When your body converts glucose, a sugar, into energy, pyruvate is formed. One molecule of glucose breaks down into two molecules of pyruvate, and these molecules are used to provide further energy to the cells. Pyruvate unites multiple metabolic processes and is thus a very important part of the energy systems you need to live. Pyruvic acid is combined with other ingredients as a supplement in order to make it more digestible.
Antioxidant
Pyruvate has been shown to provide cell protection against oxygen radicals. This antioxidant effect is beneficial in protecting your cells from damage and DNA mutations. In a 1996 study at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, researchers A. B. Borle and R. T. Stanko noted that when pyruvate was added to rat cells, subjected to no oxygen and followed by reoxygenation, there was very little injury and the generation of free radicals and LDH release during reoxygenation was reduced 50 to 60 percent. Pyruvate can be used as a supplement for its antioxidant benefits.
Energy, Metabolism and Weight Loss
Pyruvate has also been shown to increase both energy and metabolism. According to VitaminStuff.com, the use of supplemental pyruvate can actually boost your metabolism and energy levels by increasing the amount of adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, in your body. ATP is the fuel for mitochondria, which provide energy to every cell in your body. If you have access to more ATP, the mitochondria will burn faster, and this results not only in an increase in energy, but also a decrease in your stored body fat. Further studies by Stanko have also shown an increase in weight and fat loss when pyruvate was added a weight loss program that included dietary restrictions.
Endurance
Endurance is the ability of your working muscles to sustain a submaximal effort for an extended period of time. Routine cardiovascular exercise increases your metabolism and a healthy diet will assist the body in recovering following a long exercise bout. Pyruvate has also been shown to assist the muscles by increasing endurance. A "Journal of Applied Physiology" study by R.T. Stanko and associates showed that athletes who consumed a high-carbohydrate diet and received pyruvate had enhanced leg exercise endurance, as the pyruvate seemed to increase the glucose extraction within the muscles. Pyruvate may improve your exercise performance by increasing the amount of glucose and protein transported to your muscle cells, which in turn helps them function more efficiently.
References
- Vitamin Stuff: Pyruvate Supplements
- AJP Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology:Pyruvate reduces anoxic injury and free radical formation in perfused rat hepatocytes
- Journal of Applied Physiology: Enhanced leg exercise endurance with a high-carbohydrate diet and dihydroxyacetone and pyruvate
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Body composition, energy utilization, and nitrogen metabolism with a severely restricted diet supplemented with dihydroxyacetone and pyruvate
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