FAQ

In another study, congestive heart failure patients who were given an average of 580 mg/day of Ubiquinol showed an improvement in the heart’s mean ejection fraction (the capacity at which the heart pumps blood) from 22 percent up to 39 percent.⁶ This improvement was realised after patients were switched from CoQ10 to Ubiquinol. In the study, Ubiquinol was shown to have dramatically improved absorption in patients with severe heart failure.

Healthy individuals typically have ejection fractions of 55 to 70 percent.  Damage to the heart muscle, such as that sustained following a heart attack or heart-valve problems impairs the heart’s ability to eject blood and therefore reduces ejection fraction. All of the patients that participated in this clinical trial had an ejection fraction below a 35 percent.

The improvements while on Ubiquinol were so significant that almost all patients survived longer than expected and remained stable for an average of 12 months.

Australia has the third highest use of cholesterol-lowering medications in the developed world.⁷ These medications have become accepted as important treatments to help reduce the risk of heart disease.

Statin drugs are the most common class of these medications. They work by inhibiting the body’s production of cholesterol, but in doing so, also deplete natural levels of CoQ10 and other essential vitamins and nutrients.

Since CoQ10 and cholesterol are both synthesised from the same substance – mevalonate – statin drugs that inhibit the formation of cholesterol have been shown to also inhibit the body’s synthesis of CoQ10.⁸ In fact, the use of statins can decrease the body’s synthesis of CoQ10 by as much as 40 percent.⁹

The most common side effect of statins is myalgia (muscle pain). Studies have shown that statin-induced deficiency of CoQ10 may be related to myalgia and other myopathies (general disease of the muscles).^10-12

Research shows supplementing with CoQ10 may help to reduce mild-to-moderate statin-related muscular pain.¹³ Another study demonstrated that CoQ10 supplementation over a six month period statistically significantly reduced muscle pain by 53.8 percent and increased CoQ10 levels by more than 194 percent.¹⁴

Ubiquinol is the active and the most readily bio-available form of CoQ10. Thus, the potential for Ubiquinol to act as a direct response to help reduce statin related muscle pain is maximised.

The Australian Heart Foundation reports that 33 per cent of Australians have high total cholesterol¹⁵ (levels higher than 5.5 mmol/L) – quite a significant number.

Cholesterol is an essential type of fat that is carried in the blood. All cells in the body need cholesterol for internal and external membranes, however too much cholesterol in the blood can damage your arteries and lead to heart disease.¹⁶

Many factors can affect cholesterol including heredity, age and gender. But many are preventable as well as controllable. For example, diet, weight and exercise are factors that you can control and can also be used to prevent cholesterol from becoming an issue.

Research indicates that cholesterol in itself does not cause heart disease, however, oxidized cholesterol does cause major problems within the body. When inflammatory pathways are elevated such as in times of chronic stress, cholesterol molecules are oxidized, triglycerides are formed & blood vessel walls damaged.^{17, 18}

Small studies^19,20 have shown that because Ubiquinol is a powerful antioxidant, it can help to prevent the oxidation of small dense LDL cholesterol particles – the particles that are most likely to contribute to heart disease²¹ – and in turn, hinder the ability of LDL cholesterol to structure dangerous atherosclerotic plaques.

One of the studies¹⁹ showed that two weeks supplementation with 150mg Ubiquinol per day in healthy men reduced LDL cholesterol levels by 12 percent.

Speak to your health professional about your cholesterol levels to determine whether medication or supplementation with Ubiquinol could benefit you.  

