Inositol is a cyclic 6-carbon compound (with six hydroxy groups) closely related to glucose. Myo-inositol, the nutritionally active form, is a constituent of phosphatidyl-inositol, an important component of phospholipids (which make up cell membranes). It is available in a wide variety of foods and is also synthesized within cells.
Large quantities of inositol are found in the spinal cord, spinal fluid, and brain tissue. Within cell membranes, it works as a secondary messenger precursor.
Inositol promotes the production of lecithin, which aids in the metabolism of fats and helps reduce blood cholesterol. With the help of choline, it protects the heart by helping to prevent the hardening of arteries. Research has also shown that inositol may help to reduce folate-resistant neural tube defects. Therefore, combining inositol with folate should further help to prevent the majority of neural tube defects.
Inositol is water soluble, non-toxic, and found in beans, brown rice, corn, sesame seeds, wheat bran, and other high fiber foods.
You don’t eat grapes for the seeds. Think about how often you enjoy chomping down on the large seeds in grapes (the small, soft seeds in “seedless” grapes don’t count)? If you do that, how well do you think whole seeds are absorbed by your body anyway? But some of the beneficial phytonutrients from grapes, are primarily concentrated in their seeds. Grape-seed extract was created to solve this problem.
It contains a concentrated dose of valuable phytonutrients, in a form that is much easier for your body to digest. It’s true that grape-seed extract only contains a small portion of the overall nutrients found in whole grapes. Healthy compounds like vitamins C and K, copper, and various phytonutrients come from adding grapes into your diet. So, don’t ditch the grapes, instead, consider the reasons to add grape-seed extract, too. *
The History and Benefits of Grape Phytonutrients
How did humans first learn about the benefits of the phytonutrients in grape seeds if they aren’t typically eaten? Wine is the way. Humans have been drinking wine for as long as they have been cultivating grapes (several thousand years). Little did these first wine drinkers know, but wine contains the phytonutrients also found in the whole grapes. These compounds are incorporated into wine during the fermentation process, when the crushed grapes, seeds, stems, skin, and juice (called the must) is held in vats for several weeks.
The phytonutrients in wine, particularly red wine, and grape-seed extract have since been found to support cardiovascular health. Studies on the grape bioflavonoids have shown them to be free radical scavengers that may be even more potent than the antioxidant vitamins C and E. So these compounds effectively help maintain healthy low-density lipoproteins (LDL) levels already in the normal range. *
Grape-seed extract also been shown to help support a normal, healthy inflammatory response, and a growing body of research suggests an additional role in optimizing capillary strength.*
The Compounds in Grape-Seed Extract
Grapes contain a large variety of phytonutrients. Resveratrol is one that you might be familiar with. It’s found primarily in the skin of grapes. Grape-seed extract contain a complex mixture of two compounds named catechin and epicatechin.
Catechin and epicatechin belong to the chemical family of flavonoids. They are targeted because they are the most tightly linked to the overall benefits of grape-seed extract. Such as cardiovascular health, supporting healthy inflammation, and neutralizing free radicals.*
Different grape-seed extracts will have varying amounts of catechin and epicatechin. This is further complicated by the fact that different types of grapes and growing seasons result in inconsistent amounts of these beneficial compounds. This variation can be minimized through a process called “standardization.”
Standardization requires an extract to be measured (e.g. GPC/HPLC, Bates-Smith assay) and then concentrated to set amount of target compounds. A high-quality grape-seed extract will have set minimum levels of the polyphenols catechin and epicatechin. This ensures that the product is consistent and offers the same health benefits from batch to batch.
