Benefits of CoQ10, Fertility, Skin Health, Exercise Performance, Diabetes
Recently, I wrote an article describing what CoQ10 is and its clinical association between headaches and Parkinson’s disease, so before reading this article, please read that one by clicking here. I recommend reading that article prior to this one because there is prerequisite knowledge discussed in that article describing CoQ10’s role in the body which will not be restated in this article.
CoQ10 is truly an amazing substance with a wide array of health benefits, more than just headaches and Parkinson’s, which are substantiated by many scientific studies. This article will examine CoQ10 research as it relates to fertility, skin health, exercise performance, and diabetes.
Fertility
It is common knowledge that female fertility decreases with age, meaning the older a woman is, the less likely they are to become pregnant. This is primarily due to the decline in the number and quality of eggs a woman has in her ovaries. Likewise, the amount of CoQ10 your body produces declines with age. Therefore, it is believed that CoQ10 has a direct role in protecting eggs because of its role in preventing oxidative damage [1]. Supplementing with CoQ10 appears to reverse this aging process and may help increase egg quality and quantity.
CoQ10 even helps with men’s fertility because male sperm is subjected to oxidative damage which may result in reduced sperm count, poor sperm quality, and even infertility [2] [3].
One meta-analysis reviewing literature and studies concerning CoQ10 and male infertility showed CoQ10 has “a global improvement in sperm parameters” [3], and another study concluded “that antioxidant supplements, especially a combination of antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and CoQ10 intake can effectively improve semen parameters in infertile men” [4].
In short, because of CoQ10’s robust antioxidant properties, it could help improve sperm quality in men and egg quality in women.
Skin Health
As with most benefits of CoQ10, CoQ10’s association with skin health also is derived from its antioxidant properties. Your skin is the largest organ in your body and is subjected to much abuse. This abuse can range from something noticeable as cuts and scrapes to damage from the sun’s UV rays or hormonal imbalances. In women, an imbalance of estrogen levels and other hormones will strongly influence skin health as noted by one study [5].
All of these elements aggregated can lead to reduced skin moisture and diminished protection from the external environmental attackers and can even thin the layers of the skin [5] [6].
One study published in 2015 concluded that applying CoQ10 directly to the skin can reduce the damage from internal and external agents by increasing energy production in the cells. This is because of CoQ10’s direct relationship to mitochondria which provide the cells with energy [7]. As noted by another study, applying CoQ10 to the skin can reduce oxidative damage caused by the sun’s UV rays and can even decrease the depth of wrinkles [8].
Finally, one final study found there is a relationship between CoQ10 levels and determining the risk of melanoma, a skin cancer [9]. Meaning, people with low CoQ10 levels are more likely to develop skin cancer [9].
Exercise Performance
Again, as with any of the benefits of CoQ10, there is a link between the benefit of CoQ10 and preventing oxidative stress or damage. The same goes for the benefits of CoQ10 regarding exercise performance because oxidative stress is increased during exercise and oxidation can affect exercise performance [10].
Likewise, any abnormal mitochondrial function can reduce muscle energy and function which makes it hard for muscles to contract efficiently and sustain exercise [11], and since CoQ10 helps to support healthy mitochondrial function, CoQ10 could help exercise performance as described in one study [12].
One randomized, double-blind, cross-over trial study had 30 subjects take 1200mg of CoQ10 for 60 days, and the researchers found those supplementing with the CoQ10 showed decreased oxidative stress [13].
I also found three more studies which linked CoQ10 supplementation with increased power during exercise as well as reduced fatigue [14] [15] [16].
Diabetes
Since oxidative stress can cause cell damage, the result of oxidative stress could be metabolic diseases like diabetes, and one study linked abnormal mitochondrial function has been linked to insulin resistance [17]. Another study found that CoQ10 could improve insulin sensitivity and help support and regulate healthy blood sugar levels [18].
It is also common for people with diabetes to have low levels of CoQ10 in their blood. One study discovered “that plasma and platelet MDA, as a marker of oxidative stress, were significantly higher in diabetic patients” than people without diabetes and “the level of CoQ10, as antioxidant capacity, was significantly lower in diabetic patients” than people without diabetes, meaning people with diabetes has lower levels of CoQ10 [18] [19].
In 2014, researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial and concluded supplementing with 150mg of CoQ10 for 12 weeks sharply reduced fasting blood sugar levels and A1C levels [20].
Lastly, CoQ10 supplementation could help prevent diabetes in individuals because CoQ10 stimulates the breakdown of fats and reduces the accumulation of fats cells which could either lead to obesity or type 2 diabetes [21].
Conclusion
This is the part two in a three-part series examining the benefits of CoQ10 and the vast amount of research attesting to the effectiveness of the compound. If you are interested in taking a CoQ10 supplement, Healthmasters’ CoQ10 Ubiquinol is an exceptional, high-quality CoQ10 supplement which is developed through a patented process to ensure the CoQ10 is stable. Stay tuned for the final part of this series where we will investigate the links between CoQ10 and brain, heart, and immune health.
If you have any questions concerning Healthmasters’ CoQ10 Ubiquinol, please feel free to call our office at 800.726.1834.
References:
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26111777
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24578993
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23912751
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28066832
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24527317
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25906193
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26648450
[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10416055
[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16443053
[10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11375753
[11] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23182644
[12] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17492503
[13] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20886510/
[14] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19644406/
[15] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18272335/
[16] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18318910/
[17] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28811612
[18] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24586567
[19] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19530339
