How Coq10 Works for Weight Loss

How Coq10 Works for Weight Loss

Every day, millions of people around the world search online for foods, exercises, and other methods to lose the extra pounds.

Unfortunately, the online community is loaded with false information that misleads people into buying a product and/or service without any real value.

For this reason, we decided to write this article and address the major concepts of coenzyme Q10, its general benefits, and how it can help you lose weight.

What is a coenzyme?

As you may know, there are approximately one billion chemical reactions happening each second inside every single cell!

That’s 37 thousand-billion-billion reactions in the entire body every single second!

These chemical reactions are facilitated by the activity of the enzymes, which help speed up the process.

If we consider an enzyme to be a hero, the coenzyme is its sidekick since it helps increase the rate of the chemical reactions, which is why it’s also known as a reaction catalyzer.

Note that these coenzymes are vital for our cells to function, and a deficiency in one or more of these substances can be fatal, or at the very least, debilitating.

What is coenzyme Q10?

Coenzyme Q10 is a commonly advertised supplement that increases the rate of mitochondrial biochemical reactions to produce ATP.

ATP for the human body is just like gas for your car; the car cannot function without gas and we cannot survive without ATP.

Coenzyme Q10 is an integral part of the metabolic pathways of all the three major macronutrients (e.g., carbohydrates, protein, and fat).

Ubiquinone vs. Ubiquinol

When it comes to supplements, coenzyme Q10 is available in two forms:

The ubiquinone form

When taken orally, this form is directly absorbed in the stomach and small intestines. Once it reaches the lymphatic circulation, it gets converted to ubiquinol, which is the active form of the supplement.

The ubiquinol form

When taken orally, this form has to first be converted into ubiquinone to get absorbed. Once it reaches the lymphatic circulation, it gets converted back into ubiquinol.

In summary, we have two chemical reactions for ubiquinol versus one for ubiquinone.

This means that ubiquinone is more stable and less expensive.

In one study, researchers concluded that ubiquinol is more effective than ubiquinone when it comes to older individuals. However, the difference wasn’t that significant, and both forms had the same effect on oxidative stress.

Where can we find coenzyme Q10?

As mentioned earlier, coenzyme Q10 is found in every cell of the human body and all livings organisms.

However, since muscles consume most of the produced energy, most of this substance is found in the musculoskeletal system.

Animal meat (e.g., beef, pork, chicken, fish) is a rich source of coenzyme Q10, but most people need to take supplements if they want to cover their daily requirements.

In addition to that, studies have shown that frying these foods decreases the levels of coenzyme Q10 by 14–32%.

Coenzyme Q10 and weight loss

Coenzyme Q10 is extremely effective at promoting weight loss by optimizing the way your cells use energy.

This substance accelerates the basal metabolic rate (BMR) to increase the number of calories your body burns at rest.

If you are not familiar with BMR, it is a numerical parameter used by healthcare professionals to estimate how many calories are needed every day.

This number is subject to numerous factors, including age, gender, weight, diet, and degree of physical activity.

By enhancing mitochondrial function, coenzyme Q10 increases BMR, leading to effortless weight loss.

In a 2017 study, researchers attempted to understand the underlying mechanism that makes coenzyme Q10 effective at inducing weight loss.

After careful analysis, researchers concluded that coenzyme Q10 contributes to lipolysis (fat breakdown) in a variety of ways, including:

Accelerating the activity of certain metabolic pathways (e.g., cAMP)

Decreased oxidative stress levels

Improved lipid metabolism and activated lipolysis

Inhibited lipogenesis (lipid synthesis)

They concluded that “This increased cAMP activated AMPK, enhanced oxidative decomposition of lipids, and inhibited de novo synthesis of fatty acids, inhibiting the development and progression of obesity and type 2 diabetes. These results suggest that CoQ10H2 supplementation may be useful as a treatment for metabolic disorders associated with obesity.”

Another study found that coenzyme Q10 supplementation may significantly reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome, which involves obesity, type 2 diabetes, blood hypertension, and dyslipidemia.

All of this evidence suggests that taking this supplement is a great way to stimulate your body’s natural lipolysis and reduce your overall weight.

As a result, you will inadvertently decrease your risk of getting several ailments, including myocardial infarction, strokes, peripheral artery disease, and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease).

General benefits of coenzyme Q10

The benefits of taking this supplement are diverse and include a risk reduction of several ailments, improving general well-being, and promoting weight loss.

Improves the symptoms of several disease processes

The major benefit of coenzyme Q10 is clear with mitochondrial diseases caused by mutations in the mitochondrial DNA.

Diseases such as mitochondrial myopathy, diabetes mellitus, deafness, Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) Leigh syndrome, subacute sclerosing encephalopathy can all benefit from taking coenzyme Q10 supplements.

CoenzymeQ10 also helps with migraine headaches, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, diabetic neuropathy, and Huntington’s disease.

The list is by no means comprehensive, but here is a list of the medical conditions that improve after taking coenzyme Q10 supplements:

Asthma

COPD

Cardiomyopathies

High blood pressure

Fibromyalgia

Hepatitis C

Optimizes physical performance

Aside from all the diseases that benefit from CQ10, it was noted that individuals who take the supplement felt more energized and were less likely to experience symptoms of fatigue.

Enhances skin health

When applying coenzyme Q10 directly to the skin, age-related skin deteriorations (e.g., wrinkles) significantly improved.

On the other hand, low plasma levels of CQ10 correlated with a higher risk of developing skin cancer (e.g., melanoma).

Promotes fertility

CQ10 helped both male and female fertility as both the eggs and sperms are susceptible to oxidative damage.

Side effects of coenzyme Q10

There are no known side effects specific to coenzyme Q10 except for common symptoms such as:

Nausea/vomiting

Stomach pain

Diarrhea

Skin rash

Drug interactions

Avoid taking CQ10 if you are taking any of these medications:

Omega-3 fatty acids

Vitamins (A, C, E, K)

Antihypertensive medications

Antineoplastic drugs

Warfarin (i.e., coumadin)

Takeaway message

Coenzyme Q10 is a vitamin-like substance that works as a co-enzyme and offers a myriad of health benefits to our bodies.

Hopefully, this article helped you appreciate the role of coenzyme Q10 and how it can help you lose weight.