"Everyone understands the importance of a healthy heart, but maintaining one can prove difficult."
Cardiovascular health can be compromised by diet, genetics, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and an array of other factors. Moreover, our bodies are often deficient in substances critical to healthy heart function. One example is Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), which helps produce energy in each cell, particularly those in the heart, the most active organ in the body. The beating heart and electrical conduction of the nervous system need a continuous flow of energy that is dependent on adequate levels of CoQ10 in the cells.
CoQ10 also has antioxidant properties, protecting LDL cholesterol from oxidation, thereby helping to maintain vascular tone and integrity. CoQ10 has the ability to recycle and regenerate vitamin E, allowing it to continue providing antioxidant protection to cells of the body.
Although the human body can synthesize CoQ10, in some situations the body’s capacity to produce CoQ10 isn’t sufficient to meet its needs. CoQ10 levels reach their peak in the human body by age 20 and fall slowly thereafter. In fact, 60% of the population has CoQ10 deficiency in their 50s and 60s. In addition, certain medications can reduce the body’s production of CoQ10. Supplements can help, but since most supplemental CoQ10 is poorly absorbed by the body, a supplement must be highly bioavailable to be effective.
Some of the strongest evidence for the cardiovascular benefits of CoQ10 supplementation is found in eight clinical studies in which researchers concluded that CoQ10 promotes the heart’s ability to pump blood.
Resveratrol, found in red wine, also possesses potent antioxidant properties; it complements the action of CoQ10. One study found that resveratrol inhibited LDL oxidation by 70-80%. It may also help blood vessels relax and dilate, both important functions for optimising blood flow.*
Which Food contain CoQ10?
Fish contain the highest source of CoQ10. Regularly including the freshest servings of sardines and mackerel in your meals allows the body to turn this important enzyme into the energy (ATP) that powers the heart and other muscles in the body to work efficiently.
Contributing to the grocery list of foods high in CoQ10 are beef heart and liver. Preparing a meal with the freshest cooked portions of these two parts of the cow is second only to fish providing CoQ10.
Ingesting any fresh cut of lamb and pork portions is another way to obtain CoQ10. They're not as high in the CoQ10 nutrient as fish or beef, but these meats help produce ATP nonetheless.
Preparing fresh raw vegetables as part of a diet is another valuable source of the CoQ10. In particular, spinach in a fresh salad with broccoli added to the mix and sprinkled with wheat germ is a coenzyme Q10 lunch. Fresh peanuts and unprocessed whole grains give the body smaller amounts of the CoQ10.
Facts from Wikipedia
Coenzyme Q10, also known as ubiquinone, ubidecarenone, coenzyme Q, and abbreviated at times to CoQ10 /ˌkoʊ ˌkjuː ˈtɛn/, CoQ, or Q10 is a 1,4-benzoquinone, where Q refers to the quinone chemical group, and 10 refers to the number of isoprenyl chemical subunits in its tail
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