Is ubiquinol better than regular CoQ10?

Ubiquinol does reach the bloodstream more effectively than the standard form ubiquinone in healthy people. In a small randomised study (12 participants), blood levels were two to three times higher after a dose of ubiquinol. Supplementary cell research shows why: ubiquinol is packed more efficiently into the fat droplets that form during digestion, and then crosses the intestinal wall more easily.

Even so, choosing ubiquinol is not automatically the smartest move. A double-blind comparison study with 14 participants tested seven different CoQ10 products side by side. The two best performers were a ubiquinone softgel and a ubiquinol softgel. They came out virtually equal. The formulation, meaning the carrier and solvent of the product, turned out to be at least as important as the question of whether it contains ubiquinol or ubiquinone. A well-made ubiquinone softgel can in practice work just as well as a poorly made ubiquinol capsule.

For safety, there are short-term data in healthy people: doses of up to 300 mg per day for four weeks produced no clinically relevant side effects. Long-term data are absent from the available studies.

Cell studies suggest that ubiquinol restores ageing markers in skin cells more effectively than ubiquinone, and for a Parkinson-like model in worms and cells one study also saw a benefit for a modified form of ubiquinol. But both findings come purely from the laboratory and say nothing yet about what a person would actually notice.

A review article advocates ubiquinol as a supplement for statin users with heart failure, but that is an expert opinion without its own clinical data. Based on the available studies, there is therefore no evidence that ubiquinol works better than well-formulated regular CoQ10 for any specific condition.