The number one killer of American men and women is heart disease.
There are over 870,000 new cases diagnosed in the U.S. each year in people 55 and over. It will kill over 610,000 people this year.
But new research is showing that a simple sugar molecule might save many of these people.
D-Ribose is produced by the body naturally and can improve heart function after damage has occurred.
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is critical to energy release at the cellular level. This is universal energy currency used by cells to get work done at that level.
The heart is one of the most energy hungry muscles in the body. Many forms of heart disease are a weakening of this muscle, so figuring out ways to get it more energy is crucial to stop the slow train wreck that is heart disease.
And that is where D-ribose comes in. As far back as 2004, researchers saw a marked improvement in cyclist performance. It was discovered that their performance improved when they were given D-ribose.
Since then it has been found that this sugar molecule is vital to ATP and increasing it makes the ATP work better.
Although most of the research was initially directed at sport performance, it has recently been explored to help weak hearts.
There isn’t any great medicine for weak hearts, which creates a horrible cycle for those suffering from heart disease. The heart muscle is weakened, which makes it more difficult to exercise to strengthen it, so a horrible downward spiral is the result.
If this downward spiral can be stopped by energizing the heart, this is the hope of D-ribose.
The hope is that by helping the ATP do its job better, cardiac patients can break this cycle.
If the heart is not producing the ATP fast enough, D-ribose supplementation can give it a boost. Just five grams three times daily has been shown to improve heart muscle function.
Once the heart starts beating stronger, the workload decreases on the entire cardiovascular system. Efficiency is the key. A stronger heart is more efficient.
As this system improves, researchers noted improvement in the respiratory system. In one D-ribose trial, a group of the worst heart patients were treated for two months.
The results were startlingly hopeful. Respiratory efficiency increased 16%, which improved the survivability rate of these patients. The stronger and more efficient heart action helped oxygenate the whole body.
D-ribose seems to help the body recover from hard workouts, or instance exertion, by getting the APT more energy.
It makes our cells more efficient, and able to utilize glucose better to make even more ATP.
Since our heart can never stop to rest, getting a constant energy flow to this vital muscle is even more important.
The use of D-ribose re-energizes the heart muscle and as we have seen, the positive cascade of benefits begins there.
Science is showing us that we can begin to reverse heart disease at the cellular level and D-ribose is one of these major game changers that can give those suffering from weakened hearts a new lease on life.
Once someone has been given an opportunity to get stronger, its up to them to work with their health care providers to work to strengthen this muscle.
