Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) is an antioxidant. It reduces stress, improves sleep, lowers cholesterol levels, reduces anxiety, and improves overall mitochondrial health.
It’s a vitamin-like cofactor essential for human nutrition. It’s also vital for mitochondrial function –the energy producing component to our cells. I explained mitochondria in more detail in a previous post, and if you read it, you’ll know its importance and why PQQ is so important. It actually helps us produce more mitochondria, as well as making our current mitochondria more efficient.
You can get it from your diet, but it’s not enough. Kiwi fruit, parsley and leafy veggies are good food sources, but you need about 20 mg a day to feel the effects, and you can’t get that through food alone.
PQQ is found in intergalactic dust, and every living organism. It’s been called a spark plug for life. Mitochondria are like a dimmer switches, so if they aren’t performing, you’re on dim. PQQ is an accelerator to brighten your function, and your overall health.
PQQ has an incredibly high recycling ability to perform as an antioxidant over and over again. For example, vitamin c can only be used four times, then it can’t be used again. PQQ can be used in over 20,000 catalytic cycles.
PQQ is critical for every cell and particularly those with high metabolic needs like our immune system, hearts, and brains.
It protects against every known toxin on the brain including heavy metals, and glutamate. Alpha Synuclein is a protein associated with accelerated aging and particularly Parkinson’s Diesease. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that PQQ can prevent the development of protein fibrils by attaching to a specific region on the alpha-synuclein molecule. As such, PQQ is being explored as a potential candidate for the prevention of Parkinson’s disease progression.
PQQ is also able to save and revive brain cells damaged from beta amyloid associated with Alzheimer’s Disease.
One open-label human study conducted with 20 mg of PQQ for 8 weeks in 17 persons with fatigue or sleep-impairing disorder noted that PQQ was able to significantly improve sleep quality, with improvements in sleep duration and quality appearing at the first testing period after 4 weeks. It also led to a decrease in the time it took to fall asleep but required 8 weeks to reach significance. But it needs to be taken in the morning or you may not be able to sleep because it increases energy (calm energy- not jittery).
The body restores, and repairs itself during sleep, so this benefit can’t be overstated.
Combining PQQ with COQ10 is better than taking than either substance alone as they have a synergistic affect. In a study, researchers were able to show a significant increase in cognitive function after supplementation with 20 mg PQQ and 300 mg COQ10.
PQQ also reduces C Reactive Protein by 50% after just the initial dose. Anyone suffering with autoimmune issues, Lyme or mold toxicity is familiar with that marker, and would love to see it go down that significantly.
The reason it works is because when you increase the energetics of the cell, it’s able to protect itself against inflammatory compounds. Anxiety, depression and inflammation are all linked. If you help a cell have more energy, it’s going to work better. Lowering inflammation will also lead to better immune function, balanced hormones, and helps heal the gut.
PQQ affects the microbiome (gut microflora) in a favorable way. That in and of itself will improve our overall health, and metal health.
PQQ helps to regulate blood lipids, and supports regulation of insulin sensitivity. Clinical studies using 20 mg of PQQ for 12 weeks showed it leads to a reduction in cholesterol on par as those reductions used by statins! Makes sense since we know cholesterol levels are largely linked to inflammation, and sugar regulation.
Taking PQQ leads to an overall improvement in metal health, mood and a decrease of anxiety because your cells are operating with more energy and vitality. Rest is improved, so the body can restore and the body is able to reset and come back to its natural state of homeostasis.
Not all supplements are created equal. The integrity of the manufacturer is vital. PQQ needs to be taken as BIOPQQ – I like Seeking Health’s version.
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