Q10 and selenium: powerful supplements for heart health
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a fat-soluble, vitamin-like antioxidant. It is used by cells called mitochondria to generate energy and to protect cells from oxidative damage.
Q10 is present in all cells of the body. Interestingly, the highest concentrations of Q10 are found in high-energy organs like the heart.
For normal heart function a steady supply of coenzyme Q10 is required.
Previous research has reported that 75% of heart disease patients had low levels of coenzyme Q10 in their blood and decreasing levels in their heart tissue as the heart disease progressed.
Coenzyme Q10 is a crucial nutrient with multiple important functions for heart health
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Energy production: helping heart-muscle cells produce ATP. Because the heart contracts continuously, it has a particularly high energy requirement.
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Antioxidant protection: CoQ10 can act as an antioxidant, helping protect heart cells from oxidative damage.
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Supporting mitochondrial function: helps maintain efficient energy production within heart cells
Levels of coenzyme Q10 decrease with age
This graph clearly shows that levels of Q0 decrease in human hearts from the age of 20 onwards.
Considering that heart issues are known to start early in life, anyone aged over 20 should consider a supplement with high dose Q10 for life long heart health.
Common heart/cholesterol medications decrease Q10 levels!
Some medications, especially statins (cholesterol lowering medications) can also lower coenzyme Q10 so many doctors and cardiologists recommend any patient taking a statin, also take a coenzyme Q10 supplement.
Can I get co-enzyme Q10 from food and diet?
Many foods contain small amounts of Q10 but diet in general is not a good source of Q10. For example, some of the richest dietary sources of Q10 are edible animal hearts.
- But even a full beef heart only contains 160mg Q10.
- Chicken fillet = 2mg
- Chicken egg = 0.2mg Q10
- Cows milk = 0.4mg per 200ml glass
- while most fruit and veg contain even less Q10.
So we can clearly see that diet is NOT a good source of Q10!
Coenzyme 10 and the heart
The highest concentration of Q10 in humans is in heart tissue
The highest concentration of Q10 in animals is in animal hearts
People with heart disease have lower levels of Q10
The more severe the heart disease, the lower the Q10 level
But could Q10 actually help with heart diseases?
These observations and more have led to interest in the benefits of Q10 supplementation in improving heart and blood sugar health, particularly in adults aged 40 or older.
Low dose Q10 supplement does not benefit heart health!
A 1994 study from the Department of Internal Medicine, Rostock, Germany examined the effect of 100mg coenzyme Q10 + 100mcg selenium and disappointingly reported very little benefit with the research writing ‘there were no significant differences, with respect to early complications’
Another study in 1999 reported no benefit but again the dose used was 33mg 3 times daily or 100mg total. This study was from the Department of Cardiology at The Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane, Australia.
High dose Q10 (200mg) supplement benefits heart health!
However, higher dose coenzyme Q10 (200mg) led to decreases in:
- · LDL or bad cholesterol
- · HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin) – HbA1c measures your average blood sugar levels over the past three months
- · Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) ADMA is a natural inhibitor of the enzyme which produces nitric oxide, nitric oxide synthase (more about nitric oxide below)
- · as well as an increase in nitric oxide (N.O.)
The noble prize in Medicine was awarded for the discovery of N.O. in 1998 . N.O. is known a molecule which can increase the size of blood vessels which means more blood can flow, without the heart working harder. Phytaphix founder, Dr. Conor Kerley completed his PhD on nutrition and N.O., publishing 8 human intervention studies in in the area as well as an invited expert scientific review article titled: Dietary nitrate as modulator of physical performance and cardiovascular health. Published in the journal Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care.
The famous Q-SYMBIO research was conducted by researchers and doctors in 8 countries across 3 continents: Australia, India and Europe, including Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Poland, Austria and Slovakia with the initial research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in 2014 reporting:
- less time in hospital,
- less heart symptoms
- less heart attacks, strokes
- less deaths from heart issues!
The follow up research was published in the Cardiology Journal in 2019 reporting high dose Q10 led to:
- improved heart health
- improved heart muscle function,
- less heart attacks, strokes,
- less deaths from heart issues!
High dose Q10 with selenium for heart and blood sugar health
Next came the ground breaking KiSel-10 trial which combined high dose coenzyme Q10 (200mg) with high dose selenium (200mcg). The KiSel-10 trial was conducted by doctors and researchers from the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Linköping University in Sweden and led to 29 research publications, the first study publication coming in 2013.
We have seen some research demonstrating the benefits of Q10 supplementation for heart and blood sugar health above
What about combing high dose Q10 with high dose selenium for heart health?
Selenium is an essential trace-element micro-nutrient required for vital processes within the body such as antioxidant defense and oxidative metabolism.
Selenium supplementation has shown anti-inflammatory effects in human studies.
But what about slenim and heart health? Keshan disease is a heart muscle disease common in inland China strongly linked with low selenium levels. Daily selenium intake is low in many parts of the world. And supplementation has been suggested. Several human studies have reported a link between heart disease and selenium. For example, one study reported a 290% risk of dying from heart disease in people with low selenium levels!
So what did the KiSel-10 research report?
Separate research publications reported that high dose Q10 (200mg) with high dose selenium (200mcg) led to:
- · Better blood sugar control
- · Better heart function
- · Lower cholesterol
- · Lower inflammation
- · Better kidney function
- · Increased nitric oxide levels (N.O. makes blood vessels bigger allowing more blood to flow)
- · Lower NT-proBNP (a protein in the blood indicating a stressed heart)
- · Lower oxidative stress
- · Less statin side effects like muscle pain
- · Improved quality of life
- · Less time in hospital
- · Less deaths from heart disease!
These studies used high doses of coenzyme Q10 (200mg) in the form of ubiquinone in combination of 200mcg selenium. So to get these benefits, it is a good idea to choose a supplement with 200mg coenzyme Q10 + 200mcg selenium.
Heart and Blood Sugar Phix was formulated by Dr. Conor Kerley and contains
- 200mg coenzyme Q10 in the form of ubiquinone
- 200mcg selenium
- Berberine
- Methyl folate
- Vitamin B12
- Vitamins D3 + K2
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