We all have times when we want more energy! After completing a TV interview on Arizona Family (CBS-TV affiliate KPHO) about energy, best-selling author Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS, made this video to record all the things he didn’t have time to say during the segment.  

“What most of us take for energy are ingredients that fool the brain into thinking we’re not tired. “It’s kind of like taking a painkiller when you’ve got a broken ankle. You might still be able to hobble around without noticing the pain, but it’s not fixing the problem,” he cautions. “The only thing you can really do is to create the conditions in which energy can appear.”

Bowden lists the top ways to get more energy: 

  • Get getter sleep. “You know the rules. Keep the temperature at 68 degrees, turn off the TV, keep the room dark and go to bed earlier. All of that is vitally important for really feeling energy the way we were meant to feel it.” 
  • Stop believing that energy drinks are making a difference. Bowden says most are basically sugar and some sort of natural stimulant such as caffeine or guarana. “I love my coffee but relying on it to prevent being tired is not the greatest thing you can do.” 
  • Switch cooking oils. “Vegetable oils contribute to inflammation. Inflammation makes you tired. Don’t use them! Use real oils like avocado oil and olive oil.”  
  • Try to create more cellular energy. “Everything that happens with  health starts at the cellular level. That includes creating energy.” 

How to make more cellular energy 

Bowden explains that cellular energy is measured by ATP levels. “Everything from dancing the mambo, to blinking your eyes, to sleeping, to me talking, all requires ATP. That’s made in the cells.” 

To make ATP, cells need an enzyme called AMPK. “You’ll see this a lot in health food stores, in supplements that are meant to promote this enzyme for energy. Why? AMPK = Energy. It’s like the air traffic controller that tells cells to make more ATP.” 

How do we get more AMPK into our bodies? “You can’t take it as a supplement. It doesn’t get digested,” explains Bowden. “There are only ingredients that claim to promote AMPK manufacturing in the cell. And the only one that actually does is called D-Ribose.” 

Preliminary studies have determined that low, hermetic-doses of Bioenergy Ribose (now available as RiboActiv) safely elevate AMPK levels. In his video, Bowden points to a D-Ribose brand that uses Bioenergy Ribose. 

“Many of you may know D-Ribose because my co-author of “The Great Cholesterol Myth,” Dr. Stephen Sinatra, the great cardiologist and functional nutritionist, used to talk about D-Ribose as one of the four most important nutrients for the heart. He called it one of the awesome foursome.”

He continues, “This is a wonderful nutrient that actually causes you to make more energy at the cellular level by boosting this magic enzyme called AMPK.” 

Bowden concludes by saying: “So, for more energy: Eat natural foods (foods that your great grandmother would have recognized) such as fruits, vegetables, grass-fed meat, eggs, nuts and wild salmon; get some sleep, drink tons of water; and take D-Ribose. Then see what happens to your energy.”