D-Ribose Powder

D-Ribose as it is technically known as a simple sugar and forms the carbohydrate backbone of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), so is a component of the genetic materials used to pass on genetic code from one generation to the next. As well as having this very important function, Ribose is also the starting point for the production of ATP, the energy currency of living cells.

Ribose is found naturally in every living cell of the body and is synthesised from glucose, but this is slow, complicated and requires energy. Supplemental Ribose is able to bypass this process, quickly re-building cellular ATP supplies and returning muscle energy levels to normal. Again, research has shown that Ribose supplementation increases the manufacture of ATP in skeletal muscle by 340 to 430 percent. It has also demonstrated that Ribose improves the cell’s ability to salvage and re-use ADP and AMP by as much as 700 percent (these are the nucleotides that are usually lost from the cell for good). These are not ‘slight’ benefits – they are highly significant. ADP and AMP are the degraded forms of ATP – essentially Ribose quickly and efficiently makes use of them again.

We’re not suggesting that supplementing with TORQ Ribose will make you more powerful – the available research doesn’t support this. What the research does clearly indicate however, is that you will recover more quickly after heavy exercise, which means that the quality of your training during periods of high physical load will improve. Our TORQ Recovery Drink contains Ribose at the research-recommended levels already, so if you are using this product and are interested in purchasing TORQ Ribose separately, read on to check whether or not you would benefit from purchasing this product separately.

In the supplementary tabs for this product, we also outline the efficacy of using TORQ Ribose for cramp prevention and to help with ME, Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia.

1 level scoop provides 4 to 5 grams of TORQ Ribose.

Add to any cold beverage or simply empty contents of scoop straight into your mouth. Ribose in its pure unadulterated form tastes sweet and slightly toffee-like. The dose required depends on what you are using TORQ Ribose for:

Enhanced Cellular Recovery Post Exercise: Take 1 level scoop immediately after exercise. Please note that our TORQ Recovery Drink (both vegan and non-vegan versions) already contains a research-recommended dose of Ribose, so you may not need to purchase TORQ Ribose separately. This product is very useful to add to other brands’ recovery drink preparations to enhance their function, or perhaps add it to a high protein drink to assist in recovery from non-endurance power-based activities. TORQ Ribose will enhance your cellular recovery whatever sport you do.

Recovery ‘on the hoof’ During Ultra-Endurance Efforts Over 6 Hours in Duration: Add 1 level scoop to each 750ml drinks bottle (mix with TORQ Energy Drink). TORQ Ribose used in this way should aid performance and prevent cramping in any event lasting over 6 hours, because of the speed at which ribose is assimilated by the human body. Please note that fuelling for ultra-endurance events, especially 12 and 24-hour races is quite complex and we have a lot of experience advising athletes in this area, so please take a look at our 24 Hour Race Nutrition resources for further details..

Cramp: Consume 1 level scoop the evening before competition and add 1 level scoop to each 500ml-750ml drinks bottle combined with TORQ Energy Drink. If you have frequent random episodes of cramp outside of exercise, consider taking 1 level scoop of ribose on the days this is most likely or daily if cramping daily. There would be no harm in experimenting with 2 divided 5g doses per day if your cramping is particularly severe and you are not getting the relief from 1 dose per day, but if your symptoms are this severe, you should consider consulting a doctor to discuss. Full details are discussed under the Cramp tab.

ME, Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia: Research suggests 15 grams per day in 3 divided doses (1 level scoop 3 times per day) for enhanced energy, wellbeing, sleep, mental clarity and reduced pain.Full details are discussed under the ME, CFS and Fibromyalgia tab.

Every cell in your body contains ATP (adinosine triphosphate), an energy-rich compound that provides virtually all the energy needed to function on a second-by-second basis. When ATP is broken down into ADP + Pi (adinosine diphosphate + inorganic phosphate) energy is released and this is used to power all our bodily functions. Naturally then, it is the breakdown of ATP within the cells of the working muscles that provides the energy for exercise. Without it you wouldn’t be going anywhere!

It is through the metabolism of carbohydrate, fat and protein that ADP + Pi is reformed to make ATP. This ATP is then available to be used for muscular contraction. As the muscle uses it, once again it will break down to ADP + Pi and so it goes on. When exercising, this cycle rapidly and continually takes place in order to satisfy the substantial turnover of energy required.

Research has shown that after maximal high load exercise, the pools of ATP and ADP + Pi in skeletal muscle cells are reduced by as much as 20-28 percent. The mechanisms behind this are rather complex and involve the loss of a compound called AMP (adinosine monophosphate). However, the net effect is that the overall pools of ATP and ADP + Pi within each cell is reduced, which seriously limits their energy potential. It doesn’t matter how much carbohydrate you ram into your body, if these nucleotide levels are low, you’re not going to have the raw materials available to produce power effectively. To further compound the problem, once AMP has left the cell, there’s no getting it back and so ATP and ADP + Pi levels will remain low, perhaps sinking further if another high intensity bout of exercise is experienced.

Whilst all living cells contain ribose, there is not enough in the food we eat to re-stock energy levels. Ribose in meat is predominantly lost through the cooking process and there are insufficient quantities of the nutrient in plant foodstuffs to have any effect. Add to this the fact that it can take many days for the body to synthesise its own ribose from glucose and the benefits of supplementing with this nutrient become clear. 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.

