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Brain Health & CoQ10

Are we really able to boost our intellect and increase our intelligence? The answer is yes. The common myth is that humans only use 10% of our brains and many have sought different ways to increase this figure, however, humans do in fact use a higher percentage of the brain than what we think. We have a few easy tips on how to enhance performance and application of the brain.

Stimulate Both Hemispheres

The brain consists of 2 hemispheres, the left and right. The left hemisphere is utilized when solving mathematical and logical problem solving while the right hemisphere is where your creativity sparks from. Stimulate both sides by practicing and solving mathematical puzzles like sudoku and getting in touch with your creative side by writing short stories or by painting and sketching.

The Power of Omega

Omega-3 fats have been found to influence mental and physical health and have been extensively researched for decades. Omega-3 fat, scientifically known as Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) helps make cell membranes more fluid, improving the function of your brain, eye, and nerve cells. Low levels of DHA have been linked to Alzheimer’s and memory loss. Higher levels of DHA have been found to improve memory, verbal fluency and the rate at which we learn.The body does not produce Omega -3 fats, eating foods such as salmon, soybeans, and flaxseeds increase DHA levels in the body.

Exercise

Get your heart rate up and your blood pumping. Not only does exercise make us look and feel great, it also encourages our brains to work at optimum capacity. Exercise benefits the body in various ways such as decreased risk of cardiovascular diseases and improved development and survival of neurons. Researchers have found that participating in aerobic exercise alters the size of the hippocampus, the area of the brain involved in verbal memory and learning.

Catch Some rays

Our bodies are designed to absorb vitamin D when exposed to the sun. Getting the appropriate amount of sun is beneficial to the nerve growth in the brain. Vitamin D has also been found to improve brain functions such as planning, processing of information and the formation of new memories. If sun exposure is not an ideal option for you, taking vitamin D3 supplements can aid in keeping your vitamin D levels up.

Listen to Music

Indulging in this simple pleasure while working out or studying can have significant effects on the brain. Listening to music alters the connectivity between auditory brain areas which are responsible for memory and social emotion consolidation. In addition to this, listening to music boosts cognitive levels and verbal fluency. European countries such as Germany have introduced music therapy programs to assist rehabilitation of patients who have had strokes, brain surgery or brain injuries.

Sleep

Not getting enough sleep impairs the mind and has the same effects as consuming too much alcohol. Sleep is essential for boosting brain power. It helps rejuvenate our body and mind. Ever heard of “sleep on it” when asked to make a decision? This is because sleep helps reset your brain and promotes thinking more creatively and clearly when we are well rested. Getting 7-9 hours sleep a day leaves you feeling rested and ready to take on new challenges for the day.

CoQ10 Supplements

CoQ10 is short for Coenzyme Q10 and it helps cells create energy. It also acts as an antioxidant that helps cells from aging. Many people today use CoQ10 to protect their heart and blood vessels from oxidative stress, which leads to cell damage. If you suffer from heart arrhythmia, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, or congestive heart failure, a supplement of CoQ10 may assist you with eliminating the effects of oxidative stress. This supplement also can reduce swelling and alleviate muscle stiffness, which helps with someone who may have breast cancer or diabetes.

A Natural Fountain of Youth: CoQ10 Reduces Aging Effects

CoQ10 is created and stored in the body, unlike certain vitamins that are not naturally made, so they must be ingested instead. CoQ10 is used in the mitochondria, providing energy to cells and also balancing blood pressure levels. Once it combines with oxygen in the blood, CoQ10 becomes activated and turns into ubiquinone or ubiquinol.

There are five different benefits that CoQ10 provides to the body:

Help cells create enough energy to maintain normal body functions
Assist other enzymes with digestion
Protect cell damage from oxidative stress
Aid the blood with absorbing antioxidants and other important vitamins and nutrients
Slow down or stop aging in cells

Eating Your Way to Healthy Heart and Brain Function

There are foods that naturally supply CoQ10 that are also high in Vitamin A and E, a great combination for heart health. Some of these foods are:

grass-fed beef
oily fish
legumes
broccoli
cauliflower
oranges
strawberries
free-range eggs

When Should You Add CoQ10 to Your Diet?

