If you’re anything short of a professional nutritionist, all of the different vitamins and minerals that you need in your diet can become dizzying. There are far more than just the alphabet vitamins.

On top of that, there are new scientific and health-related discoveries being made. With the ever-evolving variety of theories on what your body needs to support itself and be healthy, how can you know what you need and how much of it you need to take?

Here, we’re going to dive into one of these supplements, what it can do for you, and how much you need to take daily.

If “COQ10” is a completely alien term to you, you’re not alone. But just what is COQ10?

COQ10 (also known as ubiquinone or ubiquinol) is actually an antioxidant that our bodies produce naturally. Over time and for other various reasons, our bodies’ production of the antioxidant declines. When this happens, health complications can occur.

Luckily, you can find many supplements to help keep healthy levels of COQ10 in your body. These come in pill form, and they offer users some great benefits.

What can taking a COQ10 supplement daily do to boost your health?

There are a few different benefits that COQ10, both in supplement form and its natural presence in your body, has to offer.

First and foremost, COQ10 is an antioxidant. But what does that mean?

Antioxidants are found naturally in your body and fruits and vegetables. They help slow down the oxidation process in your cells.

They do this by fighting off free radicals. Free radicals are things like pollution and waste products of your body’s natural processes. Over time, they become toxic to your body and degenerate your cells.

Do you remember in high school biology class you learned about mitochondria being “the powerhouse of the cell”?

It turns out your teacher was right. Our mitochondria fuel every body process we carry out on a daily basis at the cellular level. When they become depleted of energy, your body can’t work as efficiently.

By protecting against free radicals, COQ10 allows our mitochondria to focus on their real job. They spend their energy helping your body conduct business as normal instead of wasting energy defending against these free radicals.

The most noticeable positive health effects of COQ10 are its memory-boosting properties.

It does this by reducing oxidative stress to the cells in the brain. This stress is what leads to the gradual decline in cognitive function that we all experience as we age.

COQ10 has been shown to help improve memory and cognitive function in those with mild Alzheimer’s as well as those with otherwise healthy brains.

So what does COQ10 dosage look like? Our bodies need quite a lot of COQ10 to function at their best.

With most COQ10 supplements, the recommended dosage is anywhere from 500 to 1200 mg for most healthy adults.

With some of the more advanced supplements on the market today, you could need as little as 10 mg daily. These are formulated with a higher-quality form of COQ10 that permeates the membrane of the mitochondria better, making them more effective at lower doses.

To experience the many benefits of this powerful antioxidant, add a simple COQ10 supplement to your daily regimen. They could improve your cell function, help those mighty mitochondria, and even boost your brainpower.