Coenzyme Q10 From Foods & Supplements

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Coenzyme Q10 and the difference it makes

Coenzyme Q10, often abbreviated to CoQ10, is a popular supplement, and is often one of the more expensive supplements that’s commonly found on supermarket shelves as opposed to having to go to more specialist stores or looking online.

What is it?

It’s a compound naturally made in the human body and stored in mitochondria. Now, everyone remembers the main job of mitochondria (producing energy), but they also protect cells from oxidative stress, among other things. In other words, aging.

Like many things, CoQ10 production slows as we age. So after a certain age, often around 45 but lifestyle factors can push it either way, it can start to make sense to supplement.

Does it work?

The short answer is “yes”, though we’ll do a quick breakdown of some main benefits, and studies for such, before moving on.

First, do bear in mind that CoQ10 comes in two main forms, ubiquinol and ubiquinone.

Ubiquinol is much more easily-used by the body, so that’s the one you want. Here be science:

Comparison study of plasma coenzyme Q10 levels in healthy subjects supplemented with ubiquinol versus ubiquinone

What is it good for?

Benefits include:

Can we get it from foods?

Yes, and it’s equally well-absorbed through foods or supplementation, so feel free to go with whichever is more convenient for you.

Read: Intestinal absorption of coenzyme Q10 administered in a meal or as capsules to healthy subjects

If you do want to get it from food, you can get it from many places:

  • Organ meats: the top source, though many don’t want to eat them, either because they don’t like them or some of us just don’t eat meat. If you do, though, top choices include the heart, liver, and kidneys.
  • Fatty fish: sardines are up top, along with mackerel, herring, and trout
  • Vegetables: leafy greens, and cruciferous vegetables e.g. cauliflower, broccoli, sprouts
  • Legumes: for example soy, lentils, peanuts
  • Nuts and seeds: pistachios come up top; sesame seeds are great too
  • Fruit: strawberries come up top; oranges are great too

If supplementing, how much is good?

Most studies have used doses in the 100mg–200mg (per day) range.

However, it’s also been found to be safe at 1200mg (per day), for example in this high-quality study that found that higher doses resulted in greater benefit, in patients with early Parkinson’s Disease:

Effects of coenzyme Q10 in early Parkinson disease: evidence of slowing of the functional decline

Wondering where you can get it?

We don’t sell it (or anything else for that matter), and you can probably find it in your local supermarket or health food store. However, if you’d like to buy it online, here’s an example product on Amazon

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  • The Sweet Truth About Glycine

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    Make Your Collagen Work Better

    This is Dr. James Nicolantonio. He’s a doctor of pharmacy, and a research scientist. He has a passion for evidence-based nutrition, and has written numerous books on the subject.

    Controversy! Dr. DiNicolatonio’s work has included cardiovascular research, in which field he has made the case for increasing (rather than decreasing) the recommended amount of salt in our diet. This, of course, goes very much against the popular status quo.

    We haven’t reviewed that research so we won’t comment on it here, but we thought it worth a mention as a point of interest. We’ll investigate his claims in that regard another time, though!

    Today, however, we’ll be looking at his incisive, yet not controversial, work pertaining to collagen and glycine.

    A quick recap on collagen

    We’ve written about collagen before, and its importance for maintaining… Well, pretty much most of our body, really, buta deficiency in collagen can particularly weaken bones and joints.

    On a more surface level, collagen’s also important for healthy elastic skin, and many people take it for that reason alone,

    Since collagen is found only in animals, even collagen supplements are animal-based (often marine collagen or bovine collagen). However, if we don’t want to consume those, we can (like most animals) synthesize it ourselves from the relevant amino acids, which we can get from plants (and also laboratories, in some cases).

    You can read our previous article about this, here:

    We Are Such Stuff As Fish Are Made Of

    What does he want us to know about collagen?

    We’ll save time and space here: first, he’d like us to know the same as what we said in our article above

    However, there is also more:

    Let’s assume that your body has collagen to process. You either consumed it, or your body has synthesized it. We’ll skip describing the many steps of collagen synthesis, fascinating as that is, and get to the point:

    When our body weaves together collagen fibrils out of the (triple-helical) collagen molecules…

    • the cross-linking of the collagen requires lysyl oxidase
    • the lysyl oxidase (which we make inside us) deanimates some other amino acids yielding aldehydes that allow the stable cross-links important for the high tensile strength of collagen, but to do that, it requires copper
    • in order to use the copper it needs to be in its reduced cuprous form and that requires vitamin C
    • but moving it around the body requires vitamin A

    So in other words: if you are taking (or synthesizing) collagen, you also need copper and vitamins A and C.

    However! Just to make things harder, if you take copper and vitamin C together, it’ll reduce the copper too soon in the wrong place.

