People who suffer from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) often report that along with persistent pain, they have trouble sleeping and thinking clearly. A new study shows that taking the supplement ribose can not only alleviate those symptoms, but also significantly increase energy levels. 

The study, published in June 2012 in Open Pain Journal, involved 257 people with CFS and fibromyalgia. After taking 5 grams of ribose—a sugar that the body naturally produces from food—three times a day for three weeks, the participants reported: 

• A 61.3 percent increase in energy
• A 37 percent increase in overall well-being
• A 29.3 percent improvement in sleep
• A 30 percent improvement in mental clarity
• A 15.6 percent decrease in pain

“At the end of the study, improvement was continuing to increase, suggesting that continued supplementation with ribose would be associated with an even greater improvement,” said study leader Jacob Teitelbaum, MD.

Ribose stimulates the metabolic pathway our bodies use to make a cellular energy source known as ATP. Healthy muscle and heart tissue usually can produce all the ribose they need, but when muscles are chronically stressed by diseases like fibromyalgia and CFS, they may be ribose deficient. 

“The consequence is chronic, persistent stiffness, soreness and overwhelming fatigue that may never go away unless energy production is restored,” said Teitelbaum, who is medical director of the national Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers.

Other studies, including one conducted by Teitelbaum in 2006, also show that ribose can help fibromyalgia and CFS patients feel more energetic. In addition, Teitelbaum says research shows that coenzyme Q-10, magnesium and the amino acid acetyl L-carnitine can help promote healthy energy production in the body.