Incorporating Grape-Seed Extract into a Healthy Diet
There is no substitute for a healthy diet. Grape-seed extract isn’t going to replace whole grapes, or the fruits and vegetables you should already be eating daily. Whole fruits and vegetables contain fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other phytonutrients that aren’t found in grape-seed extract. But grape-seed extract does contain concentrated doses of other phytonutrients that are harder to attain from the diet.*
Grape-seed extract should be looked at for what it is—a supplement to a healthy diet and not a replacement for a healthy diet. To learn more about the benefits of grape-seed extract and its role in a supplement, you can read about USANA® Proflavanol® C here.*
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
You can probably name the most plentiful molecule in your body. (Hint: It’s water.) And you know how important it is to your health. But right behind H2O on your body’s molecule count is glutathione (pronounced gloot-a-thigh-own).
With glutathione, second place definitely isn’t the first loser. This tripeptide—a small protein composed of three amino acids—might be the most underrated and underappreciated molecule in the body.
There are a lot of reasons why glutathione is important to your health. You’ve already read about the first one. The ubiquity of this protein shows you its importance. It’s found in every cell in your body. And for some good reasons you’ll read about below.
The Forms of Glutathione and Their Functions
The simplest definition of glutathione is: a small protein made up of three amino acids—glycine, cysteine, and glutamate. But it comes in a few different forms and works with an enzyme that has a very similar name. To avoid any confusion, let’s clear up some vocabulary before we go further.
GSH – The Reduced Form of Glutathione
This is what most people mean when they say glutathione. The two terms—GSH and glutathione—tend to be used interchangeably.
GSH is the reduced form because it’s an electron donor. Without getting too deep into reduction-oxidation (redox) chemistry, a substance that can give away an electron and reduce its total number of electrons is called reducing.
You can also think of GSH as the active, working form of the molecule. It’s working in your cells, neutralizing free radicals and other oxidants, and keeping your cells in a reduced status. Literally every biochemical reaction in our cells requires us to be in this reduced state. So when we stop being in a reduced state, we stop living.
GSSG and GR – The Regeneration of Glutathione
Oxidized is the opposite of reduced. Molecules that are oxidized want an electron.
After GSH donates its electron, it becomes oxidized and leads to the formation of glutathione disulfide (GSSG). This oxidized form is created when two GSH join after they’ve both given away electrons. This is achieved by the bonding of the sulfur atoms of each oxidized GSH molecule.
With the help of the enzyme glutathione reductase (GR), those GSH molecules can get back to work. This enzyme catalyzes a reaction that results in the regeneration of two reduced glutathione molecules.
GS-X – A Game of Molecular Tag
You won’t read a lot about the last form of glutathione in this article, but GS-X is pretty simple to understand. When a glutathione molecule sticks to a protein, toxin, or other compound, it’s called GS-X.
Hopefully that clears up some of the confusion—without creating more. For the rest of the article, glutathione and GSH are used interchangeably. The other forms will be called out by name or acronym when they’re used.
Glutathione as an Antioxidant
An antioxidant is broadly defined as anything that neutralizes oxidants—often used interchangeably with free radicals. The details of antioxidant activity are complex. But it comes down to the availability and need for an electron. Electrons want to exist in pairs. The strong the desire for a molecule to have its electrons in pairs determines how strong of an oxidant or antioxidant it is.
Antioxidants do their work by donating electrons to reactive, oxidized material. This stabilizes the oxidant and lowers the cell’s oxidative status. Glutathione is the most numerous and prominent water-soluble antioxidant. It’s a powerful endogenous antioxidant—one made inside your body.
The protein’s structure is very good at neutralizing oxidative substances in the body. Placing the sulfur atom in cysteine with the two other amino acids—glycine and glutamate—is the key. This allows glutathione to very easily accept and give away electrons. You can think of it as the perfect molecule structure for the job it does.
There’s even a process—described above—that regenerates glutathione molecules so they can keep scavenging free radicals. This is called “redox cycling” and is often why endogenous antioxidants and enzymes are more powerful than dietary antioxidants.
The antioxidants you take in from your diet tend to be consumed in one or two antioxidant reactions. But endogenous antioxidants can redox cycle. This means they easily go back and forth between reduced and oxidized. They have a specific mechanism to facilitate this process (think GR). That’s how they can go through many hundreds, if not thousands, more antioxidant reactions.
