Multivitamins are an important part of our diet. We get vitamins naturally from our foods, but sometimes no matter how careful we are, we could be missing very important vitamins and minerals from our diets. Multivitamins fill in these holes and provide our bodies with the nutrients that are missing from the diet. We get Vitamin D, Vitamin A, B-complex vitamins, and other important vitamins and minerals from multivitamins. One of these vitamin-like substances we seem to be hearing a lot about lately is Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). We are hearing that certain skin care products have been fortified with Co Q10. It’s in anti-wrinkle and anti-aging creams. What is it? Do I need it?

CoQ10 is naturally produced by our body. CoQ10 is one of the fat-soluble vitamin-like substances mostly found in our cells. Our cells have important biochemical reactions that need CoQ10. Think back to high school biology when you learned about cells. There was a part of the cell, the mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell), that was responsible for making the energy for the body. CoQ10 plays a key role in making this energy. CoQ10 is found in a number of foods. Most organ meats (heart, kidney, and liver) have it. Beef, soybean oil, peanuts, and some fish have high amounts of CoQ10.

Other than providing your cells with energy, CoQ10 has many health benefits. Since it helps with making energy in the cell, it is helps to prevent damage in the cells when there is injury, more specifically people who have congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, and other heart diseases. CoQ10 has also been known to have antioxidant properties. Oxidation happens in the blood when oxygen molecules are broken down and combined with other molecules. It is a naturally occurring function of the body. Antioxidants help to keep your body from getting diseases. Another benefit of CoQ10 is its anti-aging properties. Studies have found that as we get older, the amount of CoQ10 in our cells goes down.

Many people use CoQ10 for many different things. It has been known to be used for heart failure, heart attack recovery and prevention, high blood pressure, diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease. There have been many studies on the effects of CoQ10 and heart failure. These studies found that people who have heart failure have low levels of CoQ10 in the heart muscles. The studies showed that by taking CoQ10, symptoms of heart failure, shortness of breath and difficulty sleeping, were reduced. With CoQ10 helping to produce energy in our cells, it has been found to strengthen the heart muscles.

People with Parkinson’s disease have also been found to have lower levels of CoQ10. There have been many studies done on CoQ10 and Parkinson’s disease. One of these studies found that when they raised the CoQ10 levels in the body, the levels of neurotransmitter dopamine were also raised. Many other studies have shown that by having proper levels of CoQ10 in your body, there is improvement in early Parkinson’s disease symptoms.

Even though CoQ10 is naturally occurring in our body, there are things we can do to make sure its levels don’t drop. Eating beef, peanuts, and certain types of fish can help you to have healthy levels of CoQ10. Taking a multivitamin with CoQ10 in it or a CoQ10 supplement can also help to keep your body healthy and functioning properly.