Which brand of coenzyme q-10 to use?

[BSGfan]

I would like to begin using co-enzyme q-10 in an attempt to alleviate
statin induced neuromuscular pain.

Can anyone recommend a good brand available in the Southern California/Los Angeles County area?

[cjbrooksjc]

My Cardiologist recommends Jarrow Q-Absorb Ubiquinol; @200Mg prior to each of three daily meals. Google Jarrow.

Regards,

Brooks

[Dee]

Hi Brooks,

I have often noticed Jarrow recommended for Q10 and K2. Is Jarrow considered superior to other brands, and if so, who has the best prices?

I have googled Jarrow to try to locate a good retailer, but if you or anyone else has a recommendation, I would appreciate your opinion.

Thanks!

[carbuffmom]

Hi Brooks:

I just noticed that you take your Ubiquinol before your meals. How long do you wait before eating? I have always taken mine with my meals. Perhaps I have been doing the wrong thing....Thanks.

Dee:

I get my Jarrow QH Absorb from iherb.com

My best, Deb

[cjbrooksjc]

Deb: I take Q10 at least 30 minutes before eating or 2 hours after. I don't remember the reason. Perhaps it was on the bottle or I read it on the internet - I can't recall. I get my Jarrow from Iherb as well. (what a strange sentence)

Regards,

Brooks

[Ray Holder]

The 30 minutes before and 2 hours after a meal protocol applies to Carnitine, Q10 is best taken in a meal containg at least a little fat or oil, as it is only soluble in those.
Having said that, I see that the Jarrow Absorb Q10 is not in an oil capsule, and this has put me into a sort of quandary, as I have just ordered some from iHerb and wonder if I need oil or fat to accompany it. I have not yet found any definitive information on the subject. Also, it is only 100 mg, and my usual dose is 200mg 3 times a day. I shall very soon find out the hard way whether it is equivalent to 200 mg ubiquinone Q10 or not.

Ray

[carbuffmom]

Hi Ray:

I am very interested to hear how it works for you. I have been using it for about 2 weeks (200 mg with each meal). I usually take 1200 mg per day of the other. Can't say I have noticed any real difference, but with an ALS diagnosis, I don't think I am a good example.

Keep us posted. I hope you do even better on it.

DEB

[Dee]

Thanks Deb and Brooks for the info on Iherb. I did come across it when I was checking out various vendors.

Jarrow has a local distributor near here, so I will check the prices there, and if too high, I will go with Iherb.

Thanks again.

[crafty]

My research has shown Costco to have best price for CoQ10. 150mg
are 33 cents each.

[Ray Holder]

Beware of buying Q10 solely on price considerations. One should ensure that it emanates from Kaneka, with factories in Japan and USA, that is the only top quality Q10. I find that the only really reliable brand here in UK is Pharmanord, but it is expensive. I have tried several brands and am currently getting back on Ph Nord to get my reference point back, but I have got some iHerb Healthy Origins (Kaneka) Q10 which I will try after reaching stability again. It is cheap, even after postage to UK, and appears to be OK.

I have such a need for Q10 that any shortfall in my intake results in either angina or raised blood pressure in a week or two. I have not yet found a suitable alternative supply here, but have high hopes for the H O brand @ $28 for 150 x 100 mg. If it does work it will be an affordable alternative for UK users.

Ray

[Ray Holder]

A little while ago, someone on the forum was advocating the use of idebenone, another form of Q10, it may have been adec, but I am not sure. This has puzzled me and I think, through various bits of in formation in various places, I have solved the mystery.

The first site, can't remember which one now, gave a list of the alternative names for Q10, and idebenone was one, but with synthetic in brackets after the name. I thought that was peculiar, as I believed all artificial Q10 would have been called synthetic, but not so, the Kaneka Q10 website shows a synthetic version, made using tobacco waste,( the cis system), and then the fermentation system. It appears that the synthesised version still contains some of the cis, which is not present in the body or in the fermentation produced variety.

I believe Dr Karl Folkers first produced Q10 by synthesis, but the fermentation process was introduced in Japan when Merck had sold off the rights to them, and Kaneka Q10 seems to be the gold standard type.

