March 2004 | Living Healthy: The Supplement Shelf
CoQ10 Roundup
by Dr. Tod Cooperman
Few of us think switching brands of a dietary supplement would ever be dangerous. But think again.
My company, ConsumerLab.com, released January 2004 test results for Coenzyme Q10 supplements, which are prescribed by integrative medicine practitioners for such tightly controlled health conditions as congestive heart failure, Parkinson’s disease, hypertension and AIDS. One product contained no detectable level of CoQ10 — zippo!
The other products did contain the claimed amount of the micronutrient, also known as ubiquinone, a fatty substance found in cell membranes that helps cells get their energy from oxygen. Brands that “passed” include Nature Made, Enzymatic Therapy and Sundown, to name a few. We tested 32 products in our recent CoQ10 roundup. Thirteen were randomly selected by our staff. Nineteen were tested by request of the supplement manufacturer. The companies pay a fee to be included in the research but have no influence over how ConsumerLab.com judges the results. We independently purchased and screened all the products.
Our company does not vouch for the effectiveness or safety of supplements. That’s not something in our budget, simply because it can cost millions.
What we do stand behind is testing the dosage in supplements. We think it fills a need because no government agency is even monitoring whether manufacturers are indeed supplying the amount of an active ingredient as promised. Americans spent more than $200 million on CoQ10 last year. They should be getting their money’s worth — no more and certainly no less.
Tod Cooperman, M.D. is president of ConsumerLab.com, an independent testing company devoted to helping consumers choose dietary supplements wisely. Visit www.consumerlab.com for complete test results.
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