Are your eggs getting the right fuel? A nutritionist’s CoQ10 cheat sheet

How to take CoQ10 for egg quality, according to a nutritionist

When it comes to how to take CoQ10 for egg quality, egg health and your wider fertility profile, there’s a lot of information out there.

The most reliable tips always come best from the experts, so we sat down with Rebecca Traylen, Head of Nutrition at the legendary Zita West Products, for the whys, whats and hows.

Learn how to rocket fuel your egg health – for natural conception and IVF – with CoQ10.

Watch as we cover

• Where should we start with CoQ10 for egg quality – who might find it helpful? 
• How fast does it work, as a supplement – when should we start taking it?
• Can we get CoQ10 from specific foods? Any star players to build in? 

We’ll also chat through:

• Is CoQ10 helpful for male fertility?
• For women aged 40+, is CoQ10 a must-have? 
• What sort of dosage should we look for in a supplement? 
• And lots more

Looking for the Zita West discount code? Snag 10% off the entire Zita West supplement range (US and UK), with code TRB10* at checkout.

Transcript

Eloise Edington

Hello everybody I am being joined today by Rebecca Traylen, who is head of nutrition at Zita West supplements and we’re going to be talking about rocket fueling your eggs for fertility – CoQ10 being such a big part of that. And she is here now so I’m going to welcome her in. Hi Rebecca!

Rebecca Traylen

Hi, how are you doing? 

Eloise Edington

I’m well thanks how are you? 

Rebecca Traylen

Yeah I’m really good thank you, I’m good! Excited to talk about CoQ10!

Eloise Edington

If you could just give um everyone joining a little summary of yourself and your background as Head of Nutrition at Zita West supplements, and then let’s talk about getting the right fuel for your eggs when preparing for fertility and of course that star ingredient CoQ10.

Rebecca Traylen

Yes of course! Well thank you for the introduction at the beginning as well but yeah I am Rebecca, I studied actually biology and then specialised in nutrition, and have gone into both actually gut health and fertility – that’s my area of specialism. 

I’m very into the world of supplements, how they can work, what are the best ones that we should be using. I work at Zita West Products, alongside Zita West of course, and I’m also working on our range of supplements as well! So hopefully I’ll be sharing lots of knowledge today on CoQ10.

Eloise Edington

So the first thing I want to ask you is where should someone start with CoQ10 and who might find it helpful?

Rebecca Traylen

Yes so CoQ10, either Coenzyme Q10, ubiquinol, or some of the interchangeable terms, actually has a lot of benefits. Obviously we’re going to focus on fertility, but actually it’s a nutrient that can be used for heart health and energy as well. 

But, in terms of fertility specifically, it is actually something that I recommend both to men and women. For women I particularly recommend it for those who are older, who are getting pregnant, going through IVF, have low AMH levels and also those with PCOS and endometriosis – it can be particularly helpful for these individuals. 

For men it can be really beneficial again for older men because – although actually we know that it doesn’t have as profound an impact – but we know that age still impacts male fertility. But also for men who have either low sperm count or poor parameters, so looking at things like motility and morphology. 

But these individuals in particular are who I’d be really looking at CoQ10 to supplement them with.

Eloise Edington

Okay good to know! Interesting to hear about men as well because obviously that is half of what we need on the sperm side. 

How fast does a supplement such as CoQ10 work? When should someone consider taking it in the lead-up to IVF conception or natural conception, and what would you advise? 

Rebecca Traylen

With the studies when we’re looking at CoQ10 we actually do see an increase in our CoQ10 levels from about four weeks.

All of our cells need CoQ10 and it’s actually something that our body can produce itself, so it is always working to produce CoQ10. But our levels do decline from about mid-20s, which is why particularly for older individuals and older couples I find it really beneficial to use. 

But I say when we’re looking at fertility, I’m always working within that three-month time period, because it is the time for the egg for the full maturation cycle and again sperm takes two to three months to mature. 

So, ideally, if you can work within that three-month timeline, whether it’s natural conception or when you’re starting your IVF and you’re starting your stimulation, I would like to ideally work within that three months.

I would say with everything that if you don’t have that time period we do still see an impact. We do still see an increase in your CoQ10 level, so it is still going to be beneficial if you’re working with a slightly shorter timeline.

Eloise Edington

Absolutely! Better than not doing it at all right? 

Rebecca Traylen

100%! Like I said, we can see that there is going to be an increase as well. What is great about CoQ10 is we do get some from our diet as well, but our body is making it so we’re not starting from sort of Ground Zero um but a supplement can be really beneficial to help increase those levels.

