CoQ10 Can Be Taken as a Dietary Supplement
As a nutritional supplement, doses of coenzyme Q10 ranging between of 30 to 150 mg/day have been suggested, however the RDA for coenzyme Q10 has not been established. RDA is the abbreviation for Recommended Dietary Allowance. RDA is the amount of nutrients and calories recommended for most healthy individuals (of any age) to consume in their daily diet to meet the requirements of the body.
The Food and Nutrition Board of the (US) National Academy of Sciences established RDAs to be used by the general public and health professionals as nutritional guidance. RDAs are most commonly found on food labels. The United States Recommended Daily Allowances (USRDA) was devised by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for nutritional labeling of processed foods and vitamin products. The USRDA lists the percentage of each of 19 essential nutrients that are contained per serving of the labeled product. The USRDAs are based on the RDAs.
It is important to understand that scientific knowledge of nutritional requirements is far from complete, therefore it’s important to eat a balanced diet. The RDAs should not be confused with nutritional requirements. Requirements differ from individual to individual because of differences in genetics, age, gender, among other factors. Therefore, the RDAs are estimates of daily requirements for nutrients and calories that exceed the requirements of most people. With the exception of vitamins A and D, it’s generally not harmful to consume two to three times the recommended levels of vitamins.
Higher doses of coenzyme Q10 have been used therapeutically, in clinical studies,for a variety of medical conditions including: cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, breast cancer, Parkinson’s disease and to enhance athletic performance. In these studies, doses as high as 2,400 mg/day were shown to be safe and well tolerated. 6
References:
- Bliznakov EG, Wilkins DJ: Biochemical and clinical consequences of inhibiting Coenzyme Q10 biosynthesis by lipid-lowering HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins): A critical overview. Advances in Therapy, 1998; 15(4), 218-28.
- Kalen A, Appelkvist EL, Dallner G. Age-related changes in the lipid compositions of rat and human tissues. Lipids. 1989 Jul;24(7):579-84.
- Ernster L, Dallner G: Biochemical, physiological and medical aspects of ubiquinone function. Biochim Biophys Acta, 1995; 1271: 195-204.
- Overvad K, Diamant B, Holm L, Holmer G, Mortensen SA, Stender S. Coenzyme Q10 in health and disease. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1999;53(10):764-770.
- Weber C. Dietary intake and absorption of coenzyme Q10. In: Kagan VE, Quinn PJ, eds. Coenzyme Q: Molecular Mechanisms in Health and Disease. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2001:209-215.
- 1. Ogawa O, Zhu X, Perry G, Smith MA. Mitochondrial abnormalities and oxidative imbalance in neurodegenerative disease. Sci Aging Knowledge Environ. 2002;2002(41):16.