Grapefruit Juice Enhances CoQ10’s Benefits
Grapefruit juice is known to interact with other compounds in the digestive system. In fact, the citrus fruit can interfere with many drugs, including statins. Interesting new research shows that this citrus juice may also have the ability to promote absorption of a key antioxidant.Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a potent antioxidant and energy booster within all cells, particularly in the heart and brain. As we age, levels of CoQ10 decline which can make us susceptible to risk of congestive heart failure, heart attacks, chest pain, chronic inflammation and high blood pressure.
It turns out that these unlikely bedfellows are actually good together. A glass of grapefruit juice may improve intestinal absorption of CoQ10 by almost 50%, says a Japanese study published in the January 2010 issue of Food Chemistry. The juice appears to inhibit a protein in the membrane of cells called P-glycoprotein, which thereby leads to an increased absorption of CoQ10. (Itagki S et al. Food Chemistry. 2010; 120: 552-555.)
Make it work for you: No longer do you need to take CoQ10 with a meal. Next time wash it down with a glass of grapefruit juice, but make sure not to take any other pills as the juice’s effects on other supplements isn’t quite known.
