#cholesterol #medications #Coenzyme #Q10
Ubiquinone – commonly called coenzyme q10, it is an essential organic compound for our lives. If we were to focus on the definition, we would learn that it belongs to the group of quinones, found in mitochondria and involved in the electron transfer cascade, which is not easy to describe in three sentences. It’s not clear to everyone…
Mitochondria are found in every cell of our body and could be compared to coal-fired power plants. Selected nutrients that we consume with food are delivered to them, which are burned and transformed into energy. Just as in electrons, energy must be stored and transferred somehow, in mitochondria Coenzyme Q10 is necessary to accumulate it in the form of ATP. Just as in a power plant and any fire needs oxygen to burn, and the side effect of this process is smoke (CO2), the mitochondria use oxygen transported through the circulatory system and CO2 produced, returned in venous blood to the lungs. The coenzyme is therefore essential in the process of cellular respiration, which results in the production of energy.
One of the organs most exposed to deficiency and decrease of coenzyme Q10 is the heart. This is one of the muscles that works throughout life. Cardiac muscle cells therefore need a constant supply of energy. Without Coenzyme Q10, the functioning of this organ and the life of the cells of our orgasm would be impossible.
The good news is that coenzyme Q10 is naturally produced by our body. The bad thing is that the level of its synthesis decreases from the age of 30-35 with each proverbial spring.
Okay, but why am I writing about coenzyme Q10 and what does it have to do with cholesterol? One of the main problems of Poles are cardiovascular diseases (almost 50% of deaths in Poland!) and one of their most common causes – high cholesterol and atherosclerosis. Such people are often given the so-called
statins. There is even a theory that the upper limit of cholesterol levels has been artificially lowered to increase the number of people eligible for drug treatment. Additionally, once someone starts taking them, they will (supposedly) be sentenced to them for the rest of their lives (nice business!). But what exactly is the point?
To understand this, I need to present the process of action of these compounds. Don’t worry about the names. Just note that the purpose of these drugs is to block the metabolic pathway in which cholesterol is produced:
Great! We take drugs, block the pathway and lower cholesterol.
There are many substrates in the human body and its complex biochemistry (as in the example below
Mevalonate) are necessary for the production of various compounds. As you can see in the diagram above, the trail splits into 3 different products. One of them is cholesterol but as you can see
also Coenzyme q10!
I think you already know where the vicious circle is. By taking care of the circulatory system (although taking medications without other health-promoting activities is not entirely taking care of it), we block the synthesis of a coenzyme necessary for life.
My text is not intended to encourage you to reject the drug, but to make you aware of the importance of supplementation or a diet rich in… Coenzyme Q10. I know too many people who use anti-cholesterol drugs and have no idea about Ubiquinone because no one bothered to tell them about it. On a smaller scale, it could be compared to taking antibiotics without probiotics.
Finally, although this is not the topic of this article, I would like to mention that there are many natural compounds available that perfectly support the body in the fight against the so-called “bad” cholesterol. There is actually no bad or good cholesterol. Both are essential for life. The thing is that it is only its level (too high) that causes the LDL fraction to become unfavorable for the body. Among the active compounds, we especially recommend supplementation
Lecithin and unsaturated acids (Omega 3). Lecithin and LDL cholesterol are antagonists – in other words, they compete with each other. If you provide the right amount of lecithin in your diet or supplementation process, the body will use it instead of cholesterol at the stage of digestion and storage.
We will soon devote a separate article to the topic of substances that support the body in the fight against cholesterol, in the meantime, remember about supplementation or a diet rich in Coenzyme Q10, combine it with physical activity and a balanced diet and you will quickly feel the difference!
