How much CoQ10 ? - High Cholesterol Message Board

gardeninggal · 05-24-2005, 07:35 AM

I know we need CoQ10 but does anyone know how much and can you take too much? Walgreens often has 2 for 1 price sales and is running one now and I plan on getting some. Last time I got 200mg 30 pills on the 2 for 1 and I wondered if 200mg is too much. I could have bought the 100's. Their ad shows doses from 50mg to 200mg and if 2oo's are good then 2/$24.99 is a great price. Hubby is on Lipitor and has no complaints but I have had him on CoQ10 the whole time but still worry. Well off to garden club meeting, it feels more like Spring today with all the sunshine. Have a good day.

Lenin · 05-27-2005, 07:07 AM

gal,

I don't think you can TAKE too much, but since it's expensive, it's wasteful of our precious dollars (or $$TWENTIES$$.)

I feel 100 mg for people taking statins might be a good max. I've seen lower numbers and I feel that if I get 50, I'm fine. Who knows though, because I haven't seen any good studies showing benefit for people who get pain from statins...in fact, nobody HERE who has had problems with statin use who has THEN added CO-Q10 has reported the problem went away.
So, I'll continue to take my 50 or 100 mg (whatever I can find on sale) and hope against hope that the "vitamin purveyors" aren't screwing me over yet AGAIN! And I;ll keep looking for good research to justify the expense.

This stuff is too expensive to take "just in case."

ARIZONA73 · 05-28-2005, 06:14 AM

I think that unless you get your CoQ10 level tested, it's really hard to say whether you are getting enough from the dose you are taking. That may not be as much of an issue for those who aren't taking statins, but for those who do, it certainly can be. Depending on a person's age, CoQ10 levels vary. We naturally produce less and less of this enzyme once we pass age 25-30. Some people may absorb it better, and some forms of CoQ10 are absorbed better than others. It's absorbed better if taken with fats. It's my understanding that the hydrosoluble form, such as Q-Gel, is absorbed much better than others. In any case, I think now you can better understand the dilemma people are faced with. For people who take statins, the only solution would be to ask their doctor to measure their blood level of CoQ10, and make the appropriate dosage adjustments to bring it into a favorable range. You may actually need to take much more than you think, especially since statins deplete CoQ10, and the higher the dose, the greater the depletion. In short, this is the same as trying to determine beforehand how much Lipitor to take without first determining what your cholesterol level is.

Lenin · 05-28-2005, 06:50 AM

Didn't somebody report several months ago that absorption of CoQ10 is best on an empty stomach. I;ve looked for that post but can't find it.
Mine is encapsuled with fish oil so I've been taking it first thing in the morning
with ITS oil and 2 grams more fish oil.

ARIZONA73 · 05-28-2005, 11:28 AM

Lenin,

I've never heard anyone recommend that CoQ10 should be taken on an empty stomach.

I have an excellent book called "User's Guide to Nutritional Supplements", and it dedicates 27 pages to CoQ10 alone. It provides some very interesting information. For example, did you know that CoQ10 molecules in the blood are actually TRANSPORTED BY LDL cholesterol? Yep, that's right.

The book also provides recommendations on how to take CoQ10:

"If you slug down your vitamins with a glass of water whenever you remember, it is very probable you aren't getting a big CoQ10 bang for your buck. It works better if you take it with a meal, and preferably with a meal that has some fat in it. CoQ10 is a fat-soluble compound. That means it dissolves, and absorbs, more effectively in a fatty environment."

I would think that if you are taking your CoQ10 with fish oil that you would absorb it better, even though you were to take it on an empty stomach. I usually take mine immediately after dinner, the meal which often contains the most fats.