I was surprised to see that China is now producing Q10, reports of Asian drugs have not been too encouraging !!

Ray

[BSGfan]

Most brands of Co enzyme Q-10 available in my local pharmacies and supermarkets have an admixture of soybean oil. Unfortunately, I get migraines, and like most migraine patients I am losing my tolerance for soy products. I find that most Q-10 with soybean oil will give me a moderate, but perfectly tolerable, headache for a few hours following a dosage. This seems above and beyond the usual vasodilation discomfort I have post dosage of Q-10, so I suspect it is a soy reaction, although numerous people in this forum have complained that headaches are a common side effect of Q-10 use.

Can anyone recommend any Q-10 brands that are not made with soybean oil?

[SusieO]

I started taking a brand that is soy free; XYMOGEN CoQmax CF 50 mg - 2 times a day (but for my first month I am going to only take 1 a day to see how I do). My wellness doctor told me to take it during the middle of the meal I am eating.

On the label is states: "Guaranteed free of wheat, gluten, corn protein, yeast, soy, artificial colors, sweetners or preservatives.

[pgrimm]

Dr. Golomb also recommends Jarrow. What I can add here is that if you are ordering it, make sure that it does not take a long hot journey. Heat will damage the product. Best to purchase locally, even if you pay a bit more. As the doctor said, "Sitting in the hot back room of a post office is not good". It's oil based, and oil can become rancid. Fed-Ex is better. Also do not store near heat. Look for freshness.

[Ray Holder]

The brand of CoQ10 capsule does not matter as much as the maker of the Q10 inside it. I have found nothing as good as Kaneka Q10, it is in Jarrow, Healthy Origins and Pharmanord, and probably others. I have had many unsatisfactory brands, and now buy solely one of the Kaneka containing kind. Some other makers of Q10 do not employ the same process, and impurities from the earlier method remain in the product.

Most of mine comes all the way to England from California, it is freshly manufactured, and I have not yet found any that has gone off.

As Kaneka now have a Q10 plant in USA it has a much shorter journey than previously, when only made in Japan

Ray

[craigt]

Hi everyone,

Let me preface my remarks by saying I've been through what most of you have, in regard to statin drug reaction (first Simvastatin, then Lipitor) and muscle/leg/foot pain...to the point that I would have welcomed a doctor's recommendation to amputate both of my legs. That all came after having to put stents in my heart (had no heart attack, no stroke, no symptoms, but was major closed in 3 arteries).

However, I COQ10ed it...and most of my pain has subsided. I have 3-months supply of each useless statin drug sitting on the shelves as a reminder that what I'm putting into my body are "foreign substances" (my pharmacist gave me that line when I questioned the problems associated with Zetia--that I've been prescribed in place of statins).

My concern comes from some of your comments that indicate you are taking COQ10 in doses that are possibly very wrong--and some based solely on "what you heard somewhere, but can't remember where". That's NOT the way to put any substance into your body!

First, I did a LOT of research on COQ10 and found out the following--before I went on a regime:
1. You only need amounts relative to the number of milligrams (MG) that equal your weight (per day). So if you weigh 100 pounds (or there about) you would not take more than 100 MG. If you weight 150 pounds +or-...150 MG / 200 pounds +or- would be 200 MG and so forth. You get the idea.

Remember...if a doctor told you to take 3 to 4 times the amount of COQ10 that the COQ bottle recommends--it may be the same ignorant doctor who prescribed statins to you (just because the local drug rep from ________ Pharmaceutical company "said" it worked and, oh--BTW--just bought the doctors' entire staff lunch from Olive Garden!)

To be loading 3 to 4 times the amount recommended is as silly as, let's say, doubling the amount of prescribed statins you might be taking (or were taking)--using the justification that "if one pill works, two would be better." That is not only using poor judgment, it supports the entire philosophy of today's drug culture that is forced on us by advertisements we are exposed to hourly by the media. You are not only wasting unnecessary pills, you are wasting a TON of money that is totally unnecessary.

COQ10 works! But, you must allow it to take time to heal and rebuild in your system. It took me about 3 weeks to begin to rid my feet, legs and knees of the horrible pain my stain regimen put me through. Each successive week got even better. And now I'm nearly pain free.

