Health Supplements

Food Summaries

The following list summarizes some common brands of CoQ10 currently available, along with milligram strength, other ingredients, pricing, and price-per-milligram data.

Costco PureGels

0.26 ¢

Gelatin, Rice Bran Oil, Glycerin, Purified Water, Yellow Beeswax, Annatto Extract, Titanium Dioxide.

Costco TruNature

0.25 ¢

Soybean Oil, Coenzyme Q10, Gelatin, Glycerin, Lecithin, Yellow Beeswax, d-Alpha Tocopherol, Titanium Dioxide, Riboflavin.

0.22 ¢

GNC

Soybean Oil, Gelatin, Glycerin, Chlorophyll, Titanium Dioxide (Natural Mineral Whitener)

0.25 ¢

Nature Made

1.39 ¢

Soybean Oil, Gelatin (non-bovine), Glycerin, Water, Soy Lecithin, Beta Carotene (artificial color)

Nature's Bounty
Q-Sorb

1.00 ¢

Rice Bran Oil, Gelatin, Glycerin, Soy Lecithin, Yellow Beeswax, Titanium Dioxide Color

Twinlabs Mega
Twinlabs Ultra

Rice Flour, Cellulose, Gelatin, Purified Water, MCT, Silica, Magnesium Stearate

160

50

50

60

60

60

200

Note:
I have been very happy with the Costco TruNature 150 mg Coenzyme Q10 sofgels. However, on my last visit, they were all out. So I tried the Nature Made CoQ10, on the same shelf.

Surely I am not the only one who sniffs the container of anything that my food comes in. Costco has always smelled sweet - precious little odor, and very nice. The Nature Made bottle had an odor that knocked me backwards - paint thinner immediately came to mind. This can't be right, I thought.

So I called the 800 number, and made an inquiry. My paint thinner complaint raised no concern whatsoever, so I know I am not the first. Without missing a beat, the story I got went something like this, in so many words - "We realize that some are put off by the odor, which is caused by porcine. We will be happy to refund your money." Two different ways to refund my money, she described.

BY PORCINE WHAT? PORCINE GELATIN ?

I don't care about the money. That's not the point. I care about the vile stench, and WHY it is there. If you look at the ingredients listed, you will see "Gelatin (non-bovine)". To me, this looks like a devious marketing gimmick to imply that the gelatin is somehow not animal (the bovine denial), but perhaps vegetable? WRONG. It is PORCINE. From pigs. Hogs. Swine.

And apparently, it smells to high heaven, as was more-or-less tacitly implied by the company respondent. WHOA! None for me, ma'am, thank you. Time to move on.
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And what about "MCT" - presumed to be "Medium-Chain fatty acid Triglycerides". Oh. Thank you very much. I really need more of those.

Why are the sellers so afraid to spell it out? They don't want us to know, right? Use TLA's (Three-Letter-Acronyms) to obscure the truth. WHAT THE HE|| ARE THOSE? I'll bet $1 kagillion dollars that humans don't need MCFATs. And heart doctors are continually telling us to reduce our tryglyceride levels. Yet, McFATs are an additive to CoQ10? Why?
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And what about the titanium dioxide? Almost every supplier wants to stuff that crud into every pill? Why? Because it is a "whitener". I care much more about eating ZERO metal oxides, than I care about gottamn whiteness! Strong titanium dioxide salesmen, right? GET A CLUE. Nobody wants it. Why is it there? Could it be simply that there is a huge oversupply of the substance, that must be marketed? I DON'T WANT IT.
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Proposed NEW CoQ10 Supplement Challenge -
Ideal Ingredients List
I suggest that the first person to come up with the following product ingredient list, will immediately achieve high market share, by virtue of the healthful ingredients list alone - give people what they want, and they will swarm all over you -

PURE CoQ10 POSITIVES
XXX milligrams Coenzyme Q10
Other permissible ingredients, but must be stated, if present -
Bovine Gelatin
Porcine Gelatin
Glycerin
Soybean Oil
Rice Seed Oil
Soy Lecithin (must be stated as soy)
AND VERY LITTLE ELSE

IMPURE CO-Q10 NEGATIVES
Unnecessary ingredients, and therefore perceived by many, including myself, as NEGATIVE ingredients, in the absence of any argument to the contrary. These ingredients directly impact sales in a negative manner, due to the perception of a more educated public, and what they DON'T want.
Many buy upon a basis of what is NOT there, along with what IS there. -
beta carotene (artificial color)
magnesium stearate (they stick it here, they stick it there)
"MCT" - presumed to be "Medium-Chain fatty acid Triglycerides"
silica (basically, sand, or silicon dioxide - to make free-flowing)
titanium dioxide (I don't care about whiter-than-white)
yellow beeswax (what for? To clog my plumbing?)

Disclaimer
I hope that there are no errors above. Any errors reported will be corrected.

The gelatin thing is really a truth-in-labeling issue.
It was the "porcine" thing that got to me, and the reason that I created this page.
Everyday, our freedom to know what we eat becomes further diminished. Obfuscated. Undefined.

Don't we all have a right to know this? Especially Jews and Muslims?
And for non-Jews, and non-Muslims, especially when IT STINKS?
I don't know how you feel, but I am getting more and more concerned with what is going into my body. Especially when producers and suppliers are able to get away with saying that an ingredient is "not something", but refuse to say what the "something" ingredient actually is. BULLSPIT! Outright porcine deception. Ha! Have a great day.