Athletes Are Hard on Their Bodies

The harder, longer and more often an athlete exercises, the more he (or she) breaks down his muscles and depletes his stores of energy at a cellular level. You may wonder if that isn't the point of exercise, and, to a certain extent, it is. Muscles are typically worked to their limit, which occurs when the muscle's cells run out of energy.

This is where the addition of ribose can make a huge difference in the effectiveness of your routine. By supplementing with ribose before a workout, you increase the amount of energy available to your cells, thereby increasing the amount of energy available for working out.

By supplementing with ribose following a workout, you help to restore energy to the cells much faster than without ribose. The benefit is that your muscles are able to recover much more quickly, allowing your body to be ready for the next workout more quickly.

Who needs supplemental ribose?

Everyone needs ribose. It is an essential ingredient in stimulating natural energy production. Research has shown that ribose promotes cardiovascular health, reduces cardiac stress associated with strenuous activity and helps athletes reach new heights. Ribose helps hearts and muscles maximize energy recovery. Whether you are a trained athlete, a weekend warrior or are concerned about your cardiovascular health, ribose may help give the energy boost your body needs.

How does the body derive cellular energy from ribose?

The physiologically functional form of ribose, called 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate (PRPP), regulates the metabolic pathway that synthesizes energy compounds in all living tissue. If this compound is not available in sufficient quantity, energy synthesis slows.

How does taking supplemental ribose aid in increasing cellular energy?

If the cellular energy pool is depleted by disease or exercise it must be replaced. PRPP is required to turn on the metabolic pathway used by the body to replenish these energy pools. Supplemental ribose bypasses the slow and rate limiting Pentose Phosphate Pathway, forms PRPP, and quickly begins the process of energy synthesis.

What is the recommended daily dosage of ribose?

For energy enhancement, ½ to 1 teaspoon (about 2 - 5 grams) is generally adequate. Bioenergy RIBOSE is mildly sweet and completely soluble. It mixes easily with your favorite juice, milk or other cold foods.

To maximize athletic performance, or to keep energy pools high during strenuous activity, slightly larger doses may be required. Bioenergy RIBOSE should be taken just before and just after exercise or activity. For extended exercise, an additional 1 - 2 grams per hour of exercise or activity may be helpful.

Are there any side effects associated with taking ribose?

Ribose should be taken in doses up to 5 grams (approximately 1 rounded teaspoon) at a time. Multiple 5-gram doses separated by 30 - 45 minutes can be taken without side effects. There are two known side effects of taking ribose in doses of 10 grams or more on an empty stomach. The first is a transient hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) that can be eliminated by taking larger doses of ribose with other carbohydrates (such as in juice). The second side effect that may occur in some individuals is loose stools. Again, this side effect has only been reported in very large doses, greater than 10 grams. Total daily intake of ribose should be limited to 20 grams, or approximately 4 rounded teaspoonfuls.

What will ribose do for someone who exercises on a regular basis?

Scientific research shows that three or four workouts per week may not allow enough rest time between sessions for heart and muscle energy pools to return to normal levels. Taking Bioenergy RIBOSE shortens the time needed by heart and muscle tissue to replace energy that is lost through vigorous exercise. Keeping energy pools full helps to keep hearts and muscles in good physiological condition, increase power and endurance, and reduce fatigue. Recent research has also shown that ribose supplementation during exercise reduces free radical formation and lowers cardiac stress associated with hypoxia.

Does ribose work with creatine or other supplements?

Ribose can increase the effect of creatine and other energy supplements by keeping the energy pool at full capacity. Creatine works by recycling energy that is already present in the tissue. Another supplement, carnitine, aids in fatty acid metabolism. A third, pyruvate, also helps to recycle energy. None of these other supplements, however, help to maintain the pool of energy in the cell. Only ribose performs this important metabolic function. Without adequate levels of energy to work with, no other supplement can be fully effective.

Why is the use of ribose on the rise?

Traditionally, ribose has been very expensive to produce making it difficult to offer as a nutritional supplement. New technology has brought production costs down.

In addition, ribose is safe and proven effective by many clinical and laboratory studies. Over 70 scientific publications describe the beneficial effects of ribose in hearts and muscles.

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Study Results: Ribose Effects in Skeletal Muscle

Several studies have noted that while healthy skeletal muscle has a large capacity for high-energy phosphate turnover, intense exercise causes significant decreases in ATP and total adenine nucleotides (TAN) pools. One study showed that one week of high-intensity exercise significantly decreased levels of both ATP and TANs in skeletal muscle with no meaningful recovery even after 72 hours of rest.9 This decrease in ATP (23%) and TAN (24%) is reflective of the loss of nucleotides from muscle during and following high intensity exercise. Furthermore, the delayed recovery of ATP and TANs is likely explained by the lack of the availability of 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate (PRPP), the rate-limiting factor in adenine nucleotide synthesis and salvage.

