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Chances are you haven't heard of it. Most people haven't, including many doctors.

I'm talking about an important nutrient known as D-Ribose. And those in the know, including many of the world's top athletes, make sure to include it as part of their daily nutritional supplement regime because of the wealth of benefits it provides.

Although D-Ribose remains fairly unknown, it is found in all living cells, including the more than 70 trillion cells that make up your body. One of its most essential roles is serving as one of components of DNA and RNA, which together act as the building blocks for your body and all of its cells, tissues, organs, etc. Without enough D-Ribose, neither DNA or RNA can function properly.

An equally important function performed by D-Ribose is the initiation of your body's production of a compound known as adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. Simply put, ATP acts as fuel factories inside each of your body's cells, and is therefore the major source of energy that your body needs to perform all of its functions. Without adequate amounts of D-Ribose, adequate amounts of ATP cannot be manufactured. And without enough ATP, your body won't all the energy it requires to meet its many needs.

It's primarily for this reason that world-class athletes and a growing number of other health-conscious people take D-Ribose as a nutritional supplement. By doing so, they are able to quickly and safely restore and then maintain their bodies' energy levels. D-Ribose supplements help to ensure that human cells have the fuel they need to efficiently produce ATP. This, in turn, enables the body to have lasting energy.

Because of its ability to help your body produce ATP more easily and efficiently, D-Ribose is also useful during times of illness and stress. That's because both stress and illness sap your body's energy levels, making it more difficult for you to recover. When your body's energy production becomes impaired, it sets up a vicious circle: The longer your body is unable to produce enough ATP, the longer illness and stress tend to last as well. Supplementing with D-Ribose can help reverse this problem because, by increasing ATP production, D-Ribose produces more energy.

D-Ribose and Your Heart

Because of the benefits it has as an energy producer, a growing number of nutritionally-oriented physicians and other health practitioners now recommend D-Ribose for people who are chronically tired, as well as patients for health conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia.

More recently, researchers have also realized the D-Ribose supplementation is good for your heart. That's because D-Ribose not only increases the production of ATP in your body's cells, it also does so in your body's muscles. This includes the muscle known as your heart! In fact, research shows that supplementing with D-Ribose can increase energy production of the heart and other muscles by as much as 430 percent. As you probably can guess, the more energy your heart has available to it, the better able it is to function properly and remain healthy.

And that's not the only cardiovascular benefit D-Ribose provides. Additional research shows that D-Ribose is extremely effective in preventing and reversing a heart condition known as ischemia. Ischemia is characterized by reduced blood flow to and from the heart, which in turn causes a reduced flow of oxygen to your body's cells, tissues, and organs. Without enough oxygen, the cells cannot properly make use of ATP and other energy-producing fuels. As a result, increased pressure is put on the heart muscle itself, further reducing the amount of energy available to the rest of your body. That explains why ischemia patients are so often tired after performing even the simplest of physical activities.

Research shows that ischemia can reduce ATP levels by as much 50 percent or more. Moreover, even after ischemia is stabilized ATP levels typically do not return to normal until another week to ten days. In fact, lack of energy is a major symptom for most patients suffering from any type of heart disease. And once gain, that's where D-Ribose can come to the rescue.

Scientists have found that D-Ribose supplements can enable weakened hearts to recover up to 85 percent of their normal ATP levels in as little as 24 hours. Other studies have shown that D-Ribose can restore ATP levels and normal heart function within 48 hours after a heart attack, whereas it takes an average of four weeks for heart function and ATP levels to return to normal without D-Ribose.

It is for these reasons that D-Ribose supplementation is now being recommended by growing numbers of health practitioners seeking to help their patients improve their energy levels. If you feel the need to have more energy, D-Ribose may be helpful for you to. You can find it at your local health food store.

Note: As with all other nutritional supplements, however, be sure to discuss D-Ribose with your Health Coach before you start to use it so that he or she can rule other any underlying problems that may be contributing to your fatigue.

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