Lately it seems as if more and more of my patients are taking a “statin” drug to lower their cholesterol.  Examples of these drugs are Lipitor and Zocor.   I find it interesting that none of these patients were told that they should supplement with CoEnzyme Q10.  In Europe if patients are prescribed a statin drug they are automatically given a recommendation to pick up CoQ10 and use it daily.

This goes to show you how behind the US is when it comes to understanding the nutrient depletion aspect of prescription medications and how little knowledge most doctors have about nutrition. READ ON.

Coenzyme Q10 is a nutrient that is used in every cell in the body in the energy cycle.   To make this as simple as possible.   When you eat food it gets broken down into glucose (from carbs), amino acids (from proteins) and free fatty acids, phospholipids and cholesterol (from fats).    Cells primarily use glucose and free fatty acid to create energy in the presence of oxygen.  What happens is that glucose is taken up by the cell in the presence of insulin.   When it enters the cell it gets broken down into many different compounds and ultimately acetyl CoA.   There is an organelle in the cell called the mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell) it is what takes glucose and free fatty acids in the presence of oxygen and creates ATP (adenosine triphosphate) which is ultimately what is created and used by the cell to function.   THAT REALLY IS THE BASIC VERSION.

During this process CoQ10 is there to pick up excess electrons off an oxygen molecule (free radicals) and prevent them from damaging the cell.     In essence it is a anti-oxidant.

What happens is that when disease processes start happening in the body (for example high blood pressure or Coronary artery disease)…. the cells can get depleted of CoQ10 fairly quickly.   The problem is that they can not make it fast enough to keep up with the increased metabolic demands of the injured cell.  It is during these times that taking CoQ10 as a supplement is very beneficial to the body.   It replenishes the intracellular pools and allows the cell to maintain normal function.

Now where do statin cholesterol drugs come into play.  They work by blocking an enzyme in the pathway that our body creates cholesterol from scratch.   This enzyme is called HMG COA reductase (IM NOT SURE WHY THESE SCIENTIST COULDN’T NAME THESE ENZYMES SOMETHING SIMPLE LIKE “LARRY” OR “BOB” OR “SUSAN”.   IT WOULD BE SO MUCH SIMPLER TO REMEMBER)

The problem is that this pathway also leads to the production of CoQ10.   So by blocking HMG COA reductase you also block the production of CoQ10.    This is common knowledge in the alternative medical world where doctors study nutrition.   However this has not hit the mainstream medicine. How do I know this?  None of my patients are taking CoQ10 and have never heard of it.

There are a ton of studies showing the benefit of taking CoQ10 in patients with any cardiovascular disease, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, parkinsons and many more.

A great physician that has been a pioneer in metabolic cardiology is Dr Stephen Sinatra.   Visit www.drsinatra.com for more info.

Be blessed!

Dr. Breen