CoQ10 is touted as something of a wonder supp, capable of improving heart health, boosting fertility, reducing migraines, and even helping endurance athletes recover better. While there’s solid scientific research to back up the benefits for those with cardiovascular disease, evidence to support the other claims is limited, says Zachary Mulvihill, MD. That said, the coenzyme could help in those areas and more.
To back up, CoQ10 is a molecule made naturally in the body that’s also found in food and supplement form. “CoQ10 helps the mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell) function optimally and produce ATP, or energy,” says Aarti Soorya, MD. “Mitochondria are heavily concentrated in the heart, muscle, and brain, and optimal levels of CoQ10 can help with the demand of energy production in these highly metabolic organs.” So, it makes sense as to why supplementing with the stuff might help in the aforementioned scenarios. And for the most part, CoQ10 supplementation is pretty harmless, per Dr. Mulvihill. (See below for a few exceptions.)
Meet the experts: Zachary Mulvihill, MD, is an integrative medicine specialist at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine. Aarti Soorya, MD, is an integrative medicine physician at Grover Health.
Considering giving CoQ10 supplements a shot? If you have cleared it with your doc, you might be interested in optimizing your results by taking it at the ideal time and in the ideal scenario. Read on for all the best practices.
When To Take CoQ10 For Maximum Health Benefits
Time Of Day
“I usually recommend taking it in the morning when you are more active and when your energy requirements are naturally higher,” says Dr. Soorya.
There are also some claims that taking it before bed might keep you up, but Dr. Mulvihill doesn’t think there’s much merit to those. The key, he says, is taking it at the time of day when you’ll remember to do so consistently.
With Food Vs. On An Empty Stomach
“Usually, CoQ10 should be taken with a meal that contains fat to allow for best absorption, as it is a fat soluble nutrient,” Dr. Soorya explains. So if you’re taking it with breakfast, you could include some avocado or full-fat Greek yogurt, for example.
Dr. Mulvhill adds that taking it with food also helps ward off nausea, if you’ve experienced that after taking vitamins or supplements on an empty stomach.
Individually Vs. With Other Supplements
If you already take a fish oil supplement, take the two at the same time. “If someone takes fish oil anyway, that’s a source of fat,” Dr. Mulvihill says, adding that it could be wise to take those two supplements together as the fish oil could help you absorb the CoQ10.
Pre- Or Post-Workout
After taking your CoQ10 supplement, it takes a little time for the nutrient to get absorbed into your system, Dr. Mulvihill says. So it probably doesn’t matter if you take it around a workout, he adds. It’s not like caffeine, for example, where you take it an hour or so pre-workout and then use it during your workout.
How Much CoQ10 To Take
You’ll typically see CoQ10 supplements ranging from 30 to 600 milligrams (and in research, they might use up to 1200 milligrams), Dr. Mulvihill says. To find the ideal dose for you, it’s best to chat with your doctor. But Dr. Mulvhill says 100-120 milligrams once per day is likely a good starting place. (For those who are sensitive to supplements, you could start even lower at 30 mg, says Dr. Soorya.) “That just seems to be the sweet spot standard,” Dr. Mulvihill says. “Anything beyond that would strictly need to be done under medical supervision.”
When adding a CoQ10 supplement, 100-120 milligrams daily is a good starting place.
You’ll also see CoQ10 in a few forms—ubiquinol and ubiquinone, for example. “Ubiquinol is the more bioavailable form of CoQ10,” Dr. Soorya says—meaning it circulates quickest once it hits the body, and will have a more active effect. That said, if you take ubiquinone, your body will convert it into the premium gas version, ubiquinol, per Dr. Mulvihill, so it probably doesn’t matter so much which form you take. More important, he says, is that it’s from a reputable brand that is third-party tested.
FWIW, food is not really a good source of CoQ10, Dr. Mulvihill notes, but if you’re curious, meat and fatty fish have higher amounts of it than most other foods, and soybeans are a high-ish plant-based source. “But I don’t recommend that the person who has heart failure, who needs CoQ10, eat a bunch of meat and fish and soybeans,” Dr. Mulvihill says. “They should just take the supplement.”
How long will it take to notice benefits of CoQ10 supplementation? It can take several weeks to months, Dr. Soorya says, and works best as part of a holistic plan that includes proper nutrition and good sleep. Even then, it’ll likely be a subtle benefit, but one you might notice if you stop taking it, Dr. Mulvihill notes. For this reason, he recommends taking it for a few months, then taking a couple of weeks off to see how you feel.
Who Should (And Shouldn’t) Take CoQ10
Dr. Mulvihill says the main use-case for CoQ10 is for people with heart disease. He also might consider it for people with high blood pressure, migraines, diabetes, fibromyalgia, gingivitis, and those thinking about fertility, especially if they’re older.
“Our CoQ10 stores can decline as we age,” says Dr. Soorya, but it’s unclear whether this drop is due to aging itself or pro-inflammation lifestyle factors (e.g., a lack of sleep, processed foods, unmanaged stress) that deplete antioxidants. Again, though, while it might not help, a CoQ10 supplement is unlikely to cause harm, per the experts.
Potential Risks Of CoQ10 Supplementation
While CoQ10 is generally safe, per Dr. Mulvihill, it’s always wise to speak with your doctor before adding any new supplement to your routine.
In particular, people with conditions such as congestive heart failure and/or who are taking any medications, such as blood thinning, blood pressure, or insulin medications, among others, should definitely get their doctor’s blessing as CoQ10 can interact with certain medications. Dr. Soorya adds that for people with liver and kidney issues (where supplements are cleared from) it could be potentially harmful to take supplements unsupervised.
Most side effects are mild, Dr. Mulvihill says, but might include nausea or diarrhea, for example.
Caitlin is a health and fitness journalist based in New York City. In addition to Women’s Health, she writes for publications including The Wall Street Journal and Runner’s World. She’s completed 12 marathons, including the six World Marathon Majors, is semi-fluent in French, and volunteers as a greeter on The High Line. Follow her on Instagram or LinkedIn.