References

1. Chen L, Booley S, Keates AK, Stewart S. Snapshot of heart failure in Australia. May 2017. Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia.
2. Mortensen SA, Vadhanavikit S, Muratsu K, Folkers K. Coenzyme Q10: clinical benefits with biochemical correlates suggesting a scientific breakthrough in the management of chronic heart failure. Int J Tissue React. 1990;12(3):155-62.
3. Oleck, S. & Ventura, Coenzyme Q10 and Utility in Heart Failure: Just Another Supplement? H.O. Curr Heart Fail Rep (2016) 13: 190.
4. Mortensen SA, Rosenfeldt F, Kumar A, Dolliner P, Filipiak KJ, Pella D, et al. (2014) The effect of coenzyme Q10 on morbidity and mortality in chronic heart failure: results from Q-SYMBIO: a randomized double-blind trial. JACC Heart Fail 2: 641–649.
5. Langsjoen, P. H. and Langsjoen, A. M. (2014), Comparison study of plasma coenzyme Q10 levels in healthy subjects supplemented with ubiquinol versus ubiquinone. Clinical Pharmacology in Drug Development, 3: 13–17.
6. Langsjoen, P. H. and Langsjoen, A. M. (2008), Supplemental ubiquinol in patients with advanced congestive heart failure. BioFactors, 32: 119–128.
7. OECD (2015), Health at a Glance 2015: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/health_glance-2015-en
8. Passi S, Stancato A, Aleo E, Dmitrieva A, Littarru GP. Statins lower plasma and lymphocyte ubiquinol/ubiquinone without affecting other antioxidants and PUFA. Biofactors. 2003;18(1-4):113-24.
9. Ghirlanda, et al., Evidence of plasma CoQ10-lowering effect of HMG-COA reductase inhibitors: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 1993 Mar; 33(3):226-229.
10. Harper CR, Jacobson TA: The broad spectrum of statin myopathy: from myalgia to rhabdomyolysis. Curr Opin Lipidol, 2007; 18: 401–8
11. Wyman M, Leonard M, Morledge T: Coenzyme Q10: a therapy for hypertension and statin-induced mylgia? Cleve Clin J Med, 2010; 77: 435–42
12. Marcoff L, Thompson PD: The role of coenzyme Q10 in statin-associated myopathy: a systematic review. J Am Coll Cardiol, 2007; 49: 2231–37
13. Skarlovnik A, Janic M, Lunder M, Turk M, Sabovic M. Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation Decreases Statin-Relted Mild-to-Moderate Muscle Symptoms: A Randomized Clinical Study. Med Sci Monit, 2014; 20:2183-2188.
14. Zlatohlavek, L, et al. The effect of coenzyme Q10 in statin myopathy. Neuroendocrinol Letters, 2012; 33: 98-101
15. National Heart Foundation of Australia. 2012. High cholesterol statistics. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/about-us/what-we-do/heart-disease-in-australia/high-cholesterol-statistics. [Accessed 15 July 2017].
16. CSIRO. (2016). Cholesterol facts. [online] Available at: https://www.csiro.au/en/Research/Health/Healthier-foods/Cholesterol-facts [Accessed 14 Jul. 2017].
17. Libby, P, 2006. Inflammation and cardiovascular disease mechanisms. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, [Online]. vol. 83 no. 2, 456S-460S. Available at: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/83/2/456S.full.pdf+html [Accessed 14 July 2017].
18. Black, P.H et al., 2002. Stress, inflammation and cardiovascular disease. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, [Online]. Volume 52, Issue 1, 1-23. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11801260 [Accessed 14 July 2017].
19. Schmelzer, C., Niklowitz, P., Okun, J. G., Haas, D., Menke, T. and Döring, F. (2011), Ubiquinol-induced gene expression signatures are translated into altered parameters of erythropoiesis and reduced low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in humans. IUBMB Life, 63: 42–48.
20. Thomas, S.R., 1996. Cosupplementation With Coenzyme Q Prevents the Prooxidant Effect of α-Tocopherol and Increases the Resistance of LDL to Transition Metal–Dependent Oxidation Initiation. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, [Online]. Volume 16, Issue 5, 687-696. Available at: http://atvb.ahajournals.org/content/16/5/687.long [Accessed 15 July 2017].
21. St-Pierre, A.C. et al., 2005. Low-Density Lipoprotein Subfractions and the Long-Term Risk of Ischemic Heart Disease in Men: 13-Year Follow-Up Data From the Que´bec Cardiovascular Study. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, [Online]. Volume 25, Issue 3, 553-559. Available at: http://atvb.ahajournals.org/content/25/3/553.long [Accessed 15 July 2017].

Disclaimer
No information included on this site should be construed as medical advice. Please consult your doctor or qualified health practitioner for medical advice. Never delay or disregard seeking medical advice because of something you have read on this website. Never substitute any of your medication for Ubiquinol.

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Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum

Ubiquinol can be found in a number of fresh foods. However, in order to consume the sufficient amount needed for optimum CoQ10 levels in the body (150mg), you would need to consume the following:

• 3.4kg of meat
• 5.7kg of chicken
• 1.6kg of peanuts
• 50 cups of spinach
• 120 cans of sardines

Alternatively, you may be recommended to supplement with Ubiquinol, with the guidance of your healthcare practitioner.

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum