Do You Need CoQ10 Supplements?

The vitamin and supplement aisle can be pretty overwhelming — all those bottles and jars staring back at you, sorted alphabetically by their often-very-scientific-sounding names. How are you supposed to know what you need, what you don’t, what’s safe and what to avoid?

That’s where we come in.

One of those supplements is CoQ10, which has become more popular and available in recent years. Some studies show that it may be helpful for people with select health issues.

Registered dietitian Devon Peart, RD, MHSc, BASc, explains what CoQ10 is, what it does in your body and who should (and shouldn’t) take CoQ10 supplements.

What is CoQ10?

Coenzyme Q10, better known as CoQ10, is a nutrient that your body naturally produces. It’s found in nearly all of the cells in your body, where it’s mostly concentrated in the mitochondria — aka the “powerhouse” of the cell.

“CoQ10 is involved in energy production and powers biochemical reactions,” Peart explains. “It’s a powerful antioxidant that helps protect your brain, heart and muscles, and it also has anti-inflammatory properties.”

Antioxidants are naturally occurring chemicals that help your body defend itself against free radicals — unstable molecules that can damage cells and increase your risk of developing chronic diseases.

Certain foods also contain CoQ10, including:

• Oily fish, like salmon, mackerel and sardines
• Eggs
• Nuts
• Chicken
• Organ meats, like livers, hearts or brains
• Whole grains

“Most of your CoQ10 needs are met by what you make in your body,” she adds, “but you do get some from food.”

But as you age, your CoQ10 levels start to decline. (“Like many other things, it’s a natural function of age,” Peart points out.) Your ability to produce this important nutrient peaks in your 20s, and then, it slowly decreases. Certain health conditions can lead to lower levels of CoQ10, too, like:

• Heart disease
• Cancer
• Diabetes
• Neurodegenerative diseases, like Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s

It can be hard to figure out whether you have a CoQ10 deficiency because it doesn’t show up on a blood test.

“The amount of CoQ10 in your blood doesn’t necessarily reflect the amount in your tissues and cells,” Peart explains. “Your blood levels of CoQ10 can be in normal range, but you could still be deficient if you aren’t absorbing it well.”

If your healthcare provider suspects that you have or are at risk for a CoQ10 deficiency, they may recommend supplements.

Benefits of CoQ10 supplements

So, what can CoQ10 supplements do? This antioxidant supplement is associated with two main benefits. It may:

• Relieve migraines
• Reduce certain health risks for people who have heart disease

Let’s take a more in-depth look at both of these possible benefits, along with other studies that have looked at how CoQ10 might help the body.

Migraine relief

CoQ10 can help reduce inflammation and promote healing, which studies show may lower the frequency, severity and length of migraines. One study showed promising results in reducing migraine pain and impact when CoQ10 was paired with magnesium and riboflavin (aka vitamin B2). But both of these studies were small, which means more research is needed.

“Plus, these effects occurred only when people took a high dose of a supplement,” Peart notes, “so, if you’re thinking about taking CoQ10 for migraines, you need to check in with your doctor first.”

A lower risk of heart disease

CoQ10 supplements could be helpful to people living with heart disease. A long-term study showed that when they took daily CoQ10 supplements, people with moderate to severe heart failure had a 42% lower risk of having their first major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE). (This umbrella term includes sudden hospitalization for heart failure and death related to heart disease.)

But CoQ10 isn’t a treatment for heart disease. “CoQ10 supplementation is in addition to other treatments you’re undergoing,” Peart clarifies. “It’s meant to work with what you’re already doing, not replace it.”

And more research is still needed. An overview of studies about heart failure and CoQ10 supplements notes that additional studies (and, especially, larger studies) would help determine how CoQ10 can benefit people with heart disease, along with the ideal dosage.

What about muscle pain from statins?

CoQ10 supplements won’t help statin-induced muscle pain. These prescription medications help lower cholesterol, which can reduce your risk for heart attacks and strokes — but in some people, they also bring side effects like muscle aches. For a while, people thought these muscle aches happened because statins reduced overall CoQ10 levels, but this has been shown not to be true.

Other possible benefits of CoQ10

CoQ10 could have other health benefits, but there’s just not enough research yet to say for certain. It’s been studied for its possible effect on:

• Exercise recovery. Data is inconclusive, but CoQ10 has been called “an interesting molecule” for its possible ability to help people bounce back from post-workout fatigue.
• Diabetes. A review of studies showed that CoQ10 can reduce oxidative stress — an imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants in the body — brought on by diabetes.
• Skin health. CoQ10 could help increase collagen production. Collagen is the main building block of your skin, helping it stay elastic (read: soft and supple), but your body’s collagen production decreases as you age.
• Fertility. One study showed that CoQ10 supplements may improve egg quality, while other studies found it could help sperm move better (known as sperm motility).

Like other supplements, CoQ10 has been studied for all kinds of reasons, including many not listed here. But research is limited, and there’s no conclusive evidence to show that it has any other benefits. 

How much CoQ10 should you take?

Before you start taking CoQ10 — or any supplement, for that matter— you should always have a conversation with your healthcare provider.

“A pretty typical dose for CoQ10 is 100 milligrams per day,” Peart says, “but right now, there’s no established ideal dose. Your recommended dosage will also depend on what you are using it for.”

That said, supplements also aren’t well-regulated (or in some cases, regulated at all) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), so it can be tough to know if what’s on the label matches what you’re actually taking.

One more thing: If you’re looking for CoQ10 supplements, you don’t need to buy them in ubiquinol form. It tends to be more expensive — and it’s just not needed.

“Ubiquinol is often billed as being the ‘most absorbable’ active form of CoQ10,” Peart shares, “but that’s not really an important characteristic. There are a few factors that contribute to how your body absorbs CoQ10, and it’s a complex process.”

Her biggest suggestion for absorption? Take your CoQ10 supplement with food. It’s a fat-soluble nutrient, so this can help your body maximize absorption.

Side effects and risks

CoQ10 is generally thought to be safe to take, with few or no side effects and risks.

“The safety of CoQ10 supplementation hasn’t been well established yet,” Peart notes. “We are operating under the assumption that it’s safe to take, unless and until we discover that it isn’t.”

Though side effects are uncommon and usually minor, they’re more likely if you’re supplementing at high levels. They can include:

• Diarrhea
• Nausea
• Heartburn

It’s also important to make sure that CoQ10 won’t negatively interact with any other medication you take.

“For example, CoQ10 can lower blood pressure,” she continues. “If you’re on blood thinners, it might be too much to also take a CoQ10 supplement. In some cases, CoQ10 can lower blood glucose levels. If you’re living with diabetes, depending on your current treatment, CoQ10 supplements may not be appropriate.”

Should you take CoQ10 as a supplement?

CoQ10 supplements aren’t necessary for everyone.

“If you eat a balanced diet, and if you’re young and healthy, you probably have enough CoQ10 in your body,” Peart states. “Supplements can be helpful if you have a CoQ10 deficiency.”

If you don’t have any health conditions that are likely to lower your CoQ10 levels, there’s no reason to take a supplement.

“People sometimes approach taking supplements with the idea that more is better,” she points out, “but that’s not necessarily true. If you don’t have a deficiency in the first place, then supplementing probably isn’t going to make any difference.”

She continues that just because a supplement is helpful at one dose also doesn’t mean that more of it will be more helpful: “There’s not necessarily added benefit to higher levels of supplementation.”

The bottom line on CoQ10

At the end of the day, it’s important to be mindful before starting to take a CoQ10 supplement. Don’t just grab a bottle from the supplement aisle and start popping a daily pill! First ask yourself: Do you have a condition that might affect your CoQ10 levels? How might it help or hurt? And perhaps most importantly, what does your healthcare provider say?

“If you have heart disease, get migraines or are over age 50 and have questions about your CoQ10 levels, you may want to ask your doctor to see if they recommend supplementation,” Peart advises. “But if you’re young and healthy, I don’t think you have any need to supplement with CoQ10.”