People with heart problems should be taking CoQ10. Some common ailments include:

high cholesterol
atherosclerosis
angina
mitral valve prolapse

Although the body naturally produces CoQ10, the older you get the less CoQ10 your body makes, which increases the aging of your cells. Patients who have heart disease or high blood pressure are prescribed something called “statins,” which help lower blood pressure but also decrease the amount of CoQ10 in the body. Along the same lines, people diagnosed with cancer, diabetes and congestive heart failure have low levels of CoQ10. Taking CoQ10 has been linked to preventing statin side effects and repairing cell damage.

Buying CoQ10 Supplements

You should consult a doctor if you are thinking of taking this supplement. The dosage can range from just 30 mg to 1,000 mg a day. The most common dosage is at least 200 mg per pill.

To ensure you have a quality product, check online reviews to see if the specific brand has helped others. Pills with certification and few preservatives are the way to go.

Be aware that any supplement can cause other unwanted side effects. Some common side effects are nausea, upset stomach, insomnia, headache and dizziness. If you are taking statins, make sure your doctor monitors any chance of CoQ10 reversing statins’ effects. If you have diabetes, CoQ10 may not be the right supplement for you.

CoQ10 – Blood Pressure

High blood pressure or hypertension, is one of the leading causes of death globally because it could result in a heart attack or stroke. One in three Americans is affected by high blood pressure, and therefore they are at risk.

Blood pressure measures how hard blood pushes against vessel walls and it is measured in mmHg (millimeters of mercury). A blood pressure above 140 mmHg/90 mmHg (which are the pressures when the heart is contracting and when it isn’t) is considered to be high blood pressure.

Blood pressure is affected by many factors, so a variety of changes to lifestyle and diet can cause it to decrease.

Lifestyle changes

One of the most effective ways to lower blood pressure is to decrease stress levels. Stressing causes the release of a variety of hormones which narrow the blood vessels and increase blood pressure. Decreasing stress will, therefore, decrease the amount of these hormones and allow pressure to normalize. Ideas for decreasing stress include meditation and yoga, learning and avoiding stress triggers and getting sufficient sleep – about eight hours a night.

More long-term management of blood pressure should include increasing exercise as this causes peripheral vasodilation – increased blood flow to the muscles, which reduces total blood pressure. Excessive amounts of exercise are not necessary – just an increase in daily activity, such as housework, stair climbing and walking. Exercise should also help you to lose weight, which is important to lower blood pressure too.

If you do smoke, it is highly recommended that you stop. The chemicals in cigarettes damage the walls of blood vessels, which lead them to harden and this increases overall blood pressure.

Dietary changes

The different kind of foods we eat have a variety of effects on our blood pressure. Foods which cause increased water absorption, such as sodium and glucose, in salt and sugar respectively, cause the blood pressure to increase. There are large amounts of salt and sugar in processed foods, so it is best to avoid those and other foods which contain high amounts of salt or sugar. Increasing potassium intake has the opposite effect and is suggested to lower blood pressure.

Other substances act as a stimulant, which can increase blood pressure. One example of these is caffeine, which should be minimised in your diet. Another substance to consume in moderation is alcohol. Many alcoholic beverages contain added sugars and high amounts of alcohol can also damage blood vessel walls.

There are certain substances that have a positive effect when eaten, such as dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is about 60-70% cocoa and contains flavonoids which cause blood vessels to dilate, which decreases blood pressure.

Other changes

If after all the lifestyle and dietary changes made, your blood pressure is still too high, there are a variety of other ways you can help to lower it. There are a number of natural supplements which lower blood pressure including garlic, celery juice and ginger root;. There are also a number of commercial supplements such as magnesium, omega-3 and citrulline supplements. If, even after all of those efforts, blood pressure is still elevated, a health professional may prescribe drugs to help.

CoQ10 – Reduce Risk of Heart Failure

It is estimated that one-half of all heart failure patients die within five years of diagnosis. In the last decade, studies have found that patients with heart failure have significantly lower levels of CoQ10. To make matters worse, patients with heart failure are oftentimes prescribed statin medication, which is a type of medication that further lowers levels of CoQ10. Studies have found that older patients with heart failure who had low CoQ10 levels had double the risk of dying when compared to patients who maintained healthy levels. A recent ten-year study has found that CoQ10 can significantly improve the chances of survival for even the most severe heart failure patients. The study found that supplementing with CoQ10 can restore CoQ10 levels in patients with a deficiency which can extend lifespan and increase the quality of life. This article is going to take an in-depth look at this study to learn more about how CoQ10 can benefit patients of heart failure. Continue reading to learn more.

What Is Heart Failure?

