 By Elena Voropay Need more energy to power up your brain and muscles? Sure, we all do. While a candy bar may sound appealing and a cup of coffee to chase it along has proven to do some perking-up magic, who needs these short-term energy spikes followed by extremely low dips into fatigue when a new energy drink claims to be more than just a morning pick-me-up?A small serve of one simple sugar with a mild sweet taste may not feel like a sugar-rush to your senses, but on a cellular level it is an entirely different story. Super strong kick from the unique sugar Ribose is definitely something your heart and muscles, red blood cells and parts of the brain can use. While it will not get you rolling off the couch like a cinnamon-roll with sugar stars bursting through your eyes, Ribose may help jump-start your energy and lessen pain naturally.
What Is Ribose
Ribose is not just like any typical sugar you find in sports drinks and foods. Like most naturally occurring compounds ending in ‘ose’, Ribose is a sugar; and like many of the more familiar sugars in the body and in the foods we eat, such as Glucose, Fructose and Galactose, it consists of a carbon ring-like structure to which oxygen and hydrogen atoms are bonded. Unlike these other sugars, Ribose occurs naturally in the body and is actually synthesised from glucose. Your blood doesn't carry Galactose or Fructose – these sugars have to be converted to glucose first. But even glucose is not as easy for cells to use as Ribose.
 The difference between Glucose and Ribose is just one carbon atom. Chemically, Glucose has 6 carbons while Ribose has only 5. So, where does one carbon go?
The Story of Ribose
Before Glucose becomes Ribose, it has to take a special road, known as the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP, also known as the hexosemonophosphate shunt or the phosphogluconate pathway). In crude terms, during the process, enzymes chop out a molecule of carbon dioxide (CO2) from a 6-carbon glucose ring by means of a process called ‘oxidative carboxylation’. This produces a And a critically important compound called NADPH and another chemical called PRPP which is then used in the synthesis or salvaging of ATP in the muscle cell. Once Ribose has been formed, it can either be recycled back to glucose or incorporated into other larger molecules that use Ribose as building blocks.
Ribose serves as the backbone of ribonucleic acid (RNA), deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) which store and translate genetic information during cell division. Because RNA and DNA are the genetic materials used to pass on genetic code from one generation to the next, they are thought to be the most important parts of the living organism. But Ribose's job doesn't end there. To keep your body alive, Ribose has a very important function maintaining the the universal energy currency within the body and makes up adenine nucleotides (ATP, ADP and AMP). In fact, Ribose actually manufactures ATP from scratch.
Every cell in your body contains ATP. When it is broken down into ADP + Pi (Adenosine Diphosphate + inorganic Phosphate) energy is released and this is used to power all our bodily functions. Without ATP you wouldn't be going anywhere! And without Ribose there will be no ATP.
Whilst the body can manufacture its own Ribose from Glucose, this additional step requires energy and time. Although heart and muscle cells have the ability for forming, recycling, and conserving energy-producing molecules, they also use a lot of energy. The chemical PPP is required to make Ribose from Glucose, but it is inefficient in muscles and in the heart. There is another limitation in carbohydrate processing - the rate limiting enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase which turns Glucose into Ribose. Heart and muscles have very limited supplies of this enzyme which is why they are not always successful at keeping up sufficient levels of ATP.
The Benefits of Ribose
Under normal physiological conditions, cells are highly efficient at maintaining a steady state of ATP production. However, during high-intensity workouts ATP is rapidly used by muscles and other tissues. The amount of ATP molecules depleted during exercise can be significant - as much as 37% after periods of high-intensity exercise. Plus, other conditions such as hypoxia (reduced oxygen supply) and ischemia can cause significant losses of ATP leaving the cells wanting for energy.
When this happens, the functioning of the cells may be compromised and you may not be able to exercise as hard as you wish. If you train with weights, your ability to generate the powerful contractions will go down the drain. If you are an endurance athlete, your heart may not pump enough blood to supply your tissues with adequate amounts of oxygen. If the cellular energy pool is depleted by disease or exercise it must be replaced. Studies also show that when cells lose their ATP during exercise, it may take three days of rest, or more to synthesise its own Ribose from Glucose in sufficient amounts and fully replenish ATP in muscle and heart tissue levels.
Why Do You Need Ribose
It is proposed that Ribose supplementation will bypass the limiting factors in the energy-producing pathway to increase PRPP synthesis and enhance the restoration of ATP levels. Additionally, Ribose may help your heart and skeletal-muscle cells maintain their energy charge and normal function.
