Article Highlights:

• Coenzyme Q10 is involved in numerous vital functions including energy production, muscle function, and cardiovascular health.

• Q10 levels decline with age, stress, and taking certain medications like statins.

• High purity Q10 supplements can help improve energy and cardiovascular fitness.

Do you ever feel like your energy isn’t what it used to be? Maybe your endurance isn’t quite the same, or your muscles don’t recover as quickly after activity. As we age, our bodies naturally produce less coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), a key nutrient that fuels energy production, supports heart health, and helps maintain overall vitality.

Found in every cell, CoQ10 plays a major role in keeping you feeling strong and resilient. But with age and certain medications such as statins depleting tissue levels, many people don’t realize they’re running low. Could CoQ10 be the missing link to better stamina and muscle energy? Let’s take a closer look.

Q10 Benefits

Coenzyme Q10 has several remarkable features. Well-known for its fundamental roles in energy production, it is also an essential lipid and antioxidant found in all cell membranes with higher levels found in mitochondria. The liver is the primary site of coenzyme Q10 synthesis with smaller amounts made in the heart and skeletal muscles. At 25 years of age your body makes about 500 mg/day, but by 65 years of age production declines by 50 percent!

Coenzyme Q10 plays a role in numerous vital functions. It acts as an electron shuttle in the mitochondria, is a cofactor for mitochondrial membrane activities and Krebs cycle functions, and other mechanisms in the production of energy. 

Coenzyme Q10 is a critical antioxidant necessary to protect against oxidative damage to lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids within cell membranes. Coenzyme Q10 is needed to help mitochondria burn fats and glucose to produce energy as well as body heat.  Coenzyme Q10 is important to regulate cellular homeostasis.  

Several medications like statin drugs, antidepressants, and beta blockers deplete or interfere with coenzyme Q10 levels. A deficit of coenzyme Q10 in your cells leads to physical fatigue, muscle weakness, decreased endurance, increased lactic acid, mental fatigue, mood and memory changes, and more. 

LDL Cholesterol and Coenzyme Q10

Mainstream medicine thrusts cholesterol lowering medication (rosuvastatin, atorvastatin, simvastatin, etc.) onto hundreds of millions of people worldwide with the goal to lower cholesterol levels as much as possible. This comes at a nutritional cost to your body as statins cause reduced levels of coenzyme Q10 and affects the metabolism of vitamin D and K.

As statins lower LDL cholesterol, a disruption occurs in the transport of coenzyme Q10 to cells. As LDL levels are lowered, less coenzyme Q10 is distributed to your mitochondria through your muscles, heart, and all other tissues. Furthermore, coenzyme Q10 ubiquinol is needed to protect the LDL cholesterol molecules against oxidative stress.

Blood Vessel Lining

Coenzyme Q10 in the ubiquinol form works as an antioxidant outside the mitochondria in different cellular systems than ubiquinone. Coenzyme Q10 ubiquinol has been shown to protect the endothelial lining of your blood vessels against oxidative stress and lipid metabolism.

Coenzyme Q10 and Statins

Supplementation of coenzyme Q10 aids in tissue replenishment and supports energy mechanisms. The results of a clinical trial published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine demonstrated the effective support of coenzyme Q10 on physical performance with statin drug use.

Participants in the study were generally healthy 65-80 year olds and had been on a statin drug for at least 6 months that led them to experience fatigue and muscle symptoms. Individuals who supplemented with coenzyme Q10 experienced improved physical energy and stamina within 4-8 weeks, even with statin medications.

Staying Strong

With age, your muscle strength and mass naturally decline, especially with sedentary lifestyles. You can change this by engaging in exercise, getting optimal nutrition, and supporting coenzyme Q10 levels! 

Research shows that CoQ10 plays a key role in maintaining muscle function and overall vitality. A study with individuals 65+ found that those with higher levels of coenzyme Q10 had:

• Better fitness and mobility

• Greater muscle strength and endurance

• Healthier cardiovascular performance and lipid management

Coenzyme Q10 is considered an essential nutrient for age-related decline. Muscle strength, endurance, cardiovascular health, kidney, brain, cartilage tissues, lipid peroxidation, hearing, balance and coordination, and other tissues require coenzyme Q10 for healthy function and structure. Furthermore, hundreds to thousands of mitochondria in each cell along with all cell membranes require coenzyme Q10.

Your need for coenzyme Q10 increases with age, decreased production, high stress levels using it up, and medication depletions. If coenzyme Q10 levels are not replenished, there is an increase in mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and apoptosis, i.e. aging faster.

Coenzyme Q10 Supplements

Wellness Resources makes three different high purity Q10 supplements:

Coenzyme Q10 is a ubiquinone powder in a cellulose capsule. It is best to take this option with a fatty nutrient such as DHA or vitamin E to enhance absorption.

Super CoQ10™ contains ubiquinone Q10 suspended in a unique fat-soluble mixture of natural vitamin E and d-Limonene oil, which enhances the uptake of Q10 into the blood by as much as 270 percent compared to powder Q10.

Super Q10 Ubiquinol™ contains the Ubiquinol form of Q10. Ubiquinol is the reduced form of Q10 and is especially helpful for fatigue and cardiovascular protection. Like Super CoQ10, it is also suspended in d-Limonene oil, resulting in highly absorbable, crystal-free Q10 Ubiquinol supplement. This form is commonly recommended for those 40 years of age and older and for heart health support.

Coenzyme Q10 dosage ranges from 100 - 1200 mg per day. Take at least 200 mg per day to offset drug-nutrient depletions. You may need higher amounts for tissues to recover and restore homeostasis.

If you are dreaming about the energy you had at age 25, add Super Co Q10 or Super Q10 Ubiquinol to your exercise, heart health, and longevity routine. Don’t give up on your goals! You can build energy and muscles with some extra support and diligence by being physically active and optimizing nutrients levels!

Additional Resources:

Coenzyme Q10: Cornerstone of Your Energy Supply Chain

Q10 Critical for Energy: Know the Meds that Drain Your Q10