    Dr. DiNicolantonio therefore advises taking vitamin C after copper, with a 75 minutes gap between them.

    What does he want us to know about glycine?

    Glycine is one of the amino acids that makes up collagen. Specifically, it makes up every third amino acid in collagen, and even more specifically, it’s also the rate-limiting factor in the formation of glutathione, which is a potent endogenous (i.e., we make it inside us) antioxidant that works hard to fight inflammation inside the body.

    What this means: if your joints are prone to inflammation, being glycine-deficient means a double-whammy of woe.

    As well as being one of the amino acids most key to collagen production, glycine has another collagen-related role:

    First, the problem: as we age, glycated collagen accumulates in the skin and cartilage (that’s bad; there is supposed to be collagen there, but not glycated).

    More on glycation and what it is and why it is so bad:

    Are You Eating Advanced Glycation End-Products? The Trouble Of The AGEs

    Now, the solution: glycine suppresses advanced glycation end products, including the glycation of collagen.

    See for example:

    Glycine Suppresses AGE/RAGE Signaling Pathway and Subsequent Oxidative Stress by Restoring Glo1 Function

    With these three important functions of glycine in mind…

    Dr. DiNicolantonio therefore advises getting glycine at a dose of 100mg/kg/day. So, if you’re the same size as this rather medium-sized writer, that means 7.2g/day.

    Where can I get it?

    Glycine is found in many foods, including gelatin for those who eat that, eggs for the vegetarians, and spinach for vegans.

    However, if you’d like to simply take it as a supplement, here’s an example product on Amazon

    (the above product is not clear whether it’s animal-derived or not, so if that’s important to you, shop around. This writer got some locally that is certified vegan, but is in Europe rather than N. America, which won’t help most of our subscribers)

    Note: pure glycine is a white crystalline powder that has the same sweetness as glucose. Indeed, that is how it got its name, from the Greek “γλυκύς”, pronounced /ɡly.kýs/, meaning “sweet”. Yes, same etymology as glucose.

    So don’t worry that you’ve been conned if you order it and think “this is sugar!”; it just looks and tastes the same.

    That does mean you should buy from a reputable source though, as a con would be very easy!

    this does also mean that if you like a little sugar/sweetener in your tea or coffee, glycine can be used as a healthy substitute.

    If you don’t like sweet tastes, then, condolences. This writer pours two espresso coffees (love this decaffeinated coffee that actually tastes good), puts the glycine in the first, and then uses the second to get rid of the sweet taste of the first. So that’s one way to do it.

    Enjoy (if you can!)

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  • Staying Strong: Tips To Prevent Muscle Loss With Age

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Dr. Andrea Furlan, specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation with 30 years of experience, has advice:

    Fighting sarcopenia

    Sarcopenia is so common as to be considered “natural”, but “natural” does not mean “obligatory” and it certainly doesn’t mean “healthy”. As for how to fight it?

    You may be thinking “let us guess, is it eat protein and do resistance exercises? And yes it is, but that’s only part of it…

    Firstly, she recommends remembering why you are doing this, or because understanding is key to compliance (i.e. your perfect diet and exercise program will mean nothing if you don’t actually do it, and you won’t do it enough to make it a habit, let alone keep it up, if the reasons aren’t clear in your mind).

    Sarcopenia comes with an increased risk of falls, reduced physical capacity in general, resultant disability, social isolation, and depression. Of course, this is not a one-to-one equation; you will not necessarily become depressed the moment your muscle mass is below a certain percentage, but statistically speaking, the road to ruin is laid out clearly.

    Secondly, she recommends being on the lookout for it. If you check your body composition regularly with a gadget, that’s great and laudable; if you don’t, then a) consider getting one (here’s an example product on Amazon), and b) watch out for decreased muscle strength, fatigue, reduced stamina, noticeable body shape changes with muscle loss and (likely) fat gain.

    Thirdly, she recommends more than just regular resistance training and good protein intake. Yes, she recommends those things too, but also getting enough water (can’t rebuild the body without it), avoiding a sedentary lifestyle (sitting leads to atrophy of many supporting and stabilizing muscles, you know, the kind of muscles that don’t look flashy but stop you falling down), and getting good sleep—vital for all kinds of body maintenance, and muscle maintenance is no exception (there’s a reason bodybuilders sleep 9–12 hours daily when in a gaining phase; you don’t need to do that, but don’t skimp on your 7–9 hours, yes, really, even you, yes, at any age).

    Lastly, she recommends continuing to learn about the topic, as otherwise it’s easy to go off-track.

    For more information on all of the above and more, enjoy:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    Take care!

