Creatine and D-ribose supplements are heavily marketed to athletes and bodybuilders. While the shelves of big box discount stores groan under the weight of creatine products, D-ribose is found primarily in vitamin and health food stores. Although advertising materials may claim you need these supplements, your body makes all the creatine and ribose it needs. Neither of these products may be appropriate for you; seek a doctor's guidance about any potential benefits or risks.
Creatine
Creatine is an amino acid made in the liver and kidneys and transported to muscles. MayoClinic.com rates evidence that it enhances muscle mass and strength as an "A." In addition to athletes, creatine might also benefit some people with congestive heart failure, if the cause of the failure is attributed to weak cardiac muscle. Other claims are more likely to be spurious and are given a "C" or a "D," meaning that evidence is unclear or no benefit has been demonstrated.
Kidney Patients
Muscles break creatine down into creatinine, which the kidneys remove when they filter the blood. While taking creatine does not damage the kidneys of healthy people, MedlinePlus recommends that kidney patients avoid taking creatine because it might accelerate the progression of kidney disease. Given that scarred kidney tissue does not heal, kidney patients should be cautious about anything that might cause further damage.
Ribose
D-ribose is a 5-carbon sugar that is an important part of other molecules such as DNA, RNA, adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, and several others. Since it is not a nutrient, data on the specific amount of D-ribose in foods is not available. The Human Metabolome Database says that vegetables, brewer's yeast, ripe fruits and vegetables contain small amounts. Makers of energy drinks and anti-aging products occasionally include it in their products as well. These products are not necessary because your body makes all the D-ribose it needs.
Dubious Benefits
The few studies that claim that taking D-ribose has medical benefits are small, poorly designed studies. The November 2006 study in the "Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine" which claims that ribose helps alleviate chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia is typical of many of these as it has only 41 subjects, no control subjects and no objective criteria to measure improvement other than the subject's self-reporting.
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