Ribose Health Topic

Ribose Health Topic

D-ribose is a naturally occurring sugar that the body uses to generate ATP, the body's primary source of energy. Ribose is also an important part of RNA, which is responsible for the genetic transcription necessary for life. Ribose can be made naturally by the body, but during high intensity exercise, the heart and skeletal muscles are unable to generate ribose fast enough to quickly restore energy levels once they are depleted. Supplementing with ribose both before and after exercise helps normalize depleted energy reserves, and reduce muscle cramping and soreness. In patients with ischemic (low oxygen) congestive heart failure, studies have shown that D-ribose can replenish low myocardial energy levels, improve cardiac dysfunction, and improve ventilation efficiency, providing an enhanced quality of life score. D-ribose has also shown promise reducing clinical symptoms of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.


Learn More About Ribose

  1. About D-Ribose

    It is known that during high intensity exercise, ATP is depleted in the heart and skeletal muscles. Since D-ribose is used to synthesize nucleotides, the building blocks of ATP, it is theorized that supplementation with D-ribose will increase the rate at which ATP is restored and therefore increase energy. D-ribose is a naturally occurring organic compound. It is the backbone of RNA (ribonucleic acid), which is responsible for genetic transcription (the process by which genetic material is exchanged).



    D-ribose has been shown to increase cellular energy synthesis in heart and skeletal muscle. Approximately 66% of patients experienced significant improvement while on D-ribose. D-ribose significantly reduced clinical symptoms in patients suffering from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.


  3. D-Ribose is Taken by Athletes and Autoimmune Patients to Restore Energy

    D-ribose is a naturally occurring sugar that enhances energy by generating recovery of ATP levels (your body's primary energy carrying molecule).

  4. D-Ribose Aids Advanced Ischemic Heart Failure Patients

    Ribose, a pentose monosaccharide, has shown to replenish low myocardial energy levels, improving cardiac dysfunction following ischemia, and improving ventilation efficiency in patients with heart failure. Ribose improved the ventilatory exercise status in advanced heart failure patients.


  5. D-Ribose in Congestive Heart Failure and Ischemic Disease (pdf)

    Ribose is a substrate that regulates and controls the synthesis of energy compounds. Ribose is an integral component of the ATP molecule and regulates its synthesis. Most tissues in the body, including the heart, are unable to produce ribose fast enough to quickly restore energy levels once they are depleted. Ribose is made naturally in the body from the simple sugar, glucose. The metabolic pathway used to make ribose naturally is slow and inefficient because these tissues lack certain enzymes required to drive the pathway. Providing exogenous ribose to these tissues is proven to enhance their ability to normalize energy pools once they have been reduced or depleted. Ischemia or hypoxia severely depress cardiac energy levels. Immediately following ischemia, hearts that are given ribose rapidly re-build their energy pool. In a trial with congestive heart failure patients, results showed conclusively that when patients were given ribose they had improved diastolic heart function, increased physical function score and enhanced quality of life score.


  6. Use of Ribose to Prevent Cramping and Soreness in Muscles

    Ribose administered before exercise reduces or prevents exercise-induced muscle cramping and soreness. Ribose taken both before and immediately after exercise further reduces or prevents exercise-induced muscle cramping and soreness.During muscle contraction, oxygen demand may exceed oxygen availability, that is, the muscle may become hypoxic. In exercising, hypoxic muscle, energy production switches from the aerobic to anaerobic production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Anaerobic energy production from glucose, that is, glycolysis, produces lactic acid as an end product. At the same time, ATP breaks down to form inosine and hypoxanthine, the further metabolism of which results in the formation of free-radicals, very reactive molecules that can cause cellular damage. The presence of ribose during a hypoxic event can raise the hypoxic threshold in persons encountering situations of low oxygen availability.


Tags: ribose, d-ribose, ribose and ATP, ribose and RNA, ribose and heart disease, ribose and ischemia. ribose and congestive heart failure, ribose and hypoxia, ribose and fibromyalgia, ribose and chronic fatigue, ribose and athletes, ribose and muscle cramps

Ribose has not been evaluated or approved by the FDA for the any of the following topics indicated in the links above: athletic endurance, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, heart disease, hypoxia, ischemia (low oxygen)