If you are suffering from ME, Chronic Fatigue (CFS) and/or Fibromyalgia (FMS), the following review from the UK’s ‘ME Association’ would be worth a read:

www.meassociation.org.uk/2012/07/research

In essence, the researchers said:

“As D-ribose has been shown to increase cellular energy synthesis, and was shown to significantly improve clinical outcomes in CFS/FMS in an earlier study, we hypothesised that giving D-ribose would improve function in CFS/FMS patients.”

They had a subject pool of 257 patients from 53 US clinics who had been diagnosed with CFS/FMS. All subjects were given Ribose at a dose of 5g, three times per day, for 3 weeks (15g total per day). All patients were then assessed after 1, 2 and 3 weeks to ascertain factors such as energy, sleep, cognitive function, pain and overall wellbeing.

203 patients completed the 3-week treatment trial and the results were quite staggering. 61.3 % increase in perceived energy, 37% increase in overall wellbeing, 29.3% improvement in sleep, 30% improvement in mental clarity and 15.6% decrease in pain. Improvement in symptoms began in the first week of treatment.

We’re not huge fans of anecdotal evidence, hence the reference to research above, but please bear in mind that TORQ have been working with athletes as well as talking to people diagnosed with CFS/FMS since 2004 and the feedback has been very convincing. If you are suffering with CFS/FMS, we have made it very easy for you to trial our TORQ Ribose by providing an inexpensive 100g trial pack. Although the study above was held over a 3-week period, so potent is Ribose in its assimilation into the human body that we would expect you to notice a difference within 24 hours, certainly within a week. 100g of TORQ Ribose will last you about 7 days, giving you time to see if it works for you.

For dosing information, see the Product Usage tab.

In Dr Edmund R Burke’s review of D-Ribose called ‘D-Ribose: What You Need to Know’ in which he reviews over 46 peer-reviewed published studies, on page 29 he discusses ‘Muscle Soreness’. It was these few paragraphs that convinced us to trial TORQ Ribose with clients of ours who were suffering from cramp, either during hard competition, or at indiscriminate times of the day. As we mentioned under the ME, CFS and Fibromyalgia tab, it’s not typical of us to talk about ‘anecdotal evidence’ when what really matters is the peer-reviewed published research. However, so convincing was our anecdotal evidence that we simply must mention it, because feedback from our coaching clients lead to us recommending Ribose to customers of ours complaining of cramp, which in turn lead to comments of praise ranging from ‘Amazing’ through to ‘Witchcraft’! People who had always suffered from cramping episodes had dramatically reduced symptoms when using TORQ Ribose.

This is consistent with Burke’s comments about cramp in his review. According to Dr Burke, some people have muscle enzyme deficiencies which can cause a rapid loss of ATP and total energy charge from the muscle cells. He goes on to say that people suffering from these deficiencies can suffer cramping and muscle soreness following even brief, light exercise. He suggests that the problem is significant (2% of the entire population) and many people suffer from these enzyme deficiencies in one way or another, some with a greater manifestation of symptoms than others (25% of those with the deficiency show moderate to severe symptoms). Could it be that you are one of these people?

There are a whole variety of reasons why you might cramp and it’s vital that you exhaust all other options before turning to TORQ Ribose, because quite frankly, we don’t want your money unless we are providing you with a product that genuinely helps you. The biggest causes of cramp are ‘over-exertion’ and ‘unaccustomed exercise’ – nothing to do with electrolytes, dehydration, or a muscle enzyme deficiency. This means that if you push your body harder than you’ve trained it to work, which is common in a competitive situation, or you perform movements that your body is unaccustomed to, there’s a high chance you’ll get cramp as the muscles contract to protect themselves, stopping you from continuing your unreasonable behaviour!

Dehydration doesn’t help the situation either, so if you’re not using an energy drink containing electrolytes like TORQ Energy Drink whilst exercising, get yourself some. Often, proper fuelling and hydration, combined with ‘getting a few events under your belt’ to accustom yourself to ‘race pace’ should see off cramp and attacks should be much less frequent.

If you’ve literally tried everything in cramp-prevention, we strongly consider that you give TORQ Ribose a try. We sell it in 100g trial packs so that you can trial it properly without committing to a larger spend. 100g will give you 20 X 5g doses, so is plenty for you to experiment with and then you could invest in a larger pack once you know it works for you.

If you would like to learn more about cramp, please take the time to read our The Cramp Paradox article.

For dosing information, see the Product Usage tab.

Ingredients: 100% Pure Pharmaceutical Grade D-Ribose.

No Colours // No Flavours // No Artificial Sweeteners // No Preservatives // Suitable for Vegans

Allergy Information: No Allergens.

If you have any questions about this product or any other on this website, please don’t hesitate in contacting us at enquiries@torqfitness.co.uk or on 0344 332 0852.

1. Burke, E.R PhD (1999)
   D-Ribose, What You Need to Know. Avery Publishing Group. This review publication contains 46 references from selected peer-reviewed published research papers.
2. Burke, E.R PhD (2002)
   Serious Cycling. Human Kinetics. Pp 167-169.
3. Jacob Teitelbaum, Janelle Jandrain and Ryan McGrew (2012)
   Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia with D-Ribose – An Open-label, Multicenter Study. The Open Pain Journal Pp 32-37. 4th July 2012.