Eloise Edington

Fantastic. As people may know watching this, I am a big fan of the Zita West supplement products and have used them for all of my IVF conception journeys to prepare for frozen embryo transfers and also for fresh retrievals, and also have used the supplements throughout pregnancy for different trimesters and postpartum as well. 

For anyone who is interested in finding out more please head to our link in bio as we’re chatting or afterwards and you are welcome to use code TRB10 which gets you 10% off the entire range.

So CoQ10 – what form of CoQ10 is the best for a supplement? 

Rebecca Traylen

So there are two forms of CoQ10 and I find it very confusing because the names are so similar so it’s really hard sometimes to tell when you’re looking at packaging!

So ubiquinone is the inactive form of CoQ10, meaning it needs to be converted in the body before it can be used, whereas ubiquinol is the active form so it’s readily used by the body and can be readily absorbed.

I always say to get the active form. It’s the same when we’re looking at folic acid versus folate – we want it to be as easy as possible for our body especially if we are undergoing stress when we get older our body is less effective at converting some of these nutrients, and during IVF there’s a lot of stress that you can be putting on your body, so you want to make things as easy as possible.

It is ubiquinol we’re looking at, and actually we know from studies as well, that it’s three to five times more bioavailable which means just more easily absorbed by the body than when we’re looking at ubiquinone so that is the form I will be looking at.

Interestingly there have been some studies looking at ubiquinone, the inactive form, but we need much higher doses of these to be getting that beneficial impact. 600 milligrams is what we’d be looking at with that inactive form, so I always say get the form that’s easier for your body.

And actually, like I was saying that our body produces and has levels of CoQ10, and over 90% of that is ubiquinol, so I always say get the version that your body likes to use and is more efficient at using.

Eloise Edington

Good to know! Someone has just asked: Is it best to take CoQ10 as a stand-alone additional supplement, or is it better to look for it as a compound ingredient in a multi-supplement and what daily quantity? Great question! 

Rebecca Traylen

This is a brilliant question, thank you so much for asking! So I’ll start with the last bit about the multivitamin supplement. There is CoQ10 in a lot of prenatal supplements, however at a relatively low dosage.

This is just due to restrictions that we have in terms of how much you can fit in a capsule. It’s purely a size thing when it comes down to it a lot of the time, so usually about 30 to 50 milligrams you’ll find in a multivitamin. 

If you are relatively young, and you don’t have any known fertility issues, this actually might be enough for you and you can just have the multivitamin. It’s going to give you a bit of extra support from the CoQ10, but you don’t need those high levels. 

However, if you were someone like the folks I mentioned earlier, maybe you’re slightly older or you’re going through IVF and you have low AMH then I would be looking at a higher dose and ideally 200 milligrams of ubiquinol and you would be getting that as a standalone supplement.

That is just so we can fit that amount in a capsule because, like I said, it is just a space thing, or if we’re getting 100 milligrams in a multivitamin you’re going to be having four to five a day which is just not what we want for anyone! 

So I would say if you are looking and if you do need that higher dose, that 200 milligrams, it is that stand-alone that I would be recommending.

Eloise Edington

Great! Obviously it can be so overwhelming for people depending on which stage of their journey they’re at, not knowing what both parties should take, when, how much of each thing, are you taking too much, you taking too little – am I right in thinking that if someone comes to you guys they can have some support in working out what would be right for them? 

Rebecca Traylen

Yeah, 100%! Both myself and Isabelle (also a fertility nutritionist) do free one-to-one product consultations. It’s just a time to chat about supplements with no obligation. I think people find it helps relieve a bit of stress because there’s so much information online and there’s a lot of conflicting stuff so it is nice just to be able to through that.

Eloise Edington

And also no question is a stupid question! I mean, the questions I’ve asked Isabelle..! She helped me so much with the range, working out what I should be taking when, and how that was kind of personally aligned to my goals and what I needed.

Rebecca Traylen

Yeah exactly, because there is some personalization to it and obviously we can’t sort of go into depth for every different individual because it’s going to be slightly different so we sort of advise what be the most beneficial is for most people.

So for IVF that is around 200-100 milligrams, but for others it is just looking at the specific dose and maybe changing that.

Eloise Edington

And of course, it is September, it is PCOS Awareness Month – so how does CoQ10 fit into PCOS? 

Rebecca Traylen

CoQ10 can be actually really beneficial for supporting hormones. 

There was a really good study looking at levels of FSH and LH, so that can be really beneficial for balancing hormones, but it can also be beneficial for that egg quality and egg maturation because it is involved with energy production. 

That is really one of the key roles of CoQ10 – it supports the mitochondria, the energy producers in every cell of our body, including the egg cell, so it’s super important that we have enough energy to mature that good quality egg each month. 

