Why "inactive ingredients" can be a gamechanger - my discovery re: CoQ10

Hey everyone,

This might sound like a small thing, but I made a discovery recently that’s given me a surprising bump in my baseline. It’s also a reminder of how effective the right treatments can be, when we’re able to identify them.

Last winter, I started taking the CoQ10 gummies from Qunol. There are a lot of reasons to be taking CoQ10 - in a nutshell, it supports our mitochondria by replacing a substance that may be depleted in chronic illness and viral infection. So when we add CoQ10 back into the equation, it allows our mitochondria to keep functioning on.

I’d been using the chewable gummies because they seemed the simplest. I definitely noticed that one 50 mg gummy made me feel mentally more awake, similar to the effects of caffeine.

But any more than that and I’d feel too awake - like drinking way too much coffee- and have trouble sleeping at night. I was a bit surprised, since the recommended dosage on the bottle was 100 mg. I figured I was just sensitive to CoQ10, and carefully stuck to 50 mg daily.

However, at some point I decided to try out the liquid formulation, labeled “Superior Absorption.”

Normally, I don’t pay too much attention to the various marketing terms companies use. Anything to make people keep thinking there’s something else they need to spend $ on.

But in this case it kind of did seem like Qunol was a little more excited about this liquid formula. So I decided to actually give it a try.

Lo and behold, it really works.

The first time I used it, I couldn’t believe how creative I felt. Like.. everything just seemed better, brighter.

Now I can tell you that I absolutely think this formula works better.

Why?

It all comes down to the “inactive” ingredients that cause CoQ10 to be absorbed better.

Most molecules are either water- or fat-soluble, which have very different implications for the body. CoQ10 is fat-soluble, meaning your body needs to consume it with fats in order to absorb it.

This liquid supplement has a total of four different types of fat molecules to help the body absorb it:

-carprylic/capric triglycerides

-sunflower lecithin

-polyglycerol esters of fatty acids

By contrast, the gummies have zero fat at all.

Therefore, I’m absorbing the liquid CoQ10 much better.

The difference between the two is pretty striking. Again, the gummy did give me some energy, but it felt like a cognitive energy, like if I’d have coffee before trying to study.

The liquid, in addition to the cognitive energy, actually reduced my body-wide PEM and raised my activity threshold.

What’s really interesting is that I can actually take a much higher dose of the liquid CoQ10 and not get any bad side effects.

This totally the opposite of what I would have thought - you’d think being able to absorb something better would mean you need a much smaller amount to get the same effect.

But instead, it seems like the liquid is getting dispersed throughout my whole body much more evenly, whereas with the gummy seems to only increase my mental alertness.

Anyway, on paper this may seem like a bit of a small thing, but the difference in the way I feel, between the two, is striking.

The liquid has made me feel so much more alert, creative…. and dare I say, actually passionate on the things I’m working on at times, which I couldn’t feel for so long.

I’m also so impressed by the difference between the two formulations, and it’s a good reminder to never stop seeking out the best for ourselves— sometimes it truly pays off!