Coenzyme Q10 benefits...depression help?

Depressed people tend to have a low energy level and one of Coenzyme Q10 benefits is that it has a vital role in the creation of energy.

Coenzyme Q10 is a vitamin-like compound found in every cell of the body. It is thought to play a vital role in transporting oxygen in the blood to our muscle cells. A low Q10 may result in a decreased ability for the heart to pump effectively. Lower energy and fatigue may be the result.

To learn how to support your heart naturally, click here.

Two recent reports from the American Medical Association verify, again, that the risk of heart failure is dramatically reduced by following a healthy diet and lifestyle. Read about it here.

And life isn’t much fun without feeling energetic. Ask someone who is depressed if they feel energetic.

It is reasonable to assume that, if you start to experience more energy, you will be more inclined to participate in life-supporting activities.

This could be one of the nicer Coenzyme Q10 benefits.

Some people experiencing a degree of insomnia with very high doses, according to reports. Apart from this, there appears to be no reported Coq10 side effects.

Will taking Coenzyme Q10 help my depression?

A recent study on this subject, from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, was published on the Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics Journal (Vol. 77, No.2. 2008).

The report stated that people whose energy production was on the lower end of normal may be at an increased risk of developing depression. The theory is that lower ATP, found in our cells' mitochondria, is responsible for this effect.

Mitochondria are the power stations of most cells and one of its roles is the manufacture of the chemical ATP.

The good news is that Coenzyme q10 boosts ATP production. ATP is required for cells to function properly to transport oxygen to the heart and other muscles.

Coenzyme Q10 benefits and heart disease

There are many positive reports based on small trials performed on patients who have heart disease.

Report of a clinical study, published in The Clinical Cardiology Journal (May, 2004; 27(5):295-9), concluded that “The administration of CoQ10 to heart transplant candidates led to a significant improvement in functional status, clinical symptoms and quality of life.”

Statin drugs causing CoQ10 depletion?

Within the last five years there have been allegations circulating that statins (taken to reduce high cholesterol)

In other words, and if it is true, millions of people are being seriously depleted of this important nutrient resulting in possible heart failure.

This is serious stuff indeed and a highly controversial issue in the conventional medicine community and pharmaceutical industry.

A report on the The Lancet (Vol. 361, Issue 9363, Pages 1134-1135, March 29, 2003) addressed these specific allegations. Regarding statins, it said that “supplementation with commercially available Coenzyme Q10 has no robust evidence of clinical benefit.”(It goes on to praise the major reduction of stroke, heart failure and death attributed to the statins.)

And the opposite view praising Coenzyme Q10 benefits…

In contrast, another report on the same subject, also on The Lancet (Vol. 359, Issue 9307, Pages 711-712, Feb. 2002), stated that “Coenzyme Q10 status should, therefore, be monitored in patients taking statins and the possibility of coenzyme Q10 supplementation should be considered.”

A report, by Dr. P. Langsjoen of the East Texas Medical Centre (1994) on a survey of 300 international studies stated that “treatment with CoQ10 significantly improved heart muscle function while producing no adverse effects or drug interactions."

These conflicting reports are not surprising to me.

The official position

The medical community’s reporting on alternative medicine approaches usually ends with something like this:

“XYZ substance may be beneficial as a way of treating this condition. However, due to the low number of participants in the trial, the lack of adequate controls, the lack of XYZ standardization and due to the fact that the trial participants were taking other, possibly interfering, medication, we suggest that further, and larger, studies are required.

It is a safe and diplomatic way of protecting themselves. And you really can’t blame them. The natural medicine industry is largely unregulated.

Coenzyme Q10 and foods

Coenzyme Q10 exists naturally in beef heart, liver, muscle and organ food as well as fish and green vegetables. Many argue that, as our food is nutritionally depleted, contaminated with insecticides and pesticides and artificially processed, we are not able to get sufficient Coenzyme Q10 benefits to fuel our cells.

And as we age, we need to replenish Q10 more.

The big question is whether you have a deficiency of Coenzyme Q10 or not given the fact that it is abundant in food.

Other Coenzyme Q10 benefits:

• It acts as an antioxidant helping to repair damaged cells (free-radicals). For more info on antioxidants, click here

• It helps to protect gums against disease

• It helps to boost the immune system

• It helps to increase exercise tolerance

• It helps to lower the viscosity of blood improving heart health

Coenzyme Q10 dosage

Most of the studies were performed using 50-300 mg. The daily optimum dosage is not well defined. However, most manufacturers appear to sell it in 60 mg capsules. (I take a 60mg capsule daily)

Is weight loss one of the Coenzyme Q10 benefits?

It appears that the only way Q10 assists with weight loss is to provide more energy.

More energy, of course, should mean a greater desire to indulge in a lot more physical activity and fat burning activity. It’s the old-fashioned way of losing weight: less calorie intake and more calorie-burning. You might call it CoQ10 weight loss.

Q10 may provide this all-essential energy to get you started. More energy means more physical activity. You will start to look better and feel better physically.

Then, naturally, you will experience greater mental clarity which should help to alleviate those symptoms of depression.

Note: I have decided to take a 60mg capsule of Q10 daily. I have been on a low-dose statin drug for about a year. Q10 appears to be highly compatible with my cleansing and nutritional program.

The Body-Mind Connection

Let’s cleanse the body to clear the mind

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