Which is more effective – coenzyme Q10 or ubiquinol?
Co-enzyme Q10 (also known as ubiquinone) is converted in the body into an active form called ubiquinol. That’s the difference – one is an inactive form and the other an active one.
So what does that really mean? If you were to take 200mg a day of CoQ10, you would increase your ubiquinol blood levels by around 60% (according to research published in 2018) (1). If you were to take the same amount of ubiquinol, those same levels would rise by 150%! A previously-conducted study came to the same conclusion (2).
In other words, both substances will produce increased blood levels, but ubiquinol is the more effective of the two.
This is due to ubiquinol’s superior bioavailability (co-enzyme Q10 is not 100% absorbed in the gut) and the rate at which CoQ10 is converted (only 90% is estimated to be transformed in the body into ubiquinol). Unsurprisingly, this superiority comes at a price: co-enzyme Q10 supplements are usually less expensive than ubiquinol supplements …
Ubiquinol is a valuable antioxidant compound which is used to create energy in most of the body’s cells. It is produced in the heart, liver, kidneys and pancreas, and is then carried throughout the body.
The body’s production of ubiquinol is disrupted by taking statins, as well as by cardiac disease and ageing. In actual fact, blood levels of co-enzyme Q10 increase up to the age of 60 and it’s only in the brain and in heart tissue that they diminish over time. More importantly, there’s also an age-related decline in the rate at which co-enzyme Q10 is converted into ubiquinol!
So as we get older, we have decreasing levels of ubiquinol, a decline which has been directly linked to increased oxidative stress (3-4) (which is itself a factor in almost all ‘modern’ diseases). And since coQ10 is virtually absent from our diet (apart from tiny amounts in beef and chicken), supplements represent the best way of increasing ubiquinol levels.
Research has shown that coQ10 and ubiquinol play a role in a number of physiological effects:
Note: It takes around three months’ supplementation before the first effects appear (7).
As these two compounds are fat-soluble, it’s important to take them with a meal rich in fatty acids (generally lunch), or better still, to choose supplements that contain optimal levels of fatty acids ( Coenzyme Q10 30 mg and Ubiquinol™ 100 mg).
Taking them with food also slows down intestinal transit, leaving more time for the CoQ10 and Ubiquinol to be absorbed in the small intestine. The doses used in clinical trials vary from 50mg to 200mg a day, ideally spread over two or three doses.
References
Keywords
2 Days
The efficient delivery.
CLA VOETS
9 Days
Great service items dispatched straight away and arrived on time
M***** G***
12 Days
A good webshop for supplements, it has a large selection of them and considering the quality, the pricing offers good value for money. The ordering process is easy and the products are sent straight away.
Maurice
14 Days
Products are of great quality and fast delivered.
Fred Laan
16 Days
SuperSmart destaca por la calidad de sus productos.
GONZALEZ PALACIN Luis
16 Days
snelle levering,perfect product.
robert
17 Days
Been a customer for over 15 years and find their products along with the service excellent. I recommend Super Smart to all my friends.
Del Chandler
17 Days
The product was excellent and so were the delivery and the service
F. Ferlitz
20 Days
Never an issue ordering. Simple and to the point. And product always comes the following day. Quality is great too!
Andrea
20 Days
Excellente service & products with rare revelation supplements I love ❤️
Giovanna Escalera
21 Days
Fast shipping, products as ordered!
Coindozer
21 Days
The item arrived on time and is what was stated in the order.
HARDY Chris
24 Days
Very good products. Very reliable. Quick delivery.
MIFSUD Joseph
28 Days
Fast shipping, good products (just shipping costs to my country are extremely high).
Tanja Matko
29 Days
Many thanks.
Alan