatever. Beef heart is delicious and works great added in to mince as well.
      
      Reply
[email protected] October 21, 2011, 3:09 pm

Great post, but just the tip of the ice berg. Last year my husband had a heart event and two stents. Knowing what we know now, we would have gone another route for treatment, but when you are in the ER there is a lot of stress and now that is water under the bridge. Anyway, when he came out of the OR, both cardiologists “explained” to me that he would be on 5 meds the rest of his life, one of those a statin. I told them he was not born with a pill bottle in his hand and we would do whatever necessary to eliminate the need for drugs.

I am here to tell you, it can be done. A month ago at his 1 year check his doc was so impressed with his blood work, sustained lifestyle changes (exercise), and overall vitality that he AGREED to his desire to go off all drugs (he still has to take aspirin because of the stents). “Can’t argue with the numbers,” he said. He then went on to tell my husband to increase his consumption of plant sterols with margarine and eat more soy. Hubby told him he wouldn’t put that poison in his body. I explained to both him and his PA we eat butter, EVOO, and coconut oil … can’t argue with the numbers.

Sorry for the novel here, but this is a huge issue for so many people. It wasn’t easy, we had to do our research, be diligent with exercise, and he had to “own it”– his health and food choices away from home. There is a ton of conflicting information out there, it takes time and energy to get a sense of what will work for you. Part of that was CoQ10 in the form of Ubiquinol from Dr. Mercola. We discovered early on that the statin would deplete not only CoQ10, but Vitamin D as well. Both are vital to our bodies. It is a real balance, because low cholesterol increases risk of cancer. The underlying issue is inflammation and that is what we went after and it worked. 13 months post heart attack, he is drug-free. 🙂

I’ll be posting on this subject soon, but just wanted to encourage you to continue to spread the word and maybe encourage your readers too, if they browse your comments.

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- Jill October 21, 2011, 3:38 pm
  
  Hi Judy,
  Thanks for sharing your personal experience. It take a lot of kutzpah to achieve what you have achieved and I give you a lot of credit.
  
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- [email protected] October 24, 2011, 4:12 am
  
  Thanks for adding this critical information. Congratulations on your husband’s recovery!
  
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Beyondthepeel October 21, 2011, 7:12 pm

Hi Jill. Love the post. SO informative. I always questions these huge epidemics of severe health problems we are now experiencing that never really occurred before the 1900. All these drugs and crap they tell us we need to take or do for our health. We’re better off listening to our great grandparents.

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- Jill October 21, 2011, 8:03 pm
  
  Hi France,
  Thanks for the comment. I so agree with you. We should listen to grandma — she always gave cod liver oil.
  
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Dave Bryant October 22, 2011, 4:40 am

Judy does indeed have it right. I’m 51 and in great shape. I take ubiquinol 100mg 2x/ day and D3 10,000 1x/day.
It takes a bit more D3 to keep my level at that sweet spot of 60ng/ml or so. If my wife takes that much her level goes to the 90’s. D3 is one of the most important vitamins you can take. It can prevent many cancers, especially breat cancer. Too bad the Komen people and the whole breast cancer awareness month people (created by AstraZeneca, the makers of Tamoxifin, the go to treatment for breast cancer) won’t tell you that. But then again, the whole breast cancer awareness thing was designed by AZ to sell more tamoxifin, but I ramble…

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Anonymous October 24, 2011, 2:32 pm

My mother, who had been on statin drugs for years, became totally unable to stand or walk last November. This spring, she almost stopped eating, and spent most of her time sleeping. The doctor agreed that she was probably in a dying process, and suggested that we discontinue the statin drug. Within TWO DAYS, she was eating all of her meals by herself, (we had been feeding her), and now two months after, she is making purposeful movements of her legs and feet. We are hopeful that she can regain some mobility. The only thing we changed was the statin, which seem to have a propensity to cause myopathy and lowered functioning in the elderly. Some sites have suggested coQ10 and vitamin D as healing substances in recovering from these effects.

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Eahgr October 24, 2011, 3:45 pm

Let’s not overlook a delicious way to get your CoQ10…eat it! Combine your ground meats with ground heart. (1/4 total is heart) Yum!

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Anonymous October 27, 2011, 2:00 am

Another great article. Thanks for sharing.

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Sue October 31, 2011, 2:15 am

Thanks for the info. I wasn’t aware of it but since we have our own sheep and beef killed and processed we get to eat all the offal as well. Just a few nights ago we had a kind of meat patty which is made from meat trim, (left over bits after butchering), chopped bacon, minced liver and minced heart, bound with breadcrumbs and flavoured with salt, pepper, herbs and spices. The patties are then wrapped in bacon and baked in the oven.

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- Jill October 31, 2011, 12:18 pm
  
  Great idea! Thanks for sharing!
  
  Reply