Heart failure is defined as having the inability to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. This is a growing epidemic in America and it estimated that close to six million Americans experience heart failure. If you have coronary artery disease, diabetes, are overweight, have high blood pressure or have a had a heart attack, your risk of heart failure is greater. Heart failure can cause other cardiovascular issues like blood clots, stroke, and heart arrhythmias. Studies have found that patients with lower levels of CoQ10 are at a great risk of heart failure. In fact, patients with low levels of CoQ210 have twice the likeliness to die than those who maintain adequate levels.

What Do The Studies Say?

Researchers enrolled 420 patients with moderate to severe heart failure and randomly assigned them to groups that would either receive a placebo or 100 mg of CoQ10, three times a day for two years in conjunction with their usual medication. The study found that 26 percent of the placebo recipients had experienced a major cardiac event over the course of that time. A major cardiac event can be categorized as needing to be hospitalized for worsened heart failure, died from a cardiovascular cause, needed an urgent heart transplant or artificial heart support. The group that had supplemented with CoQ10 only saw 15% of patients reach an endpoint. This translates to mean that those in the placebo group had twice the risk of a major cardiac event as opposed to those taking a CoQ10 supplement.

The Risk Factors

Other risk factors that can increase the chances of developing heart failure include:

High blood pressure
Diabetes
Sleep Apnea in wch the upper airway is partially or completely obstructed during sleep which will increase pressure on the heart and increase heart rate.
Smoking
Diet high in fat, sodium and cholesterol

Evidence strongly supports CoQ10 as having the ability to reduce the chances of suffering heart failure death. If you have a history of heart disease or failure, strongly consider talking to your doctor about the best way to implement CoQ10 into your diet to decrease your chances of dying from heart failure.

Exercise & CoQ10

Coenzyme Q10 is better known as CoQ10 and has been used to eliminate free radicals from your body, reversing the aging process of your cells. Other studies suggest, however, that it can help with fat burning and provide you with more energy during your workouts. CoQ10 assists nerves and muscles by relaxing stiff muscles and abating swelling, as well as providing usable energy to cells. Not only will this help with overall weight loss, but can result in a faster metabolism as well.

Relieving Muscle Cramps and Increasing Function

Muscles require large amounts of CoQ10 in order to keep them functioning for longer and pain-free. Cells need energy and oxygen in order to function properly and CoQ10 provides the cells’ mitochondria with usable energy to perform the best they can. Taking CoQ10 supplements has resulted in more energy and higher endurance, resulting in longer workout times. For people suffering from muscle aches or stiffness, and even chronic pain, CoQ10 can help relieve some pain to help them get through the day. CoQ10 works with the cardiovascular system, strengthening the heart muscle and working as an antioxidant to help cells thrive. This double dose provides the energy and strength your muscles need for a good, long workout.

With the help of CoQ10’s antioxidant surge, free radical damage can be prevented, resulting in cells living longer, healthier lives. Strong cells also are found to burn fat at a faster rate. Using calories to burn fat can be dangerous if you burn too much and lose too much too fast. CoQ10 comes into play here by being a good supplement to balance the number of calories you are burning with calorie intake. Make sure to eat healthy foods and maintain a nutritious diet while you are exercising; it is dangerous to exercise on an empty stomach. Even though you are burning fat cells faster than normal, this could trigger oxidative stress which leads to muscle cramping, cellular damage, and even digestive issues.

CoQ10 In Food

CoQ10 is produced naturally in your body and it is also found in certain foods. To raise CoQ10 levels, you can choose a specific diet rich in vitamins A and E, as CoQ10 is a fat-soluble nutrient.

Some foods that contain CoQ10 are:

organ meats like kidneys and liver
cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower
fatty fish like salmon
legumes
sesame seeds
avocado

However, eating a rich, nutrient-filled diet won’t guarantee your CoQ10 levels being accurate. That’s why a supplement is recommended, especially to ensure CoQ10 levels will stay plentiful as you start burning calories during your exercise routine.

Dosage and CoQ10 Capsule Requirements

CoQ10 requires vitamins A and E in order to be synthesized properly in the body. You should take CoQ10 with food. Dosages vary from person to person, depending on their needs. CoQ10 levels are lower and lower as you age, and are especially diminished when you are on certain medications. For the best exercise performance, 100 mg- 300 mgs is suggested, but there is some flexibility as you figure out what works best for you. The supplement should help you feel more energetic, boosts your mood, and lowers your stress.