Thursday, December 3, 2009

Do you take a med for cholesterol? Are you taking CoQ10?

We have known for years that CoQ10 is a metabolic nutrient that has been shown to be helpful in patients with heart failure. The Japanese government has advocated daily use of CoQ10 since the 1970's. A significant proportion of our population if not the world are on Lipid lowering medications known as "statins." We know that these statin medications lower CoQ10 levels which may lead to sore muscles and fatigue. There is proven benefit from the addition of CoQ10 in patients with heart failure but conjecture still exists regarding CoQ10 effectiveness in patients taking statins.

The American Family Physician wrote an article re CoQ10 which is a general overview. Make sure to read the "update" section at the bottom for the summary.

Bryan Glick, DO
www.thehealthquest.com