Whenever my heart "specialist" recommended (read that "Insisted") that I try a different dosage--or taking statins on alternate days...it only took a couple of pills to get the terrible pains back (which meant I could not even get on a treadmill to stay healthy). Back to the COQ--and the pains would subside over time.

Today I do 1.5 miles (minimum) on the treadmill, everyday. I'm relatively pain free (except when I mow the lawn ), but I'm sold on COQ.

2. You must take COQ WITH food, for absorption--and to keep from getting any "possible" stomach aches or other digestive tract reactions that aren't ready to handle this particular foreign substance--not matter how good it is for you.

3. Finally...DO NOT take COQ10 within one hour of taking ANY other medications. Personally, I take my COQ in the morning--with my vitamins and glucosamine, etc. (and V8 juice...I love it). Then, I parcel out two high blood pressure meds at lunch and in the evening. I'm off all statins, Plavix and a couple of other meds I was prescribed last year. BUT, you'll have to work on your own schedule--I'm not a doctor (just play one on...)

[u]To quote the directions[/u] on my GeroVita bottle (I do not benefit from this company--in fact, am trying a new brand from Sam's Club--less expensive per capsule and closer to my weight requirement on the "rounding out" side):

"WARNING: Women who are pregnant or lactating and anyone taking medications, should consult a health care professional before using any nutritional product. If any adverse reactions occur, discontinue use and consult a health care professional."

"DIRECTIONS: For adults only. Take one (1) softgel a day with food. Do not take this supplement within one hour of taking medications. Do not exceed the recommended dosage."

My cholestorol is way down, now. My blood pressure alternates daily between 118/69 and 124/73. I feel great, much more energy...and I'm pain-free in the legs and muscles!

I wish you all much success and health.

[Ray Holder]

Hi craigt, and welcome to the fold, sorry to hear of all your problems.

I am sorry I cannot agree with you about Q10 dosage, Q10 is not a drug to be given at a dose which will create a particular dilution in the total body mass, but a bodily necessity, which at one's prime has a total quantity of 2 grams in the whole, but widely distributed. It decreases with age, reaching a low 50% at age 80, but statins cause a large and often permanent reduction in the production pathway, having the same effect of ageing prematurely.

This 2 grams figure is renewed over a 4 day period normally, so 0.5 grams is made each day. The amount which needs to be made up by supplementetion, if normal peak levels are to be maintained, is a variable, depending upon the loss personally experienced. This is not easily measured, but a few, such as Dr Langsjoen, have the equipment and facilities for doing so.

Now well up in my ninth decade, assuming 50% age loss, plus a lot more from statins, I am probably below the 25% minimum to keep alive, and I find 900 mg a day absolutely essential. At 145 pounds, your formula would only give me 145mg, and I doubt if I would survive much more than a week!! Any reduction in my daily dose soon makes itself apparent in raised blood pressure and/or angina, as my heart energy supply drops.

If absorbtion of Q10 were total, I should only need 500 mg a day, max, but unfortunately it is not so, and I have to live with it. I take mine in 300mg doses as I start my meals, trials have shown divided doses to be more effective, and I think it helps to make sure the Q10 level does not drop too far while sleeping. NB Q10 is not a foreign body, but a necessary part of the Krebs cycle of ATP energy production in the mitochondria, a version of it, with a different subscript number, is found in most living things, animal, plant, or bacterial.

I find the brand, or manufacturing method, of my Q10 has a great bearing on its effectiveness, and I now only buy a version from the Kaneka company's basic material, several brands now use it, and I have found it very reliable, and reasonable in cost, compared with the prices I have had to pay in UK previously. I am no more than a customer for Q10, and glad to be able to get it.

Has your pain now completely subsided? Often Carnitine, another Krebs cycle necessity, helps more with muscular pain by removing lactic acidosis caused by build up of energy production waste.

Hoping your health cotinues to improve

Ray

[Brian C.]

I experimented a while back with dropping intake from 900mg to 600mg but the muscle pains returned (I take the same brand as Ray). Now that I have fresh L-Carnitine (I suspect that it degrades on exposure to the atmosphere, or at least with contamination) I am experimenting with 600mg again.

I'm in my 7th decade


Brian.