Is Q10 vegan? What you should consider with Q10 as a vegan

So you’re looking for ubiquinone-10. Wait, actually, that should be the Q10 article? Yes, ubiquinone-10 is the chemical name for
coenzyme Q10
. So you’ve come to the right place.

Q10 is important for the respiratory chain in your organism and is an endogenous substance. Partly you absorb it through food, partly your body can produce it itself.

Before we look at whether the substance is also vegan, let’s take a look at why you actually need it and why it may not be enough through food.

Q10 and your body: respiratory chain, antioxidants and deficiency symptoms

Q10 and body energy go hand in hand. The coenzyme is involved in producing the body’s energy (adenosine triphosphate or ATP for short). That is why it is also important for the organs with the highest energy requirements and these are after all: heart, lungs and liver.

In the respiratory chain , not only the oxygen is transported through your body by means of Q10, but also the energy is supplied via it.

Ubiquinone sits on the membrane proteins and is therefore an important substance in this system. Q10 is also necessary for the production of oxygen radicals : it also works with antioxidant processes and a normal supply has a preventive effect against degenerative diseases.

So that sounds like we can’t do without Q10 and a deficiency is dramatic, right? However, an actual deficiency is very rare and deficiency symptoms are not known in research. People with muscle diseases (myopathies) are the group in which deficiencies can occur more frequently.

Strictly speaking, however, we do not yet know everything about the synthesis of Q10. Some enzymes involved have not yet been identified. So we don’t know everything about the deficiency, causes and effects of Q10 yet.

Likewise, it is not known whether an increased intake brings anything. We are still pretty much in the dark here. Only in the case of heart disease is high-dose Q10 currently used in medical treatment (and under medical supervision!).

Is Q10 vegan available?

Yes, there is, because Q10 is found in the following foods :

• Meat of organs (such as liver)
• Fatty fish (sardines, mackerel, etc.)
• Egg
• Butter
• Nuts such as pistachios
• Pulses
• Sesame seed
• Sunflower seeds
• Vegetable oils

The first foods sound less good, but from the halfway point it becomes interesting for vegans.

However, the problem is that cooking can destroy coenzyme Q10. So it means steaming very carefully.

Humans can absorb five to ten milligrams of the coenzyme through food. Our body can also synthesize it from some foods.

As a rule, therefore, no supplementation is necessary. According to consumer protection, however, an intake of 10 to 30 mg is safe.

With high amounts of 100 mg per day, side effects such as insomnia, diarrhea, nausea, loss of appetite, malaise, irritability or rash can occur. In fact, chronic effects are not known.

Once it is promised that supplementing Q10 for energy production will provide regulated blood pressure, protection from oxidative damage, migraines, or other health benefits, it’s time to be careful. This is not allowed because there is no scientific evidence. Also a cosmetic effect in skin creams has not been proven.

In short: According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), all submitted advertising claims have so far been considered unsubstantiated. The claims about energy production, blood pressure, additional antioxidant protection, cognitive function, cholesterol levels and performance enhancement are prohibited.

If you take anticoagulants (anticoagulants), you should ask the attending physician, because this can cause interactions with Q10. That’s because Q10 is similar to vitamin K and the body can then lower the effectiveness of the drugs. There are also interactions with radiation therapy, asthma and lung medications .

What to do if you actually have a deficiency and eat vegan?

Q10: Vegan Supplements

Q10 can be produced from the fermentation of yeasts, bacteria and chemical synthesis. Yeast fermentation is particularly interesting because it is identical to the naturally occurring Q10 in food.

According to studies, the supplements are safe and well tolerated – even in high doses.

It is not yet possible to say this about chemical synthesis. There are no studies here on the safety of these products.

Vegan Q10 is possible. As a supplement or via the food

As you can see, vegan Q10 is not a problem. You can get it through both food and supplements. Also healthy and carefree.

If you are supplementing with Q10 , you should definitely pay close attention to whether no interactions due to other diseases are possible.

Otherwise, there is hardly any concern about supplementation. We only know very little about Q10 in general. Here, the next few years will show more what it brings us.