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 Article as written as www.wholehealth.com website

What Is Pyruvate?

Pyruvate is a substance that naturally occurs in the body. Pyruvate (because of pyruvic acid) is the foundation of the Krebs, or Citric Acid, Cycle. This Cycle, further explained below, is the process (which uses Pyruvate) through which the body converts glycogen to energy. More simply, it is how the body burns sugar and starch. Thus, Pyruvate plays a crucial role in this conversion of food to energy. Pyruvate is the salt form of pyruvic acid; with Calcium Pyruvate, calcium is used as the stabilizing mineral. Calcium is the best stabilizing agent for Pyruvate, as it attracts the least amount of water.

For What Is Calcium Pyruvate Used?

Supplementation of Pyruvate has been shown to increase cellular respiration, or the amount of energy the mitochondria (the cells' metabolic furnace) use. The more energy they use, the less excess the body has to store as fat.

How Should Calcium Pyruvate Be Used?

There should be an initial "saturation" of 6 grams of Pyruvate per day, for the first 10 days. Thereafter, the daily amount will vary based on your body weight. We send suggested maintenance information with every Pyruvate order.

Pyruvate works best when accompanied by exercise--even walking 30 minutes per day, 3 to 4 days per week can help produce the desired results.

Many Pyruvate users experience an increased appetite resulting from their increased energy level and metabolism. We suggest Guarana as an appetite suppressant to offset this increased appetite.

What We Have Experienced with Calcium Pyruvate

Pyruvate is a great dietary supplement that works best for moderately active people--20 to 30 minutes of exercise (walking counts) 3 to 4 times per week. Most people notice an increase in their energy level after about 10 days.

How Pyruvate Works; The Krebs Cycle Explained

The following diagram shows the role of Pyruvate in the Krebs Cycle.

1.       There are ten steps to the Krebs Cycle. It takes 2 turns of the Krebs Cycle to metabolize each glycogen molecule*.

2.       The unstable bond of acetyl CoA breaks, and the two-carbon acetyl group bonds to the four-carbon oxaloacetic acid to form six-carbon citric acid.

3.       Two major events occur during this step: Isocitric acid loses carbon dioxide leaving a five-carbon molecule and the five-carbon compound is oxidized, reducing NAD+.

4.       A multienzyme complex catalyzes: the removal of carbon dioxide, the oxidation of the remaining four-carbon compound, reduction of NAD+, and the attachment of CoA with a high energy bond to form succinyl CoA.

5.       Substrate level phosphorylation occurs in a series of enzyme catalyzed reactions: the high energy bond in succinyl-CoA breaks, and some energy is conserved as CoA is displaced by a phosphate group. The phosphate group is transferred to GDP to form GTP and succinic acid. GTP donates a phosphate group to ADP to form ATP.

6.       Succinic acid is oxidized to fumaric acid and FAD is reduced: Two hydrogens are transferred to FAD to form FADH2 (FADH2 stores less energy than NADH.) The dehydrogenase that catalyzes this reaction is bound to the inner mitochondrial membrane.

7.       Water is added to fumaric acid which rearranges its chemical bonds to form malic acid.

8.       Malic acid is oxidized and NAD is reduced.

9.       A molecule of NADH is produced.

10.    Oxaloacetic acid is regenerated to begin the cycle again.

*Note that for every turn of the Krebs Cycle:

• Two carbons enter in the acetyl fragment of Acetyl CoA.
• Two different carbons leave as carbon dioxide.
• Coenzymes are reduced; three NADH and one FADH2 are produced.
• One ATP molecule is produced by substrate level phosphorylation.
• Oxaloacetic acid is regenerated.
• For every glucose molecule split during glycolysis, two acetyl fragments are produced. Thus, it takes two turns of the cycle to complete the oxidation of glucose.
• Reduced coenzymes produced by the Krebs Cycle (6 NADH and 2 FADH2 per glucose) carry high energy electrons to the electron transport chain where ATP is produced by chemiosmosis. Most of the ATP output of respiration results from this oxidative phosphorylation.

