Coenzyme Q10
 

My husband started taking this before he quit the statin in early November. It was my understanding that CoQ10 is needed while taking statins because the statins deplete it from the body or something. So now that he has been off the statin for about 5 months, does he still need CoQ10?

I really don't understand what it is, or what it does. I'd rather not have him taking a pill he doesn't need, but how do we know if he needs it?

Any ideas? Links are fine if you know of any.

Hi Bonnie--

CoQ10 is an enzymatic cofactor and also a protective antioxidant. CoQ10 has been linked to, or has been hypothesized to, protect against heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer's (among other less headline-grabbing things :lol: ).

The reason statins make you deficient in CoQ10 is because (in total layman's terms) when the statin cleaves the biochemical pathway that makes cholesterol (in effect turning off your body's ability to make cholesterol), the part of the pathway that is responsible for the production of CoQ10 is also below--or "downstream" from where the cleaving occurs. So a side effect of cleaving this pathway is to not only shut off cholesterol production, but to shut off CoQ10 production as well. Theoretically once this pathway is not being interfered with any longer, CoQ10 production should resume.

Whether he still "needs" the CoQ10 is unclear to me, though--I don't know that there's a way to test for how much you are producing and/or what optimal levels are. I have naturally very low cholesterol--my body just produces very little--so using that as a kind of "proxy" for my CoQ10 production, I worry that my levels are too low, even in the absence of a statin.

One reason folks tend not to supplement with CoQ10 is the relatively high cost. IHMO, if cost isn't an issue, I would keep it going just to be on the safe side.

From what I've read statins can deplete coQ10 so significantly that it's a good idea to keep on the supplement for 3-6 months after stopping statins.

I'm currently reading The Wahls Protocol and haven't reached the supplement chapter yet, but I've heard her in interviews a few times and that seems to be what others say too...

CoQ10
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/othernuts/coq10/

Thanks everyone! Since we're chronically broke & he's been taking it for 5 months, we won't buy more. At his age, just eating well (and taking a few vitamins) is probably good enough. We'll just have to hope his body is producing what he needs.

I take it when I remember, cos I read somewhere that it helps with memory and recharging of the bodies cells - I'm not sure its helping tho

Jo xxx

I haven't noticed it helping his memory, either! :)

I'm not sure about how necessary CoQ10 is but if you want to try another source then you can read up on arjuna, an herb used in Ayurvedic medicine. High in CoQ10 and also a tonic for the heart

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