Ribose Size

Ribose is a carbohydrate, or sugar, used by all living cells and is an essential component in our body's energy production.

Supplemental ribose is a new nutraceutical product that helps the body naturally restore its energy level. It's used by the body's cells to form the primary source of all the body's energy - ATP.

As a dietary supplement at recommended dosages, ribose provides known benefits by quickly restoring energy levels in heart and skeletal muscles. Until now, it wasn't available for sale as a dietary supplement, due to high production costs. Now ribose is sold over-the-counter; it doesn't require a prescription.

Whether you're a high performance athlete looking for an extra boost, just feeling sluggish and run-down, or suffer form poor cardiovascular health, ribose may be the key to helping your body find its energy.

There are 10 calories (2.2 grams of carbs) per serving. 45 servings per container.

31-0111 Muscle-Link Ribose Size 100 g Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 1 Scoop (Approx. 2.2gm) Servings Per Container: 45 Amount Per Serving % Daily Value* Total Calories 10      Total Carbohydrates 2.2  g 1%       Sugars 2.2  g   Ribose 2.2  g   *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.   Recommended Use: Take Maintenance Dose (2.2g) 30 Minutes Before Exercise. On Nonexercise Days Take It Before Bed. Before beginning any program of weight loss, consult your health care practitioner. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you notice any errors in the information above, please let us know. If you have further questions about this product, please contact Muscle-Link at 1-800-667-4626

If you're a serious athlete or simply serious about achieving peak performance, ribose may be an important supplement for you.

Many athletes experience anoxia as the result of intense physical exercise. Anoxia occurs when muscles use oxygen faster than it can be supplied through the bloodstream. When intense exercise causes anoxia, ATP levels in the cells fall, and it will take several days to restore energy levels.

Supplemental ribose helps rebuild the body's energy level. When anoxia occurs, ATP levels are lowered; the cells don't have enough oxygen to use the ATP, and ATP is then lost, washed away into the bloodstream. Research conducted at the State University of New York at Syracuse and the Copenhagen Muscle Research Center in Denmark shows that ATP levels in thigh muscle can be reduced by 21 percent following intense exercise. Other studies have found decreases of up to 47 percent in other muscles.

Ribose is essential in helping the body restore its cellular energy level. The cells use ribose to convert nutrients in ATP, so it makes sense that more ribose means more ATP production. Research shows that ribose increases ATP production in both fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscles by 3.4 to 4.3 times.

The catch is, the body only has so much ribose at any one time, and there's no food source that increases the body's ribose level. The good news is that supplemental ribose does just that.

Weight lifters; sprinters; football, basketball and soccer players; triathletes; cyclists and other athletes requiring sudden high-energy bursts may benefit from supplemental ribose. Energy recovery in muscle cells during and after strenuous high-intensity exercise is enhanced with ribose supplementation.

Ribose may enhance the effects of other energy supplements.

Creatine is used by muscle cells to recycle ADP to ATP as a way to maintain high energy levels. But even with creatine supplementation, ATP and total adenine nucleotide (TAN) levels can decrease dramatically. If these compounds are lost, they are no further value to creatine, and no amount of creatine in the cell can replace them. Left unchecked, this drop in ATP and TAN pools lowers the muscles' energy charge.

Ribose is effective in helping to save and rebuild these energy-producing compounds. The biochemical evidence is clear - creatine supplements alone cannot rebuild energy levels once substrate molecules are lost. Working in combination, ribose and creatine may offer new benefits that serious athletes can't ignore.

The same is true for L-carnitine, pyruvate, pyruvate/creatine combinations or other energy supplements. While these compounds work on their own, their effectiveness is diminished as substrate molecules are lost - they cannot rebuild ATP levels. Ribose helps to rebuild these substrates, and increased substrate availability is key to maintaining peak energy charge and heart or skeletal muscle cell function.

Under normal conditions, the body has all the ingredients it needs to produce ATP from digested foods or other energy stores in the body.

For some people suffering from lack of energy, it's lack of oxygen that's the culprit. When our body's cells don't get all the oxygen they need from the bloodstream, they can't use their fuel, and ATP and other essential compounds are lost.

