Get more from life with time capsules
We can boost our bodies with this secret supplement, says GEORGE NICHOLS
THE world is changing and we are changing with it. We’re living longer (working longer too) and we need to be able to appreciate the leisure time that brings while staying fit for day-to-day life. That doesn’t just mean looking after ourselves when we’re older; we have to start respecting ourselves when we’re younger for our bodies to function as we’d like them to in later life.
And that’s not simply on the physical front. If our minds aren’t in order it doesn’t matter how fit we’ve kept ourselves.
Scientists are focusing on how we do this, targeting a problem that has not been an issue for previous generations. They’re working on what makes us tick and what makes us tick for longer.
Diet is important but we all have at least a passing knowledge of what we should be eating.
What’s not so clear to us is what is going on behind the scenes and that’s what the scientists are targeting.
The new big thing is CoQ10 (a snappier name for Coenzyme Q10), which is all the rage in the USA, one of the fastest growing diet supplements globally and as well regarded by the research community as the health fashionistas. It’s a vitamin-like substance but not actually a vitamin as the body can produce it in modest amounts.
CoQ10 has been used to treat heart problems for a number of years but it has also been shown to have far wider uses.
Aside from protecting the heart and blood vessels from oxidative stress (also called free radical damage) CoQ10 is also being used to help conditions such as heart arrhythmia, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis and congestive heart failure.
Research also shows that inflammatory conditions such as breast cancer as well as diabetes, viruses and infertility can be helped.
A powerful antioxidant, CoQ10 can increase absorption of other essential nutrients and has been shown to help recycle vitamin C and vitamin E, maximizing their effect.
The big problem is that naturally occurring CoQ10 declines after the age of 40. The fall is particularly noticeable in those taking statins to manage cholesterol levels as well as sufferers of diabetes, cancer and congestive heart failure.
As such a CoQ10 supplement is widely recommended for those with heart problems, angina, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and atherosclerosis.
And yet there’s a host of other plus points that research has revealed: boosting stamina, keeping ageing at bay (including muscle loss and skin changes), reducing the side effects of statins and helping fight cognitive disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
A diet supplement is the answer. Some come in powder form but with CoQ10 not dissolving in water these can be hard to absorb. Capsules with a high concentration of CoQ10 are a better option, not least Co-Enzyme Q10 capsules from diet supplement leader FutureYou. Absorption swift and the capsules are 18 times more absorbable than CoQ10 powder.
One daily capsule and your CoQ10 level is at optimum. The world might be changing but this is one change for the better.