Summary: To put all of this chemistry (which is admittedly difficult to follow) into laypersons' terms, the faster the Krebs Cycle turns, the more energy (ATP) a person has, and the more calories they burn. And, Pyruvate makes the Krebs Cycle run faster.

Attention dieters

Weight loss occurs when a person burns more calories than s/he ingests. Therefore, eating less, eating right, and exercising are essential to your weight loss program. Easier said than done! Additionally, it is important to focus on fat loss as opposed to just weight loss, since nobody has a reason to want to lose lean muscle tissue. The products we offer can be a valuable aid in your effort, if used responsibly. Our customers who heed this advice invariable succeed and often report to us that our products were helpful to them. Remember, it is impossible to "lose weight overnight" in a healthy manner. Permanent, healthy weight loss takes time and dedication. Good luck, we know you can do it!

Side Effects
Pyruvate is 100% safe; it naturally occurs in the body as an end-product of the metabolism of sugar or starch. Supplementation with Pyruvate has been found to increase the metabolism, accelerating the burning of sugar and starch.^4,5,6,7 The only side-effects observed from mega-doses of Pyruvate have been gastric distress (gas; a natural byproduct of digestion)--and this is from doses 10 times the recommended amount of Pyruvate.

Label Facts

  Calcium Pyruvate, 750mg, 90 capsules:

Dietary Restrictions

  Vcaps vegetarian capsule used and a vegetarian formula.

References

Pyruvate References / Additional Resources

1.       Cortez, M.Y., Torgan, C.E., Brozinick, J.T., Miller, R.H., Ivy, J.L. "Effects of pyruvate and dihydroxyacetone consumption on the growth and metabolic state of obese Zucker rats. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 53:847-853, 1991.

2.       Greenawalt, K, et al. "The effect of feeding dihydroxyacetone and pyruvate on resting energy expenditure and postprandial thermogenesis in obese women." FASEB (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) JOURNAL. 1988 2(5):ABSTRACT 5371.

3.       Robertson, R.J., Stanko, R.T., Goss, F.I., Spina, R.J., Reilly, J.J., Greenawalt, K.D. "Blood glucose extraction as a mediator of percieved exertion during prolonged exercise." European Journal of Applied Physiology 61:100-105.

4.       Stanko, R T, et al. "Inhibition of regain in body weight and fat with addition of 3-carbon compounds to the diet with hyperenergetic refeeding after weight reduction." INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBESITY. 1996 20(10):925-930.

5.       Stanko, R.T., Tietze, D.L., Arch, J.E. "Body composition, energy utilization, and nitrogen metabolism with a severely restricted diet supplemented with dihydroxyacetone and pyruvate." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 55:771-775, 1992.

6.       Stanko, R.T., Robertson, R.J., Spina, R.J., Reilly, J.J.,Greenawalt, K.D., Goss, F.I. "Enhancement of arm-exercise endurance capacity with dihydroxyacetone and pyruvate." Journal of Applied Physiology 68:119-124, 1990.

7.       Stanko, R.T., Robertson, R.J., Galbreath, R.W., Reilly, J.J., Greenawalt, K.D., Goss, F.I. "Enhanced leg exercise endurance with a high carbohydrate diet and dihydroxyacetone and pyruvate." Journal of Applied Physiology 69:1651-1656.

8.       Stanko, R.T., Teitze, D.L., Arch, J.E. "Body composition , energy utilization, and nitrogen metabolism with a 4.25-MJ/d low-energy diet supplemented with pyruvate." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 56:630-635.

9.       Stanko, R.T., Ferguson, T.L., Newman, C.W., Newman R.K. "Reduction of carcass fat in swine with dietary addition of dihydroxyacetone and pyruvate." Journal of Animal Science 67:1272-1278, 1989.

10.    Stanko, R.T., Adibi, S.A. "Inhibition of lipid accumulation and enhancement of energy expenditure by the addition of pyruvate and dihydroxyacetone to a rat diet." Metabolism 35:182-186, 1986.

Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trials

11.    Kalman, D., C. M. Colker, I. Wilets, J. B. Roufs and J. Antonio (1999). "The effects of pyruvate supplementation on body composition in overweight individuals." Nutrition 15(5): 337-40.