Efficiency in the glutathione regeneration process is crucial to keeping cells in a healthy, reduced state. The GSH-GSSG ratio is an important indicator of the efficiency of our metabolism and the amount of cellular oxidative stress.
Glutathione and Natural Detoxification Processes
Glutathione is present in every cell of the body. But concentrations are seven to 10 times higher in liver cells than anywhere else. That’s because the tripeptide plays an important role in Phase II detoxification processes in the liver.
Phase II detoxification is the process of metabolizing various molecules that need to be removed from the cell and body. The most common example is the body joining glutathione to these molecules.
With the help of another family of enzymes (glutathione-S-transferases), glutathione has the ability to plant itself on toxins, flagging them as hazardous. This helps remove chemical substances that weren’t made in your body. The scientific name is xenobiotics. And it can describe drugs, environmental pollutants, or any number of substances.
It’s important that glutathione attaches to these toxins before they can bind to important cellular components, like nucleic acids. Glutathione-S-transferases kick-starts this reaction and GSH finishes the job. Reduced glutathione neutralizes the positively charged intruders by donating electrons. If you haven’t noticed, glutathione is very good at doing that. In this case—like the others mentioned—this protects you from adverse consequences.
But the detoxification process isn’t complete. The next step is to turn the formerly hazardous material into a form that can be further metabolized and/or expelled.
Glutathione aids in transforming toxins into mercapturic acid, which can be flushed from the body in urine. If this is all a little complex, just remember this: glutathione plays a role in making toxins water soluble so you can get them out of your body.
And don’t underappreciate the importance of this process. This specific removal pathway involving glutathione plays physiologically important roles in detoxification. Without it, you’d likely drown in a sea of toxins.
The Production of Glutathione
Since glutathione is a protein, it’s very hard to absorb efficiently from your diet. Like other proteins, the digestive system breaks glutathione into its basic components—glycine, cysteine, and glutamate. There is also no way to absorb it directly intact.
How do we get it then? Using “endogenous antioxidant” above may have already given away the answer.
Your body makes it. GSH is made exclusively in the cytoplasm of cells—the water-soluble compartment of the cell. Then it’s transported to other locations in the cell and even throughout the body.
Its production can be triggered in two ways. Let’s deal with the simpler one first—the presence of cysteine. An increase of this amino acid has been shown to increase glutathione levels. Cysteine is found in the lowest concentrations of the trio required to make GSH. Basically, when it shows up, production can finally start. This is why supplementing with cysteine—or its precursors—can be beneficial.
The second is a little bit more complex. It involves turning on genes that produce the two enzymes responsible for making GSH.
These glutathione-synthesizing genes are part of the Phase II detoxification machinery in your body. Your production of glutathione is low when conditions are normal. You don’t need it, so your body doesn’t make it. But when the right cellular receptors sense toxins, they signal your genes to flip the switch and start the process to make GSH. Research has shown these genes can be turned on via cell-signaling pathways—the major one being Nrf2.
Other non-toxin molecules can trip the sensors and start up your cellular machinery, too. This also includes many nutrients from plants. Broccoli extract, milk thistle, and alpha-lipoic acid are three nutrients shown to stimulate GSH production. These safer nutrient stressors likely trigger similar cell-signaling pathways to boost glutathione levels and enhance cellular protection.
As you age, your body doesn’t make as much GSH and the levels of the protein in your tissues drop. This makes it harder for your cells to deal with oxidants and toxins. So what do you do to maintain healthy levels of this important antioxidant?
The answer lies in the research mentioned above. The ability of alpha-lipoic acid and other nutrients to trigger production and increase levels of GSH. Also providing your body with enough cysteine is key so the amino acid’s absence doesn’t slow production. These two—especially done in tandem—are what research indicates are the most viable solutions for maintaining healthy GSH levels. And that’s very important. Remember, those levels help your cells stay in a reduced, healthy state.
