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  7. CoQ10 Supplements… Eat Your Heart Out

CoQ10 Supplements… Eat Your Heart Out

heart health, CoQ10

By: Kelley Herring, Healing Gourmet

Today, I’d like to tell you about a nutrient that is absolutely vital to your health. Unfortunately, most of us don’t get enough, because it’s found in so few foods. Of course, you could take it as a supplement… if you don’t mind paying up to $120 a month.

But here’s the good news. I’ll also show you the unique and delicious food that contains more of this nutrient than any other, plus how you can consume as much as your body needs for just a few dollars per month.

The nutrient that I’m talking about is Coenzyme Q10. There’s a good chance you’ve heard of CoQ10. You might even be taking it as a supplement. But you might not know why this essential nutrient is so beneficial.

heart health, CoQ10

CoQ10 Is An Essential Nutrient!

CoQ10 is a molecule that is found in the greatest concentration in the mitochondria of cells. This is the powerhouse of each cell, where energy is produced. And CoQ10 is vital for this process.

This is one reason why CoQ10 levels are closely related to athletic endurance and time to exhaustion. It is also why high levels promote a strong heart beat. In fact, CoQ10 is crucial for the heart because of the constant energy that is required to be produced.

Supplementing with CoQ10 has been shown to reduce blood pressure, improve arterial health, and dramatically cut the risk of heart failure. In fact, many hospitals use this nutrient specifically to treat congestive heart failure.

CoQ10 is also a powerful antioxidant and immune booster that guards against disease-promoting damage to proteins, lipids, and DNA. CoQ10 is vital to the health of virtually all human tissues and organs, including the brain as well.

Unfortunately, CoQ10 levels in the brain begin declining at the age of 20 and sharply decline after the age of 35. However, age is not the only culprit when it comes to declining CoQ10. This vital compound can also be depleted by:

•    Pharmaceutical drugs (Statin medications, in particular, decrease the body’s internal production of Coenzyme Q10 by as much as 40%)
•    Long duration exercise
•    Consuming a vegan diet or avoiding red meat

Depletion of CoQ10 and Consequences

And the depletion of CoQ10 – whether it is the natural result of aging or other factors – is bad news for your health. Scientific studies have linked CoQ10 deficiency with a wide variety of health conditions, including:

•    Cardiovascular disease and hypertension
•    Cancer
•    Gum disease
•    Mitochondrial disorders and chronic fatigue
•    Obesity and diabetes
•    Parkinson’s disease
•    Gastric ulcers
•    Allergies
•    Migraine headaches
•    Muscular dystrophy

If you have a forward-thinking holistic doctor, he or she may have recommended that you take a high quality CoQ10 supplement (in the most bio-available form: ubiquinol).

This is certainly a beneficial step and it can make a world of difference in your health and energy levels. But it can also be very expensive. For example, Dr. Julian Whitaker recommends that most adults take 100 – 200 mg of CoQ10 daily. For those with existing health conditions – particularly heart trouble and diabetes – he recommends 300 – 600 mg daily.

Depending on the brand of supplement you buy, this could run upwards of $100 per month. That’s certainly worth it if your life depends on it… but the good news is that there is a less expensive way to get youth-promoting, disease-fighting CoQ10 into your cells…

Eat Your Heart Out: Introducing the SUPERIOR Source of CoQ10

CoQ10 was first identified in the mitochondria (the tiny powerhouse of each cell) of beef heart in 1957.

Why the heart?

heart health, beef heart, CoQ10

Because CoQ10 is most abundant in the organs with the highest rates of cellular metabolism –first and foremost – the heart. In fact, CoQ10 levels in the heart are roughly THREE times that found in the liver and FOUR times higher than levels found in muscle meats.

Take a look at the foods that contain the greatest CoQ10 levels per gram:

FOOD CoQ10 (mcg/g)
Beef Heart 113
Sardines 64
Mackerel 43
Beef Liver 39
Beef 31-37
Pork 24-41
Pork Liver 23
Chicken 14-21
Tuna 16
Lard 10
Butter 7
Eggs 1-4

There are small levels of CoQ10 in certain fruits and vegetables. For example, spinach and broccoli contain about 10 micrograms per gram. But most plant foods have only about 1 microgram per gram – not nearly enough to provide the benefits you need.

