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According to research, CoQ10 aka Coenzyme Q10 aka Ubiquinone is an anti-oxidant shown to provide a number of health benefits when supplemented. Like most every nutritional supplement I take, my aging body makes less and less of this needed coenzyme as I age.
More importantly, this nutritional supplement addresses several of my long-term side effects from conventional cancer therapies I underwent from my cancer diagnosis in early 1994 through end-stage diagnosis in September of 1997.
Heart Health- I was diagnosed with chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy in late 2010, more than 20 years after I underwent cardio toxic chemotherapy. I have linked the page about CIC from Memorial-Sloan Kettering because the page does a pretty good job of explaining a long-term side effect that MSK probably has caused in thousands of cancer patients.
As you would expect, MSK lists the many conventional therapies FDA approved for CIC. CoQ10 is not FDA approved for the treatment of CIC. While there are dozens perhaps hundreds of studies citing the idea that CoQ10 supports heart health, it is a fact of life that conventional medicine does not acknowledge evidence-based non-conventional therapies.
Brain Health-When it comes right down to it, chemo brain is a result of high-dose, aggressive toxic chemotherapy. My belief is that all cancer survivors experience some chemo brain. Fortunately, many cancer patient heal. Many do not.
I enjoy looking back to the first years after my autologous stem cell transplant reminiscing about my chemo brain experiences before I understood what chemo brain even was. While my brain function is much better now than it was in 1997-2003, for example, I believe I must continually manage my brain health.
Skin Health– I don’t supplement with CoQ10 in an effort to look younger. The good ship Vanity sailed long ago. Stem cell transplantation increases the risk of skin cancer. And to be honest, I sat is the sun way too much as a teen. I burned my skin repeatedly again increasing my risk of melanoma. CoQ10 supplementation, according to the research below, reduces that increased risk of skin cancer.
Secondary Cancers- One of the dirty little secrets about conventional chemotherapy regimens is that there is research establishing chemotherapy as a cause of your relapse. In short, chemo causes cancer. I am assuming that you have already been through chemotherapy and are trying A) to reduce your risk of a relapse or B) reduce your risk of a different, secondary cancer. CoQ10 as well as the other nutritional supplements listed will do just that.
Once the human body ages beyond 30-4o, research shows that it produces less and less of a number of important nutrients. CoQ10 is one of those nutritional supplements.
The six blog post linked below talk about the many health challenges that CoQ10 helps to manage.
If you have any questions or comments, scroll down the page, post a question or comment and I will reply to you ASAP.
Thank you,
David Emerson
“Coenzyme Q, also known as ubiquinone and marketed as CoQ10, is a coenzyme family that is ubiquitous in animals and most bacteria (hence the name ubiquinone). In humans, the most common form is coenzyme Q10 or ubiquinone-10…”
Dozens of questions about CoQ10 asked and answered on Quora
“Health conditions like heart disease, brain disorders, diabetes, and cancer have been linked to low levels of CoQ10 (1Trusted Source)…
CoQ10 production decreases as you age. Thus, older people seem to be deficient in this compound…
“The objective of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the impact of CoQ10 supplementation on the ejection fraction (EF) and New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification in patients with CHF…
Supplementation with CoQ10 resulted in a pooled mean net change of 3.67% (95% CI: 1.60%, 5.74%) in the EF and 20.30 (95% CI: 20.66, 0.06) in the NYHA functional class…
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10; also called ubiquinone) is an anti- oxidant, the main function of which is the production of ATP through the electron transport chain…
In conclusion, CHF is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States and worldwide. The findings of this meta-analysis suggest that supplementation with CoQ10 may be of benefit in patients.
However, our findings also suggest that the benefit may be limited to patients with less severe stages of CHF, such as patients with an EF $30% or those with an NYHA class of II or III…”
“Introduction: With an aging population there is an important need for the development of effective treatments for the amelioration of cognitive decline. Multiple mechanisms underlie age-related cognitive decline including cerebrovascular disease, oxidative stress, reduced antioxidant capacity and mitochondrial dysfunction. CoQ10 is a novel treatment which has the potential to improve brain function in healthy elderly populations due to established beneficial effects on mitochondrial function, vascular function and oxidative stress…
“Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a naturally produced organic molecule which acts as an antioxidant agent, including in skin anti-ageing, and plays a major role in the social determinants of health. However, its level in the body will decrease during ageing. Therefore, an external supplement is required to repair damaged skin, especially the skin dermis layer…