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If you’re one of the roughly 47 million Americans who could benefit from a statin medication to help manage your cholesterol, you can pat yourself on the back for prioritizing your health. What many statin users do not realize is that, while statins are effective at lowering cholesterol, they may also interfere with the body’s natural production of CoQ10 (also called ubiquinone) and its active antioxidant form, ubiquinol.
Ubiquinol is a powerful antioxidant, working within your cells to promote healthy cellular function and overall wellness. Reduced ubiquinol levels can negatively affect your heart health, aging, and more. Below, we explore why statin users should consider a daily Kaneka Ubiquinol® supplement to support healthy ubiquinol levels.
Read More: Discover Other Tips on Building a Heart-Healthy Lifestyle
What Are Statin Medications and How Do They Work?
Statin medications are highly effective at helping manage cholesterol, and understanding how they work is key to understanding their effects on CoQ10 and ubiquinol. Statin drugs inhibit the body’s biochemical pathway for synthesizing cholesterol in the liver (called the mevalonate pathway) by blocking a key enzyme in this process called HMG-CoA reductase. Your body makes approximately 75% of your cholesterol, so inhibiting the HMG-CoA reductase enzyme needed to make cholesterol is key to managing the body’s cholesterol levels. The other cholesterol in your body comes from dietary sources.
Importantly, the mevalonate pathway also synthesizes CoQ10. When statin drugs inhibit this pathway, they also interfere with the production of CoQ10 (which consequently also lowers ubiquinol levels).1,2 Before feeling alarmed, keep in mind that this is not necessarily a “bad” thing if you stay informed: it’s simply an important fact about statin medications that can be addressed by supplementing with Kaneka Ubiquinol®.
Read More: Our Tips for Eating Well for Cholesterol Management
Why Does Your Body Need CoQ10 and Ubiquinol?
Considering that statin medications are known to impact the body’s natural CoQ10 and ubiquinol levels, what happens when these nutrients are reduced to sub-optimal levels or depleted? First, let’s differentiate between the two. Ubiquinone is the oxidized form of CoQ10, and ubiquinol is the active antioxidant form of CoQ10. Ubiquinol has two extra electrons compared to ubiquinone, making it an antioxidant.
Through the transfer of electrons within the mitochondria, the body converts ubiquinone to ubiquinol in order to generate cellular energy and power organs like the heart, liver, and kidneys. Ubiquinone is also converted to ubiquinol in the blood after absorption in the digestive tract. However, the body’s ability to convert CoQ10 to ubiquinol declines with age, especially after age 40.3,4
Reduced levels of ubiquinol can affect cellular energy production and mitochondrial health, contributing to cellular damage. Adults over 40 are more susceptible to lower ubiquinol levels, as oxidative stress increases with age and the balance between ubiquinol and CoQ10 (ubiquinone) shifts. Also, statin drugs (often prescribed for people in their 40s and 50s) contribute to this depletion, emphasizing the importance of maintaining healthy ubiquinol levels with supplementation for antioxidant protection and long-term wellness.
Why Kaneka Ubiquinol® Is a Smart Choice for Statin Users
Managing and maintaining healthy cholesterol levels is a wise move for your health. At the same time, it’s important to understand that when you’re using a statin drug, maintaining healthy ubiquinol levels is a key part of the picture. Kaneka Ubiquinol® is a lipid-soluble antioxidant that is bioidentical to the ubiquinol the body naturally produces. Research demonstrates supplementing with Kaneka Ubiquinol® effectively replenishes depleted ubiquinol (and CoQ10) levels in statin users.5,6 Additionally, Kaneka Ubiquinol® has been shown to:
- Support muscle health associated with statin use
- Reduce muscle discomfort associated with statin use
- Promote cellular energy generation
Understanding the role Kaneka Ubiquinol® plays in promoting cellular health during statin use is an important part of making informed health decisions, but there’s another key element to consider: the relationship between statins, cholesterol, ubiquinol, and heart health.
Read More: Want to Learn More About Kaneka Ubiquinol®? Read Our 11 Facts
Ubiquinol and the Heart Muscle
Your heart works hard for you, but it cannot do its job alone. You might be familiar with the mitochondria as the powerhouse of the cell, but they work more like the CEO — managing, repairing, and protecting the processes that maintain cellular health so you can keep thriving every day.7 Cellular energy is essential to supporting the function of vital organs like your heart.
The heart is one of the most energy-demanding organs in the body and contains a very large number of mitochondria to address the high energy demand of heart cells.8 Ubiquinol supports cellular energy production within the mitochondria, making the heart particularly affected by reduced levels of ubiquinol.
Both healthy levels of ubiquinol and cholesterol are key to cardiovascular wellness, and LDL (or “bad”) cholesterol is especially worth noting here. Free radicals are molecules that have an uneven number of electrons. Oxidative stress occurs when there is an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in the body, with free radicals being in excess. This can cause cellular damage and contribute to premature aging. LDL cholesterol is particularly susceptible to oxidative stress.9 Oxidized LDL negatively affects vessel health, and ubiquinol acts to neutralize free radicals that oxidize LDL in the blood. Combining ubiquinol’s antioxidant protection with maintaining healthy blood levels of LDL helps promote cardiovascular health.
Between statin drugs, cholesterol, ubiquinol, and heart health, these layers might seem complicated, but their connection is worth attention. High cholesterol levels, left unchecked, can damage the heart. Taking a statin medication helps you manage cholesterol but may lower ubiquinol levels. Taking a Kaneka Ubiquinol® supplement replenishes ubiquinol reduced by statin drugs, so you maintain healthy ubiquinol levels. This promotes healthy cellular energy production and provides antioxidant protection against oxidative stress. All these components play a role in building a wellness routine that works from within to support overall health and healthy aging.
Read More: Try Our 12-Month Healthy Heart Challenge to Get Started
Kaneka Ubiquinol® Dosage Considerations for Statin Users
Kaneka Ubiquinol® is a cellular health ally for adults taking a statin drug, but you don’t have to navigate this journey alone. Always consult with your qualified healthcare provider with any questions or concerns about your cholesterol levels and whether a statin medication is right for you.
If you are prescribed a statin, talk to your doctor about monitoring your CoQ10 and ubiquinol levels and supplementing with Kaneka Ubiquinol® to maintain healthy ubiquinol levels. For most adults using a statin, a 100-200mg daily dose is recommended, but dosage needs vary depending on a number of factors like age, statin type, and individual health status. You can take Kaneka Ubiquinol® any time of day, but morning or afternoon is generally recommended, and taking it with food is best for ideal absorption.
Kaneka Ubiquinol® Supplementation & Statin Drugs: Ensuring Healthy Ubiquinol Levels
Managing cholesterol with statin medications when necessary and prescribed is an informed choice for your health. Statin drugs are effective at maintaining healthy cholesterol levels, but they may also reduce ubiquinol and CoQ10 levels, particularly when used long-term.
Kaneka Ubiquinol® is a great addition to your wellness routine and ensures you are maintaining healthy ubiquinol levels so your cells get the antioxidant support they need, especially if you are taking a statin drug.
Read More: Our Free Buyer’s Guide Helps You Get Started With Kaneka Ubiquinol®