As you can see, animal foods clearly top the list. And it is the organs – namely the heart – that contain the most of all. According Dr. Al Sears, M.D. and author of The Doctor’s Heart Cure, the organs of wild, grass-fed animals have up to ten times more CoQ10 than the organs of grain-fed animals. He says:

“Unless you regularly consume wild game or eat internal organs of grass-fed animals, it is difficult to maintain good blood levels of CoQ10 from dietary sources alone.”

If you’re new to eating organ meats, you may wonder: What’s the best way to enjoy heart?

Your Recipe for Bountiful Energy, Cellular Health and Longevity

As a muscle, beef heart is the mildest member of the offal family. In fact, it tastes a lot like steak or brisket. And while you can certainly grill or sauté it, or grind it into any recipe that calls for ground meat, a good amount of CoQ10 will be lost during cooking.

In fact, studies show that CoQ10 begins to degrade around 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) and nutrient loss will vary with the cooking method.

A great way to preserve the nutritional benefits and maximize those precious grams of CoQ10 is to enjoy beef heart as the Europeans have for centuries: tartare.

Steak tartare, popular in Parisian bistros, is simply “highly seasoned ground beef eaten raw”. Using beef heart, we can create this same delicious and elegant appetizer that provides a delicious, natural source of CoQ10.

Grass-Fed Beef Heart Tartare Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 pounds raw grass-fed beef heart*, trimmed
• 2 tsp. capers, rinsed
• 2 Tbsp. red onion, finely diced
• 2 organic Serrano peppers, sliced thin
• 10 organic Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
• 2 tsp. organic lemon zest, finely grated
• 1 organic fire-roasted red pepper, sliced into ½ inch strips
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. organic red wine vinegar
• 4 tsp. fresh basil, julienned
• 4 tsp. fresh mint, julienned
• 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp. mineral-rich sea salt or Maldon salt
• Bunch of fresh parsley, for garnish
• Grain free bread, sliced and toasted

Preparation

1. First, prepare the heart. Trim off any sinew and gristle and cut into pieces small enough to fit through a meat grinder on medium dice. Alternately, cut the beef heart into ¼-inch pieces.
2. In a medium, non-reactive bowl, combine the heart with the capers, red onion, Serrano and fire roasted peppers, Kalamata olives and lemon zest.
3. Gently mix with your hands, taking care to not over-mix the ingredients.
4. Sprinkle with salt, olive oil, vinegar, oil and herbs and mix gently.
5. Place tartare over a bed of fresh parsley and serve with sliced and toasted grain-free bread.

*Consuming raw meat can increase the risk for foodborne illness. Always be sure to purchase grass-fed meat from a purveyor you trust.

Kelley HerringABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kelley Herring is the co-founder of Wellness Bakeries, makers of grain-free, gluten-free, low-glycemic baking mixes for cakes, cookies, breads, pizza and much more.

Kelley’s academic background is in biology and chemistry and for the last 15+ years, she has focused on the study of nutritional biochemistry… and the proven powers of compounds in foods to heal the body.

REFERENCES:

1. Pinar Ercan, Sedef Nehir. Changes in content of coenzyme Q10 in beef muscle, beef liver and beef heart with cooking and in vitro digestion. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. Volume 24, Issue 8, December 2011, Pages 1136–1140
2. G. De Pinieux, M. Ammi-Sai, et al. Lipid-lowering drugs and mitochondrial function: effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors on serum ubiquinone and blood lactate/pyruvate ratio. Br J Clin Pharmacol 1996; 42: 333–337
3. Kamei et al., “The distribution and content of ubiquinone in foods,” Internat. J. Vit. Nutr. Res. 56 (1986) 57-63.
4. Mattila, et al., “Coenzymes Q9 and Q10: contents in foods and dietary intake,” Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 14 (2001) 409-417.
5. Ghirlanda, et al., “Evidence of plasma CoQ10-lowering effect of HMG-COA reductase inhibitors: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study,” Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 1993 Mar; 33(3):226-229.
6. Linus Pauling IN stitute’s Micronutrient InformationCenter. CoQ10
7. Sears, Al, MD, The Doctor’s Heart Cure: Discover the Simple, Easy, Enjoyable and Above-All PROVEN Plan to Lose Weight and Achieve a Shock-Proof, Disease-Resistance Heart — with Delicious, Natural Foods and Just a Few Minutes of Exercise a Day, St. Paul: Dragon Door, 2004, 133-146.
8. Weber et al., “The coenzyme Q10 content of the average Danish diet,” Int J Vitam Nutr Res. Vol. 67 No. 2 (1997) 123-129.