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alternative medicines

Q10

IT has been described as the ''provider of life'', but what exactly is coenzyme Q10?

This fat-soluble, vitamin-like substance is present in every cell of the body and a key building-block in the complex production of energy within the cell. Produced naturally by the body, levels fall as we get older.

Discovered more than 40 years ago its many benefits have only been established fairly recently, but it is now the most-taken supplement in Denmark and the fifth most popular in Japan.

Primarily, Q10 has been used to treat chronic heart failure with impressive results and it has also helped angina patients and those with hypertension.

Beyond that its benefits seem never ending. It can :

halt gum disease and stop your teeth falling out
help lower cholesterol
reduce blood pressure
improve memory
reduces tiredness
help athletes in intensive training
help boost your immune system.

There is no established RDA but the accepted dose is to take 30mg a day. But in some cases, ME sufferers for instance, that can be upped to 500mg.

There are no known cases of overdosing and no known interactions with other drugs and food. To give some sort of indication, to get 30mg of Q10 through food you would have to eat a pound of sardines!

Dennis Gore runs a well established alternative medicine centre in Prestwich. He has been using Q10 to treat a variety of patients over the last two years, including several for high blood pressure. One patient who had suffered a stroke was prescribed 300mg of co-enzyme Q10 a day as part of a package of supplements.

He said: ''Within four weeks she showed a very good improvement and she had also lost weight. It would appear that Q10, as well as turning the food you eat into energy may turn stored fat into energy as well.''

Supplements are usually in capsule form with one tablet taken each day.