So it’s going to be really beneficial for that in terms of PCOS. 

Eloise Edington

We’ve just had a couple of questions actually! Someone has said: How do we book a session with you?

Rebecca Traylen

If you head to the Zita West Instagram account and go on our link in bio, you’ll be able to book there, or just head to our website zitawest.com, and you can book a free chat via our website.

Eloise Edington

Amazing! And for anyone who has just joined, if you’re interested in any of the Zita West supplements range, feel free to use code TRB10 which will get you 10% off which is very nice.

Someone has also asked: Any advice for supplements for no sperm present in sperm analysis?

Rebecca Traylen

I would say it might be worth having a look at something like CoQ10 because it can be beneficial for energy production.

There is actually a lot of research into Men’s Health and sperm health with supplements because it’s much easier to analyse, and there have actually been studies showing that the CoQ10 content in the seminal fluid is related to both sperm counts and sperm parameters such as morphology. The mitochondria and the midpiece of the sperm should be really highly concentrated in CoQ10, so we want to be having those high levels.

CoQ10 is something that I really recommend for men, but also looking at things like antioxidants. CoQ10 functions antioxidant as well, but there are other really brilliant antioxidants as well like vitamin E and vitamin C, which can all have a really beneficial role. 

Eloise Edington

Another great question! Can you take DHEA with CoQ10?

Rebecca Traylen

Yes, you can take DHEA with CoQ10, not a problem in terms of interacting! 

We do find with fertility supplements that we don’t want to overwhelm people, but they do all have a role sometimes working together – so CoQ10 can actually regenerate vitamin E that really potent antioxidant which is really beneficial. 

There’s been a study looking at ovarian response with CoQ10 and omega3 as well alongside, so definitely it’s something that can be paired alongside other things and work in tandem.

Eloise Edington

Brilliant, good to know! You’ve answered this a little bit, but tell us a little bit more about how it can be so beneficial for male fertility as well? 

Rebecca Traylen

Yes! So CoQ10 is present in all cells in the body and it is due to that mitochondria function. The mitochondria produce energy in the body, and if we think about the journey of sperm, and how far it has to travel to reach the egg, it needs as much energy as possible – and CoQ10 is needed for that.

It’s actually one of these nutrients that we need to survive because we need to produce that energy, so that is one way it’s really beneficial, that actual energy production. 

Something I haven’t spoken about too much is the antioxidant element of it as well. I think ‘antioxidant’ is such a buzzword when it comes to fertility, but when we’re thinking about antioxidants, they neutralize free radical damage in the body which can directly impact on sperm quality, and also egg quality. 

Our body produces these free radicals from day-to-day processes in the body, but also due to the environment as well – things like stress, pollution, exercise – all of these things are going to be creating these reactive oxygen species. 

So CoQ10 can work in two ways – one with that actual energy production, because it’s all about the mitochondria and we want a really high concentration of CoQ10 in the semen (and like I said higher levels of it have been associated with better sperm parameters) and but we also want it for that antioxidant benefit as well, to reduce any oxidative stress.

Eloise Edington

Perfect, thank you for clarifying! What about when we should stop taking it? Because there’s so much about when you should start – but when would you advise to stop, especially if you’re in an IVF cycle for example? 

Rebecca Traylen

For an IVF cycle, the main time you want to be taking it is up until egg collection.

I personally still really like to recommend it in the lead-up to implantation because it can also help with enhancing blood flow as well, so I actually still recommend it during that time, but probably the day or couple of days before implantation, I’d recommend stopping it. 

There is no research at the moment to show that it’s unsafe in pregnancy, and like I was saying ubiquinol our body produces, it’s a natural compound that we produce. However, there haven’t been any studies to date looking at its safety in pregnancy or also breastfeeding as well, so I always say at implantation stop taking your CoQ10.

If you’re trying naturally, once you get that positive pregnancy test, you can also stop taking it. But like I said, there’s no studies to show that it’s unsafe, and our body produces it naturally, and actually the form that we use the Kaneka ubiquinol is bioidentical to the one found in our body or the one produced by our body.

But I always say just stop it at that point of implantation, or once you have a positive test if you’re trying naturally.

Eloise Edington

Good to know! I’d also like to ask you – for women age 40+, would you say that CoQ10 is a must-have? 

Rebecca Traylen

I do yeah. It is one of those ones that I always recommend, and it is just what I was saying earlier that, although our body does produce CoQ10 naturally, our levels do decline. 

We peak at about 25, so as we age our body just becomes slightly less efficient at producing it, but also less efficient at being able to convert it in the body and being able to get it from food.