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  • Dark Calories – by Dr. Catherine Shanahan

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    You may be wondering: do we really need a 416-page book to say “don’t use vegetable oils”?

    The author, who was a biochemist before becoming a family physician, takes a lot of care to explain in ways the non-chemists amongst us can understand (with molecular diagrams very well-labelled), exactly why certain seed/vegetable oils (both of those names being imprecise and unhelpful as umbrella terms) cause metabolic problems for us, when in contrast olive oil, avocado oil, and even peanut oil, do not.

    Understanding is, for many, the root foundation of compliance. We are more likely to abide by rules we understand the logic behind, than seemingly arbitrary “thou shalt not…” proclamations.

    So that’s an important strength of the book, demystifying various fats and how our body responds to them on a biochemical level, not just “is associated with such-and-such, based on observational population studies”. This kind of explanation clears up why, for example, seed oils correlate with obesity more than calories, sugar, wheat, or beef—having as it does to do with affecting our body’s ability to generate and use energy.

    She also offers practical tips/reminders throughout, such as how “organic” does not necessarily mean “healthy” (indeed, many poisonous plants can be grown “organically”), and nor does “organic” mean “unrefined”, it speaks only for the conditions in which the raw product was first made, before other things were done to it later.

    We learn a lot, too, about the processes of oxidation, the biochemistry behind that (more diagrams!), and of course the inflammatory response to same (an important factor in most if not all chronic disease).

    The style is mostly very easy-to-read pop-science, though if you’re not a chemist, you’ll probably need to slow down for the biochemistry explanations (this reviewer certainly did).

    Bottom line: this is more than just a litany against vegetable oils; it’s a ground-upwards education in metabolic biochemistry for the layperson, and what that means for us in terms of chronic disease risks.

    Click here to check out Dark Calories, and learn what’s going on with these oils!

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  • Unlock Your Flexibility With These 4 New Stretches

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    People often stick to the same few stretches, which may limit flexibility progress, especially as the most common stretches often miss deeper, harder-to-reach areas.

    So, here are some new (well, probably new to most people, at least) stretches that can get things moving in different directions:

    Diversity Continues To Be Good!

    The stretches are:

    90/90 Hip stretch with a twist:

    • Sit with your knees forming 90° angles; add an arm bar and twist your chest upward.
    • Hold for 5 deep breaths and repeat.
    • This one targets top glute muscles and quadratus lumborum in the lower back.

    Shoulder mobility stretch using a wall:

    • Kneel in front of a wall with your forearms placed shoulder-width apart, hands turned outward.
    • Lift your hips, push your chest toward your legs, and use the wall and your body weight for deeper leverage.
    • This one targets multiple shoulder and rotator cuff muscles through external rotation.

    Quad stretch using body weight:

    • Sit with your feet hip-width apart, lift your hips, step one foot back, and tuck in your tailbone.
    • Focus on pointing your knee down and forward for a deep quad stretch.
    • This one targets all four quad muscles, hip flexors, plantar fascia, and opens chest/shoulders.

    Chicken wing stretch for upper back:

    • Sit with bent knees, place the back of one hand on your waist (chicken wing position).
    • Tuck the “wing” into the inner thigh, press your knee inward while resisting with the arm.
    • This one broadens the shoulder blade and stretches rear shoulder/upper back muscles; it’s particularly effective for reaching difficult upper back areas not typically stretched.

    For more on each of these plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like:

    Yoga Teacher: “If I wanted to get flexible in 2025, here’s what I’d do”

    Take care!

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  • In Defense of Food – by Michael Pollan

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Eat more like the French. Or the Italians. Or the Japanese. Or…

    Somehow, whatever we eat is not good enough, and we should always be doing it differently!

    Michael Pollan takes a more down-to-Earth approach.

    He kicks off by questioning the wisdom of thinking of our food only in terms of nutritional profiles, and overthinking healthy-eating. He concludes, as many do, that a “common-sense, moderate” approach is needed.

    And yet, most people who believe they are taking a “common-sense, moderate” approach to health are in fact over-fed yet under-nourished.

    So, how to fix this?

    He offers us a reframe: to think of food as a relationship, and health being a product of it:

    • If we are constantly stressing about a relationship, it’s probably not good.
    • On the other hand, if we are completely thoughtless about it, it’s probably not good either.
    • But if we can outline some good, basic principles and celebrate it with a whole heart? It’s probably at the very least decent.

    The style is very casual and readable throughout. His conclusions, by the way, can be summed up as “Eat real food, make it mostly plants, and make it not too much”.

    However, to summarize it thusly undercuts a lot of the actual value of the book, which is the principles for discerning what is “real food” and what is “not too much”.

    Bottom line: if you’re tired of complicated eating plans, this book can help produce something very simple, attainable, and really quite good.