A second study found that resting ATP and TAN levels were lowered by 19% and 18% respectively after high intensity exercise training.7 These lowered levels were primarily attributed to an inability of skeletal muscle to completely restore the purines that were lost as a result of high ATP turnover during training periods. Total purines continue to decline in the first few minutes following exhaustive cycle exercise as found in a study of 8 healthy male subjects.11 An average decrease of 6.3% in total purines was seen between the time the exercise period ended and 3 minutes into recovery. This provides evidence that there are rapid changes in TAN levels due to degradation and purine efflux.

In two benchmark studies ribose administered to isolated hind limb muscle fibers in vitro led to increased adenine nucleotide de novo synthesis rates of 3.4 to 4.3-fold and adenine and hypoxanthine salvage rates of 3 to 6-fold. 10,33 Fast-twitch red gastrocnemius, fast-twitch white gastrocnemius, fast- twitch mixed plantaris, and slow-twitch red soleus muscle fiber types were studied.

The greatest increase in both de novo synthesis and adenine and hypoxanthine salvage rates were seen in the low-oxidative fast-twitch white gastrocnemius muscle, with significant increases in the other muscle types as well. The importance of ribose in skeletal muscle energy metabolism was noted, and its impact on PRPP availability thought to be most critical.10

In a follow-up study these researchers found that without added ribose adenine salvage rates were low in both resting muscle and post-contracted recovering muscle, but with the addition of 5mM ribose to the perfusion medium these rates increased 5-fold.34

They also found that increasing the adenine nucleotide salvage rates by adding ribose to the perfusion medium did not result in a larger ATP pool. Instead, they found that, in spite of increased salvage rates, ATP concentrations were controlled within narrow limits by activation of adenine nucleotide degradation.35

In a study of 16 human athletes those subjects taking supplemental ribose had a larger increase in mean power over 5 days of training (4.2% vs. 0.6%), and greater peak power output at the last sprint session (11.4 watts/kg vs. 10.4 watts/kg, p=0.05 time) than the placebo group. 36 In this study 8 subjects consumed ribose and 8 subjects consumed glucose placebo, each at a dose of 10 grams two times per day. The study consisted of three phases, a loading phase, a training phase, and a recovery phase.

During the loading phase, which was 72 hours long, the subjects did not exercise but consumed their respective supplement twice a day. The subjects then entered the training phase, which was 5 days long, during which they continued taking their supplements and began high intensity exercise bouts twice per day. The exercise bouts consisted of 15 x 10 second cycle sprints at a workload of 0.07 kg/kg body weight with a 50 second rest between each sprint. After the training phase the subjects entered a 65 hour recovery phase where they continued taking supplemental ribose or glucose placebo, but did not exercise.

Throughout the training sessions the mean power output was consistently higher in the subjects who consumed ribose than in the subjects who consumed glucose placebo. Also, the percent fatigue was consistently less in the ribose group than in the placebo group.

Another aspect of the same study showed that ribose supplementation partially attenuated the decrease in TAN levels after the 5 days of exercise (p < 0.05).37 While the placebo and ribose groups displayed a similar pattern of recovery of TAN levels, the ribose group recovered to pre-exercise levels after the 65 hour recovery period, but the placebo group remained at 23% below pre-exercise levels.

The fact that ATP and TAN levels decrease during exercise and normally do not recover even after three days of rest indicates that without supplementation skeletal muscle has a limited ability to maintain peak performance during periods of repeated high-intensity exercise. However, the studies reviewed here indicate that the administration of ribose leads to an increase in the power output in athletes and improves the ability of skeletal muscles to quickly recover their energy levels after high intensity exercise.

Indeed a study of exercise performance over 4 weeks in male bodybuilders showed a significant increase in the number of total repetitions performed in bench press exercises in athletes taking ribose compared to athletes taking glucose placebo.38 The subjects were randomly divided into two groups, 5 subjects consuming ribose and 7 subjects consuming glucose placebo.

The supplements were taken in divided doses, 5 grams 15 minutes prior to exercise and another 5 grams immediately post-exercise. The ribose group experienced a significant increase in the number of bench press repetitions performed to muscular failure (+29.8% ribose vs. +7.42% placebo, p = 0.046).

References

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