Glucosamine is a basic building block of animal and human cartilage (the tissue that lines, cushions, and lubricates skeletal joints). Cartilage is a complex matrix of collagen fibers interwoven with proteoglycan molecules. Proteoglycans are large and complex macromolecules comprised of long chains of polymerized amino-sugars (a principle one being glucosamine). These provide a framework for the collagen matrix and hold water to give the cartilage flexibility, resiliency, and resistance to compression.
Because of its important role in regulating cartilage formation, glucosamine has been used clinically in the treatment of osteoarthritis.
For many centuries, extracts derived from the leaves of the primitive deciduous tree Ginkgo biloba have played a crucial role in Chinese herbal medicine. These extracts contain a complex mixture of flavonoid glycosides, terpenes, and other naturally occurring compounds.
Studies have examined many interesting properties of Ginkgo extract, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential, reduction of platelet aggregation, increases to blood flow and circulation, roles in the transmission of nerve signals, and possible benefits for short-term memory. More recent studies have explored the benefit of Ginkgo in treating cognitive disorders like Alzheimer’s disease.
Dong quai (Angelica sinensis) is a member of the celery family. The plant is typically found growing in damp mountain ravines, riverbanks, meadows, and coastal areas. Its greenish-white flowers bloom from May to August.
For centuries, Dong quai has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to alleviate gynecological complaints, including dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation) and amenorrhea (lack of menstruation). It has also been used as a uterine smooth muscle relaxant and for alleviating menopausal symptoms (like hot flashes and vaginal dryness). It has been called the “ultimate herb” for women, and it is commonly found in many mixed herbal products developed specifically for use by women.
Dong quai is not recommended for use during pregnancy and lactation.
Your body doesn’t have to look very far to find Coenzyme Q10. It’s in almost every one of your cells. Maybe that’s why it belongs to a category of molecules called ubiquinones (ubiquitous meaning everywhere). This widespread distribution in your body also means CoQ10 benefits abound.
Q10 is important to prepare cellular reactions (that’s what a coenzyme does). It helps cells produce energy for growth and maintenance. CoQ10 also works as an antioxidant that protects you from the same energy-making process it’s also involved in.
But you can’t rely on your natural production forever. It falls off the older you get. So, Q10 is what’s called a conditionally essential nutrient—required under certain circumstances. In this case, age.
Maintaining optimal Coenzyme Q10 levels is important. Discover how CoQ10 works, how it benefits your health, and where you can find it in your diet.
Vitamin Q? Not Quite
If it works like a vitamin, looks like a vitamin, and acts like a vitamin, then it’s a vitamin. Or is it?
CoQ10 doesn’t quite check off the final box. Vitamins are compounds that have to come from your diet or supplementation because you need them and can’t make them. Coenzyme Q10 is not quite an essential substance because your body can make quite a bit of it. At least for some of your life.
Age takes its toll on CoQ10 production. As you get older, your natural production of Coenzyme Q10 falls off. But your need for it never does. So, you could say that Q10 is conditionally essential—especially for older people and those dealing with specific health concerns. That makes it about as close to a vitamin as a non-vitamin can get.
The lack of a full vitamin designation doesn’t make it any less important for optimal health. Let’s look at some of the functions of CoQ10.
CoenzymeQ10 Loves Electrons
First—and this is a bit obvious given the name—CoQ10 works as a coenzyme. That’s how most vitamins work in your body. They help spark reactions in your cells. After all, your cells are basically just bags of chemical reactions. Coenzyme Q10—like it’s vitamin doppelgangers—assists important reactions that help your body run smoothly.