Two different but related conditions can cause low oxygen levels in the body. One of these, ischemia, occurs when the heart can't get enough blood to the cells. Ischemia can be caused by a number of factors related to poor cardiovascular health. On the other end of the spectrum, people who are extremely fit can exercise past their heart's ability to get oxygen fast enough to the cells a condition known as anoxia. Either way, our cells, especially muscle cells and the cells in the heart itself don't get enough oxygen, and they start to lose ATP and other important compounds.

The bottom line is this - if you're actively exercising, you're losing the compounds needed to maintain maximum energy levels in muscle cells. And if you suffer from poor circulation, the same thing is happening.

According to the American Heart Association, 60 million Americans, more than one in four, suffer from cardiovascular disease.

One result of poor cardiovascular health is ischemia, a condition where poor blood flow decreases the amount of oxygen reaching various tissues in the body. When ischemia occurs, the body's cells aren't getting the oxygen they need to properly burn energy-producing fuels (such as ATP), and have less energy available for normal, everyday life.

In the heart, ischemic conditions may be caused by a number of factors, including coronary artery disease, infarction (caused by clotting in the heart) or cardiac surgery. When ischemia occurs, ATP levels may decrease by 50 percent or more, and research suggests that it may take seven to 10 days for ATP levels to return to normal. Researchers found that supplemental ribose allowed the heart to recover 85 percent of its ATP levels within 24 hours. Another study found that, following a heart attack, supplemental ribose helped ATP levels and heart function return to normal within two days; without supplemental ribose heart function was still depressed after four weeks.

Supplemental ribose can help the heart rebuild energy, and millions of Americans may significantly benefit from its effects. Ribose may help dramatically improve the quality of life for persons suffering from certain cardiac conditions, and research shows it has a direct effect on heart function for persons suffering from ischemia.

Ribose dose suggestions for sports nutrition

Ribose increases both de novo synthesis and salvage of nucleotides in heart and skeletal muscle. Research conducted by Bioenergy, Inc., and others suggest that even low doses of ribose will have an effect on energy recovery following high-intensity exercise. Maintenance doses as low as two grams per day will increase recovery of lost nucleotides by increasing de novo synthesis and salvage of nucleotides that are in danger of being lost due to strenuous activity. Further, there appears to be a functional benefit of ribose loading prior to a high-intensity event. Bioenergy continues to investigate this effect.

Doses greater than or equal to 2.2 grams per day should be enough to improve nucleotide synthesis and salvage during and following a high-intensity exercise session. The actual amount taken may depend on the degree of exercise activity and the speed at which the athlete wants to recover. Daily maintenance doses greater than or equal to 2.2 grams per day should keep ATP levels at their peak.

Maintenance doses of ribose should be taken about 30 minutes following an exercise session. On days with no exercise scheduled, ribose should be taken in the evening before bedtime. However, ribose has been found to be most effective if taken both before and after a period of anaerobic metabolism. Therefore, for optimum result, a dose of 2.2 grams or more may be taken before exercise, followed by a similar dose after exercising.

Long-term aerobic exercise also causes nucleotide depletion. Again, maintenance doses of 2.2 grams should be sufficient. However, additional does of 1.0 to 2.2 grams may be taken every hour of exercise for added benefit, such as a long-distance run or cycling event.

Ribose dose suggestions for cardiovascular health

Under conditions of cardiac insufficiencies, blood flow to the heart is diminished. Some individuals have known cardiac insufficiencies, while a great many others may not even know that such conditions exist. In either case, cardiac function may be diminished, energy stores may be low and recovery to peak levels may be slow or never achieved. For these individuals, even simple activities required for daily living may be difficult and exercise may not be tolerated. Energy recovery is certainly a major concern.

Ribose increases both de novo and salvage of nucleotides in the heart, helps to optimize cardiovascular health, and maintain peak function. Doses greater than or equal to 2.2 grams per day should be enough to improve nucleotide synthesis and salvage and keep heart ATP levels at their peak.

Ribose is only effective, however, if it can reach the cells requiring an energy boost. If circulation to portions of the heart is diminished, it may take longer for enough ribose to reach the affected areas. Therefore, larger doses may be required. In individuals who are concerned about their cardiovascular energy stores, are overly tired following exercise, or are not able to exercise as much or as hard as they like, higher doses may be necessary.

For these individuals, it is suggested that they increase the frequency of dosage until they find a level most beneficial to them. In some, this may be 2.2 to 3.0 grams twice per day, but in others it may be more. Doses should be individually adjusted based on perceived benefit.