Health Matters—Sweet Remedy for Fibromyalgia

By James Keough

People with fibromyalgia (FMS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) suffer from a profound and typically debilitating lack of energy, along with muscle pain, digestive woes, trouble sleeping, and a lack of mental clarity that’s often referred to as “fibro fog.” No one’s been able to pinpoint a cause for either of these closely related and sometimes interchangeable conditions, but a recent pilot study may have found a remedy.

A team of researchers headed by Jacob E. Teitelbaum, MD, medical director of the national Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers (www.fibroandfatigue.com), gave 36 CFS/FMS suffers a total of 280 grams (5grams three times a day) of d-Ribose, a readily available supplement, in an attempt to boost their energy levels. Earlier studies had shown that d-Ribose, a five-carbon sugar that’s a component of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the primary energy source for all living cells, improved heart function, energy levels, and quality of life for people with congestive heart failure.

At the end of Teitelbaum’s study, the patients reported improvement in energy, sleep, mental clarity, pain intensity, and well-being, with 66 percent of them saying they felt either “somewhat” or “much” better. The researchers concluded that the d-Ribose “significantly reduced” the clinical symptoms of CFS/FMS.

Enter a comment related to this article

---