Supplemental Ribose is very quickly absorbed into the bloodstream with much of this absorption occurring before it is even swallowed. Once in the muscle cell itself, Ribose can be very quickly transformed into ATP and start re-building lost cellular energy and return depleted muscles into their anabolic state. Thus, it is speculated that taking Ribose before, during, and after periods of high-intensity exercise may increase your exercise effectiveness.
Research has shown that taking as little as 3-5 grams (1 level teaspoon) of Ribose per day will increase the manufacture of ATP in skeletal muscle by 340% - 430% and return cellular levels of ATP to normal within 6-22 hours of exhaustive exercise. Without supplementation, this is likely to take between 26 and 93 hours (1-4 days) depending on how strenuous and prolonged the exercise was. It has also been demonstrated that Ribose improves the cell's ability to salvage and re-use ADP and AMP by as much as 700%.
One double-blind, placebo-controlled trial tried to determine the effects of Ribose supplementation for 4 weeks on body composition and exercise performance in 20 healthy, young, male recreational bodybuilders aged 18 to 35 years. The study compared a group of subjects who took 10 grams of Ribose per day (in powder formulation) with a placebo group who used a form of simple sugar Dextrose. Each subject participated in a heavy-resistance training program designed to increase skeletal muscle mass. Those who supplemented with Ribose “experienced a significant pre-treatment-to-post-treatment increase in the total work performed whereas the placebo group did not change significantly,” researchers concluded (an increase of 3.2% vs. 1.7% respectively). To be exact, there was in increase in 1-RM bench press strength by 19.6% when Ribose was added (vs. 12.0% increase in the placebo).
Another study measured exercise performance of bodybuilders who supplemented with Ribose for 4 weeks. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups. The bodybuilders taking 5 grams of Ribose 15 minutes before the workout and another 5 grams immediately after training increased the number of bench press repetitions performed for 10 sets to failure by 19.6% compared to 12% increase noted in the bodybuilders taking placebo.
Even though the results from the research are promising, there is no clear evidence that taking Ribose will definitely make you feel more energetic or that your athletic performance will improve. At the very least, Ribose may help improve exercise tolerance in high intensity activities and speed up the recovery after training.
Ribose is not an alien compound to the body made only in the chemical lab. It lives naturally in every living cell of every living creature (animal or plant) on the planet. Unfortunately, food sources are poor suppliers of Ribose and most of it is predominantly lost through the cooking process. Because there are no substantial dietary sources of Ribose and the body needs it for every process, your system has learned to make its own Ribose, but in very limited amounts. Hence the benefits of supplementing with this nutrient become clear.
Ribose supplements haven't been extensively studied. At this point emerging evidence does suggest that this simple sugar Ribose does more than aid energy – it appears to improve heart function. Clinical studies of patients with ischaemic heart disease and congestive heart failure (a serious condition in which the heart cannot pump sufficient blood to meet the body's circulatory needs) show that these people have low PRPP levels. Ribose supplementation increases PRPP, improves cardiac function and exercise tolerance. In a study in The European Journal of Heart Failure, and quality of life among these patients by increasing levels and availability of ATP.
Preliminary evidence also indicates that Ribose may ease the pain and fatigue of patients with fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome. In one small study published in the November 2006 issue of The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, patients who took 5 grams of Ribose three times a day for an average of 28 days reported less muscle soreness and stiffness and an improved ability to overcome fatigue. While encouraging, this study had its limitations: there was no placebo group or long-term follow up on taking Ribose supplements.
Recommendations For Ribose
For energy enhancement, ½ to 1 teaspoon (about 2 - 5 grams) is generally adequate. To maximise athletic performance, or to keep energy pools high during strenuous activity, slightly larger doses may be required (up to 10 grams per day divided into two dozes).
It is available in a capsule or powder form which is mildly sweet and completely soluble. It mixes easily with your favourite juice, milk or other cold foods.
Is Ribose A Safe and Healthy Sugar?
Ribose taken at the recommended dose is unlikely to do you any harm. While a small dose of 3-5 grams is effective, taking any more will not provide substantial benefits. Individuals taking 60grams per day (12 to 20 times the suggested dose) have reported incidences of diarrhoea. You should be aware that Ribose is being added to many products, including energy drinks, and sometimes you may be getting more than you think.
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