Coenzyme Q10 has the same solubility requirements as vitamin A, D, E, and K. All those compounds require fat for absorption into your body. This is because they all have tails hanging off of the key part of the molecule that look like fats themselves. This is where “Q10” part of the name comes from. This tail is 10 carbon atoms long in humans. In other mammals, for example, this tail is nine carbons long and takes the name Coenzyme Q9.
Q10 most closely resembles vitamin K. They have a similar molecular structure. And the both have the same core function to facilitate so-called redox reactions in your body. That means they donate and receive electrons.
Cellular Energy Production and Q10
You’ve probably heard that mitochondria are the powerhouses within your body’s cells. That’s because they’re the site where ATP (adenosine triphosphate), your cells’ energy transporter, is generated. This is done through a process called the electron transport chain.
The mitochondria break apart the chemical bonds in the food you eat. As these bonds break, they release electrons. There are special molecules that capture these electrons and bring them to the electron transport chain in the membrane of the mitochondria. The electron transport chain is a series of protein complexes. As the electrons are shuttled through the transport chain, they’re harnessed for their energy. But for an electron to get through all the protein complexes in the chain, it takes special molecules to shuttle them.
As the electrons are shuttled down the chain, protons are picked up along the way and passed through the mitochondrial membrane. This creates a charge gradient, or potential energy, to drive the enzyme that makes ATP. You can think of the charge gradient as being water behind a dam. As the water (protons) move through the dam (mitochondrial membrane) this potential energy is utilized to power the conversion of ADP, into your body’s cellular energy, ATP.
Let’s translate this into something more familiar. ATP is the energy your cells use to function, much like the gasoline you put into your car for it to run. Using this analogy, you could imagine that Coenzyme Q10 is similar to the pump that gets the gas into your car’s tank. While it’s not the fuel itself, it plays a major role in getting that fuel to your cells in a form they can utilize.
CoQ10: A Quality Antioxidant
The fact that Coenzyme Q10 is a ubiquitous molecule found everywhere in your body is great news! Because it can operate as a powerful antioxidant. And almost by definition, any molecule in your body whose job it is to give and take electrons can also act like an antioxidant.
Extra CoQ10 in your body—those molecules not involved in energy production—is shuttled off to provide antioxidant protection in various membranes in your body.
It works like any other antioxidant to combat oxidation in your body. Coenzyme Q10 neutralizes free radicals by taking on electrons or giving them away. (Similar to its electron transporter role in energy production.) This helps balance these highly reactive byproducts of different processes.
These oxidized molecules with unpaired electrons are called free radicals. They have an odd number of electrons, making them unstable. Without an antioxidant to help free radicals get an even number of electrons, these reactive molecules build up. This increases oxidative stress. As free radicals build up they start reacting with other molecules or structures within the cell. Left unchecked overtime, oxidative stress damages your cells, DNA, proteins, and lipids. This is known as oxidative damage and is detrimental to your health.
Coenzyme Q10 is one of the important antioxidants that helps protect your cells and body structures. Making sure you have adequate levels of CoQ10 helps support a proper balance between free radicals and antioxidants (yep, your body actually needs some free radicals to remain in a healthy balance). This is especially important as you age, because both oxidative stress and oxidative damage is more common as the years stack up. And at the same time, your body produces less Coenzyme Q10.
Other Body Benefits of CoQ10
Q10 is found everywhere in your body, so it supports total body health, usually as an antioxidant. But it can be found in the highest concentration in some of your hardest working organs—the heart, liver, kidneys, and pancreas. These are also the organs that have the most metabolism and energy needs.
There’s been research showing a connection between Coenzyme Q10 and optimal heart health. It’s been successfully used to help people maintain their heart health. CoQ10 supports healthy muscle function, and your largest organ—the skin. It also plays a role in healthy cell growth and maintenance. Coenzyme Q10’s ability to shuttle electrons helps stimulate cell growth and provide sufficient amounts of energy.