    Click here to check out In Defense of Food, for some good, hearty eating.

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  • Could the shingles vaccine lower your risk of dementia?

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    A recent study has suggested Shingrix, a relatively new vaccine given to protect older adults against shingles, may delay the onset of dementia.

    This might seem like a bizarre link, but actually, research has previously shown an older version of the shingles vaccine, Zostavax, reduced the risk of dementia.

    In this new study, published last week in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers from the United Kingdom found Shingrix delayed dementia onset by 17% compared with Zostavax.

    So how did the researchers work this out, and how could a shingles vaccine affect dementia risk?

    Melinda Nagy/Shutterstock

    From Zostavax to Shingrix

    Shingles is a viral infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It causes painful rashes, and affects older people in particular.

    Previously, Zostavax was used to vaccinate against shingles. It was administered as a single shot and provided good protection for about five years.

    Shingrix has been developed based on a newer vaccine technology, and is thought to offer stronger and longer-lasting protection. Given in two doses, it’s now the preferred option for shingles vaccination in Australia and elsewhere.

    In November 2023, Shingrix replaced Zostavax on the National Immunisation Program, making it available for free to those at highest risk of complications from shingles. This includes all adults aged 65 and over, First Nations people aged 50 and older, and younger adults with certain medical conditions that affect their immune systems.

    What the study found

    Shingrix was approved by the US Food and Drugs Administration in October 2017. The researchers in the new study used the transition from Zostavax to Shingrix in the United States as an opportunity for research.

    They selected 103,837 people who received Zostavax (between October 2014 and September 2017) and compared them with 103,837 people who received Shingrix (between November 2017 and October 2020).

    By analysing data from electronic health records, they found people who received Shingrix had a 17% increase in “diagnosis-free time” during the follow-up period (up to six years after vaccination) compared with those who received Zostavax. This was equivalent to an average of 164 extra days without a dementia diagnosis.

    The researchers also compared the shingles vaccines to other vaccines: influenza, and a combined vaccine for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. Shingrix and Zostavax performed around 14–27% better in lowering the risk of a dementia diagnosis, with Shingrix associated with a greater improvement.

    The benefits of Shingrix in terms of dementia risk were significant for both sexes, but more pronounced for women. This is not entirely surprising, because we know women have a higher risk of developing dementia due to interplay of biological factors. These include being more sensitive to certain genetic mutations associated with dementia and hormonal differences.

    Why the link?

    The idea that vaccination against viral infection can lower the risk of dementia has been around for more than two decades. Associations have been observed between vaccines, such as those for diphtheria, tetanus, polio and influenza, and subsequent dementia risk.

    Research has shown Zostavax vaccination can reduce the risk of developing dementia by 20% compared with people who are unvaccinated.

    But it may not be that the vaccines themselves protect against dementia. Rather, it may be the resulting lack of viral infection creating this effect. Research indicates bacterial infections in the gut, as well as viral infections, are associated with a higher risk of dementia.

    Notably, untreated infections with herpes simplex (herpes) virus – closely related to the varicella-zoster virus that causes shingles – can significantly increase the risk of developing dementia. Research has also shown shingles increases the risk of a later dementia diagnosis.

    A woman receives a vaccination from a female nurse.
    This isn’t the first time research has suggested a vaccine could reduce dementia risk. ben bryant/Shutterstock

    The mechanism is not entirely clear. But there are two potential pathways which may help us understand why infections could increase the risk of dementia.

    First, certain molecules are produced when a baby is developing in the womb to help with the body’s development. These molecules have the potential to cause inflammation and accelerate ageing, so the production of these molecules is silenced around birth. However, viral infections such as shingles can reactivate the production of these molecules in adult life which could hypothetically lead to dementia.

    Second, in Alzheimer’s disease, a specific protein called Amyloid-β go rogue and kill brain cells. Certain proteins produced by viruses such as COVID and bad gut bacteria have the potential to support Amyloid-β in its toxic form. In laboratory conditions, these proteins have been shown to accelerate the onset of dementia.

    What does this all mean?

    With an ageing population, the burden of dementia is only likely to become greater in the years to come. There’s a lot more we have to learn about the causes of the disease and what we can potentially do to prevent and treat it.

    This new study has some limitations. For example, time without a diagnosis doesn’t necessarily mean time without disease. Some people may have underlying disease with delayed diagnosis.

    This research indicates Shingrix could have a silent benefit, but it’s too early to suggest we can use antiviral vaccines to prevent dementia.

    Overall, we need more research exploring in greater detail how infections are linked with dementia. This will help us understand the root causes of dementia and design potential therapies.

    Ibrahim Javed, Enterprise and NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow, UniSA Clinical & Health Sciences, University of South Australia

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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