Experts Don’t Recommend Coenzyme Q10 to Improve or Maintain Brain Health

Antioxidants like coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) can help counteract the cumulative toll of the environment — pollution, UV light, cigarette smoke — on our bodies. It’s no wonder people seek them out in foods, drinks and other supplements.

Your body makes CoQ10 naturally, and your cells need it to grow and to stay healthy. It’s present in the largest quantities in your heart, liver, kidneys and pancreas. But, as you get older, you don’t make as much of it. So it’s reasonable to wonder whether taking a CoQ10 supplement might lower your risk for age-related problems, such as memory loss and dementia.

Researchers have wondered the same thing. But they haven’t accumulated enough evidence to prove that CoQ10 supplements benefit brain health, according to the Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH). The GCBH, which includes scientists, health care professionals and academic experts, reviewed the available studies on CoQ10 and do not recommend taking the supplement for memory preservation.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the supplements are useless. Some research has found that they may help the heart under very specific circumstances. Other studies suggest that they might reduce heart damage that one type of cancer drug can cause. On that same note, CoQ10 might reduce the risk of complications after heart surgery. Limited evidence suggests the supplements could possibly help prevent migraine headaches. Research into the compound’s effects on other diseases — including Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS; Down syndrome; Huntington’s disease; and male infertility — is too limited to make definitive conclusions.

If you’re a healthy person and you want to continue taking CoQ10 despite a lack of evidence for its benefits, it’s likely safe to do so. It might cause insomnia or an upset stomach. But, if you take the blood thinner warfarin, insulin for diabetes, or certain cancer medications, talk to your doctor before starting or continuing CoQ10.