How to Increase CoenzymeQ10 in Your Diet
As mentioned before, your body loses its ability to hold onto optimal levels of CoQ10 as you age. Supplementation and strategic meal planning can help combat this decline. Consider the following ideas to increase the amount of Q10 in your diet, so your tank isn’t running on empty:
- Coenzyme Q10 is often found in fatty cold-water fish. That’s because CoQ10 is fat-soluble. Next time you’re in the market for seafood, choose a fat-rich cut of fish, like tuna, salmon, herring, or mackerel. The American Heart Association recommends eating 3.5 ounces of cooked fatty fish at least twice a week. Not only will this new staple provide you with a boost in Q10, but it also delivers heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
- Don’t assume that Coenzyme Q10 is only found in sea-based protein. You can also find healthy helpings of the nutrient in beef and even chicken. But beef delivers twice as much as poultry in the same serving size.
- Various nuts and seeds also provide decent amounts of Coenzyme Q10. While they don’t yield as much as the fatty fish and beef, the amount nuts deliver isn’t negligible. Consider packing nuts as a mid-day work snack. Add sesame seeds or pistachios to a green salad for an extra nutrient kick.
- Soybean and canola oils, among a few other plant-based oils, provide a satisfactory amount of Q10. Consider swapping these out for your go-to oil occasionally to give your system a CoQ10 boost.
References
https://www.webmd.com/diet/supplement-guide-coenzymeq10-coq10
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-coenzyme-q10/art-20362602
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/coenzyme-q10
https://nccih.nih.gov/health/supplements/coq10
https://www.livestrong.com/article/256149-what-foods-are-rich-in-coq10/
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/dietary-factors/coenzyme-Q10
Bioflavonoids comprise a diverse class of compounds with antioxidant activity. They are found naturally in the leaves, bark, roots, flowers, and seeds of plants.
Hesperidin is a flavonoid found in the pith of unripe citrus fruits. Chemically, it is a complex of glucose and rhamnose with the flavonone hesperin. At one time it was called vitamin P, since it affects the fragility of capillary walls. (However, it is not technically a vitamin.)
Rutin belongs to a class of water-soluble plant pigments called flavonoids. It is the disaccharide derivative of quercetin, containing glucose and rhamnose. Rutin can be found in grains, tomato stalks, and elderberry blossoms. A variety of evidence indicates that rutin possesses strong antioxidant properties.
Quercetin belongs to a class of water-soluble plant pigments called flavonoids. A variety of evidence indicates that quercetin also possesses strong antioxidant properties.
The antioxidant activities of bioflavonoids complement, extend, and sometimes synergize the antioxidant activities of vitamin C, vitamin E, and carotenoids. As such, bioflavonoids represent an important nutritional component in the body’s defenses against free radical damage.
Cinnamon extract contains bioflavonoids (called proanthocyanidins) similar to the proanthocyanidins contained in grape seeds. The primary type of antioxidant contained in pomegranates is somewhat different from other compounds in USANA’s bioflavonoid complex; as such, it adds to the overall biodiversity of the complex.
Choline is a dietary nutrient necessary for cell membrane integrity and facilitating the movement of fats into and out of cells. Choline is also a precursor for acetylcholine, an important neurotransmitter in the brain. Choline also works with folic acid, vitamin B12, and methionine in methyl group metabolism and maintenance of healthy homocysteine levels. Since high levels of homocysteine increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, an adequate intake of choline may be important in reducing risk.
Pregnancy and lactation are periods when maternal reserves of choline risk becoming depleted. Because the availability of choline for normal fetal development of the brain is critical, expectant and nursing mothers should make certain their choline intake is adequate.
Although choline can be found in a wide variety of foods, some of the richest sources are foods high in cholesterol and fat (e.g. beef liver). Because many Americans have been advised to decrease their consumption of fatty foods, choline intake in some population groups may be inadequate. Healthy sources of choline include Brussel sprouts, broccoli, eggs, lean beef, milk, peanuts, and certain seafoods (shrimp, salmon, and cod).
