The Secret to Healthy Gums
"This is where CoQ10 comes in. I always prescribe CoQ10 to my heart-disease patients, because heart cells need more energy than any other organ. It needs enough energy to pump blood throughout the whole body.
But I also noticed after a few weeks of treatment that CoQ10 not only helped their heart condition, it also stopped their gum disease.
I checked the research and found a lot of evidence linking CoQ10 to the reversal of gum disease.4 One study looked at 40 gingivitis patients and found most were CoQ10 deficient.5
Another study using a double-blind trial found that CoQ10 doses of 50 to 75 mg every day stopped gum disease very quickly – sometimes within just a few days.6
But I wasn't surprised to discover the benefits of CoQ10 on gum disease. This super-nutrient is produced by your body in a 17-step process that requires at least eight vitamins, trace minerals and the amino acid tyrosine. And its strength lies in its power to protect and fire up your mitochondria, the microscopic power plants of your cells.
Your mitochondria also make up the master energy system that runs all your body's functions – your circulatory, immune and endocrine system, as well as everything else that keeps you alive.
Low levels of CoQ10 affect every aspect of life. It also affects health, which brings on diseases and speed up aging. Yet CoQ10's crucial role is still ignored by mainstream medicine.
Mitochondria are where food is converted into energy – but they are also the Achilles' heel of cellular aging. As you grow older, your body produces less CoQ10 and that's when your energy-producing system slows down. Our brains are no longer sharp, our hearts do not beat as efficiently and we get tired easily.
But replacing depleted CoQ10 reserves through diet and supplementation has a potent and rejuvenating impact on every part of your body – including your gums. It supercharges the energy output from each of your cellular power producers.
Here's What I Recommend
First, look for CoQ10 from your diet. CoQ10 is a bright red pigment, and the highest concentrations are found in red-meat animals like beef, mutton, goat, ostrich, and rabbit.
In the table below, you get a quick idea of which foods have the most, and how much you need to eat.
Do This First: Your Best Food Sources of CoQ10
Food Source
Notes
Serving
CoQ10 (mg)
Pork heart Only available in specialty markets
3 oz
7.5
Beef heart Only available in specialty markets
3 oz
6.0
Beef Look for grass-fed sources
3 oz
2.6
Herring, marinated Avoid farm-raised
3 oz
2.3
Chicken Look for free-range sources
3 oz
1.4
Rainbow Trout, steamed Look for wild-caught sources
3 oz
0.9
Pistachio nuts, roasted Organic when possible
1 oz
0.6
Broccoli, boiled Organic when possible
1/2 cup, chopped
0.5
Orange Organic when possible
1 medium
0.3
Aside from your diet, you can also supplement with CoQ10:
Try a chewable form of CoQ10, and leave it in your mouth for a few minutes to coat your gums.
Gargle with a natural mouthwash containing CoQ10. You can find organic, oral care products at most vitamin or health food stores.
Take a CoQ10 supplement. The most powerful is the “reduced” or ubiquinol form. Take at least 50 mg per day, up to 200 mg in divided doses if you have gum disease or an infection.
To give CoQ10 a boost, add 10 mg of the antioxidant PQQ. This is the first nutrient ever discovered to multiply the number of mitochondria in your cells. This will help to heal and strengthen your gums.
To your good health,
Al Sears, MD
Al Sears, MD, CNS