So I do really recommend it because it’s just going to help with that energy production, it’s going to help with that egg maturation, and also help that good quality of embryos as well which is obviously what we are looking for.

Eloise Edington

100%! And I can vouch for that having taken the supplements in the lead-up to several rounds of IVF, so I’ve seen the impact that it’s had taking it X amount of months leading up to egg retrievals at different ages throughout my 30s. It’s really interesting to see.

And dosage – can you take too much? I’m sure people are often afraid of doing this!

Rebecca Traylen

Yes so we say with ubiquinol that 200 milligrams is a really good dose to help support wherever you are in your journey. That has been the researched dose for ubiquinol. 

You can increase it slightly, you could go up to 300 milligrams for a little bit of time, but I would try not be taking it too long at a very very high dose, so working within that three month time period is always really nice.

I do find that a lot of people have been recommended actually 600 milligrams. This is because there has been a study done looking at IVF outcomes, however on ubiquinone – which is that inactive form. So when we’re taking the inactive form, our body’s going to need slightly higher dosages because not all of it’s going to be converted in the body. 

So if you’re taking that active form, that 200 milligrams 300 milligrams will be sufficient. Taking too much more, one – is just going to be expensive because you’re going to be having more capsules, and two – you might notice you get some mild digestive complaints, but it also can actually disrupt sleep because it’s involved with that energy production.

Of course, we know sleep is so crucial when it comes to fertility and the IVF process, you don’t want anything that’s going to be interrupting that, so I do like to say stick between that 200 milligrams – 300 milligrams.

But always, as with any supplements, monitor how you’re feeling. If you do notice any side effects, if you do feel like it’s disrupting your sleep, play around with when you’re taking it and how much you’re taking it.

Eloise Edington

Absolutely, and also being able to consult with you, for example, to touch base, to check in in terms of what you’re taking is an amazing opportunity. So please do head to our link in bio or Zita West supplements’ link in bio to find out more about that too.

So, to finish – what should we look for in a CoQ10 supplement and top three foods to build in to complement that? Because it’s not just about the supplements you take is it, it’s the whole package.

Rebecca Traylen
100%! So we can get CoQ10 from the foods we eat, and the primary sources are actually meat and fish.

So if you are following a vegan or vegetarian diet there have been studies to show that your levels of CoQ10 are a little bit lower, so it is that trying to get that good quality meat and fish in.

Obviously working again within those guidelines for your oily fish – that’s two portions per week – but it actually is found in vegetables and whole grains. 

The only thing I would say is if we’re looking at that therapeutic dose so 100 milligrams, you need 10 kilos of broccoli, or 1.6 kilos of sardines, or three kilos of beef! 

So I don’t recommend anyone to go away now and eat 10 kilos of broccoli – I don’t think you’d be feeling great after – but I do say that you can definitely get it from food, and following that Mediterranean-style diet is always what I recommend.

I would say for more concentrated dosages it is looking at supplements. There are three things I’d be looking at – the first one is the dose, so it’s again that 200 milligrams. 

Always read supplement labels carefully in terms of how many capsules that is. Most of them will be 100 milligrams per capsule so that’ll be two capsules per day. 

The next thing is looking at the form of CoQ10. Often the label will just say CoQ10, so have a look at the back at the nutritional table and it should say either ubiquinone or ubiquinol. It’s the ubiquinol that we want, the active form.

And then I really like – and we use it – is the kaneka stamp of approval. You’ll see the logo on the packaging, and it’s a brilliant form of CoQ10 that was found actually in Japan. It’s 100% natural, made by yeast fermentation, and it’s bioidentical to the form that we have in our body which I think is really important. 

So those are the three things I’d be looking out for!

Eloise Edington

So helpful, thank you so much Rebecca! Last question, if you’ve got time – someone has asked: Should men take more as they are often larger? 

Rebecca Traylen

Very good question! Actually the studies even show a little bit less CoQ10! 

There was a study on men with low sperm count and even with 150 milligrams we saw a significant improvement in sperm count. So it is actually still that 150 to 200 milligrams that I would recommend for men as well.

Eloise Edington

Fantastic! This has been so insightful. I’m sure everyone watching back will or watching live will agree. 

And as I said, please head to our link in bio where you can get 10% off the entire Zita West supplement range with code TRB10, so feel free to take advantage of that. 

And of course to book a consult with the team, with Rebecca, who will be delighted to help you with your personal goals. Thank you so much for joining us today! 

Rebecca Traylen

Thank you so much having me on, and any questions do just reach out to us as well! 

Eloise Edington

Absolutely! Thanks Rebecca, speak to you soon! 

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