Archive for July, 2009

July 29, 2009

I started taking CoQ10 for the benefits it would provide for my heart and my brain. But I never imagined the amount of energy I would have as an added benefit.

Energy is produced in the cells of your body. They take in oxygen, combined with sugars and fatty acids from food. These raw materials are then sent to the mighty mitochondria in your cells. I call them the mighty mitochondria because they are the “power plants” of your cells where energy is produced and every cell has 500 to 2000 mitochondria.

In the mitochondria the raw materials are combined with enzymes to produce energy. And that’s where CoQ10 does its job. It works as a go between so to speak, to provide the spark to produce the energy. Without sufficient amounts of CoQ10, it’s like trying to light charcoal without lighter fluid.

The lack of energy can have a serious domino effect on your body as you get older. So don’t take it lightly. When your cells don’t have enough energy it can damage your tissues. This in turn spreads to the muscles and ultimately damages the organ systems of the heart and brain.

Start supplementing with CoQ10 and see if you don’t turn into the Energizer Bunny. If you’re over forty the recommended dosage is at least 100 mg per day.

Another way to increase your energy is with simple body weight exercise. To learn more go to www.kevinfurey.com

All the best,

Kevin Furey

July 24, 2009

In my last blog I talked about the Miracle of CoQ10. Today I’m going to talk about why almost everyone over the age of twenty who doesn’t supplement is deficient in CoQ10.

1. Diet – Most people just don’t eat a healthy diet. The best sources of CoQ10 are the organ meats like beef, chicken and pork hearts. But almost no one eats them. Besides that, you’d have to eat a wheelbarrow full to get any type of therapeutic benefit.

2. Age – Your body naturally stops producing it in sufficient quantities between the ages of 20 and 25 and really slows down after 40.

3. Cholesterol drugs – It’s bad enough that cholesterol lowering drugs have very little effect on longevity and making you healthy. One of the other bad side effects is the interference with the production of CoQ10. Anybody who takes a statin drug should most certainly be taking CoQ10. Of course you should be taking it even if you’re not on a statin drug.

4. Extreme physical exertion – People who run marathons, long distance, triathlons, etc. create an adaptive response in their bodies that shrinks their internal organs like their heart and lungs. They have to shrink in response to the call for efficiency. This is not a good thing. It’s also compounded by the depletion of CoQ10, the enzyme for producing energy for your heart and brain.

5. Hyperthyroidism – An overactive thyroid increases your metabolism and can create irregular heart rhythms, weak muscles and consequently stress on the heart. This stress in turn drains the body of CoQ10.

If you haven’t started supplementing with CoQ10 you should seriously consider it. You’ll be blown away with the amount of energy you’ll have.

Another way to increase your energy is with short bouts of exercise using your own body weight. You can find out more about this type of exercise by going to www.kevinfurey.com

All the best,

Kevin Furey

July, 19, 2009

CoQ10 is an enzyme naturally produced in our bodies and present in all of its trillions of cells. It’s primary purpose is to provide energy to your cells. Without it we would die. Yet few people have heard of it and many doctors tend to ignore it.

Your body naturally produces enough of it up to around the age of twenty. At that point production steadily decreases and at age 40 you produce very little naturally. You can get it from eating fish, beef, and pork but you can’t consume enough of any of these to get the amount you need.

Besides providing you with energy, it’s a powerful antioxidant that protects your body from accelerated aging and degenerative diseases. It fortifies the heart and brain and is especially beneficial if you have heart disease. Some studies even show it helps prevent Alzheimers.

It’s available as an over the counter supplement in grocery and health stores. You’ll find it in tablet, powder and liquid forms. The tablet and powder forms are know as Ubiquinone. In this form your body needs to break it down in oder to absorb. Most people under forty don’t have any trouble with this. But if you’re over forty, I’d recommend the liquid form (Ubiquinol) that comes in caplets. Since it’s already in liquid form it’s much easier for the body to absorb.

If you’re over forty, cardiologist Stephen Sinatra recommends at least 100 mg a day with natural Vitamin E because CoQ10 is fat soluble. You can also take it with your daily fish oil supplement or even olive oil.

Regular, non-endurance exercise also raises your CoQ10 levels. You can find out more about the tremendous benefits of short bouts of exercise at www.kevinfurey.com

All the best,

Kevin Furey