For the typical athlete, its snake oil - like most supplements. I tried it and no effect. When I studied up on it, the body readily makes its requirement. Excess is transformed or catalyzed to other phosphate iterations or by products.

Out of interest, how are you defining a "typical" athlete?

Are you thinking in terms of hrs/week training?
Or is it a more health based measure such as lack of debilitating illness such as CFS?

I was actually being overly conservative, as one doesn't have to be an athlete - but only an otherwise healthy person. A person with a healthy circulatory cadio system will not benefit from taking Ribose. In other words, its snake oil unless you have diseased arteries will very low blood flow - and even then its not defined as medically beneficial.

Cheers Neal

I take d-ribose as one of the supplements / treatment I take for myalgic encephelomyelitis - a medical condition where the mitochondria (among many others) are not functioning properly.

Not sure any benefits if your healthy.

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Advocating for research & treatment for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).
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(me, to myself, every day)

Similar situation here. I started taking it 6 months ago to see if it would help with mitochondrial myopathy, based on studies I had seen using it to treat fibromyalgia. Prior to taking it, I would have to carefully monitor my efforts, and any over-exertion stayed with me. One hard sprint or climb at the beginning of a ride, and I was done. I wouldn't recover, my heart rate would stay elevated, etc. And I would often need to go back to bed for the rest of the day after a good workout or race, and sometimes stay in bed the next day as well. About a week into taking ribose, I was feeling what I recalled as "normal", I wasn't any faster or stronger, but I could actually recover immediately after a hard climb or sprint, and be functional the rest of the day. For me at least, it makes a huge difference...

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"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10, and I don't know why!"