Race Caps Supreme - The Miracle Nutrient

After 37+ years, its CoQ10-based formula is still without peer!

BY BRIAN FRANK & STEVE BORN

Steve’s Prefatory Comments: For 37+ years, Race Caps Supreme (formerly known as Race Caps) has been THE go-to product for nearly countless numbers of athletes seeking to greatly improve their performance safely and naturally. This one-of-a-kind product has also been a key supplement for non-competitive, health-conscious people to support many aspects of their overall health. Race Caps Supreme’s beginnings were humble, and it all began with Brian’s ahead-of-its-time usage of a nutrient called Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). Read on for Brian’s discovery, one that has since benefited thousands upon thousands of athletes and health-conscious individuals…

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In 1983, I (Brian Frank) was an overachieving high school student in Long Beach, CA, training 3-5 hours a day playing water polo and racing motocross, while maintaining a 3.8 GPA in honors and accelerated classes! On top of all of this, I worked two or three jobs to pay for my racing. Not surprisingly, I was out of energy long before the day was over. I struggled with my energy and recovery despite the fact that I ate a healthy whole foods diet rich in protein, lacking refined sugars, carbohydrates, and chemical additives. At the suggestion of my father, the late Jerry Frank D.C., I began taking high doses of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) along with vitamin E and Inosine. The difference I noticed in my energy, endurance, and recovery was so profound it was hard to believe.

I used these three micronutrients, along with all my other normal vitamins, for the remainder of my high school career. I continued using high doses of CoQ10 when I went to college in San Francisco and developed a love for road cycling as rehabilitation for my second knee surgery. It was during my long rides over the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Marin Headlands that I realized that I could make a business out of selling these nutrients to triathletes, cyclists, and endurance athletes of all ages. This led me to start E-CAPS in 1987 with the help of my father.

Keep in mind, at this time coenzyme Q10 was largely unknown to the general public and research was in its early stages. Today, coenzyme Q10 is the single most studied and researched nutrient and is the most widely used in the world for cardiovascular health.

Now you know a little bit more of my experience with CoQ10, I encourage you to read Steve’s excellent article on why our CoQ10 formulation is the one you want and is still your best source your best choice and the most effective, most economical way of making this miracle nutrient an everyday part of your life!

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) – The Miracle Nutrient!

In 1957, Dr. Frederick Crane made one of history’s most important nutritional discoveries with his discovery of a quinone—(a member of a class of cyclic organic compounds) in the mitochondria of beef heart, we know as Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). Dr. Crane’s discovery began the ongoing research, starting with Dr. Peter Mitchell’s Nobel Prize-winning research showing that CoQ10 is a naturally occurring nutrient that produces ATP (energy) at the cellular level, energy that the body requires to stay healthy and optimize all its functions. [1, 2]

Ever since Drs. Crane’s and Mitchell’s landmark research in the late 50’s/early 60’s, nearly countless studies have been done on CoQ10, which is classified as ubiquinone, coming from the word “ubiquitous,” which is defined as “present, appearing, or found everywhere.” CoQ10 was given this name because it is present in every cell in the body.

Nutritional scientists are universally in agreement about the importance of CoQ10; here are just a couple comments:

"Without CoQ10 or a good substitute, human life quickly ends."
• James South, MA

“That CoQ10 plays a crucial role in aging is beyond doubt. The same applies to CoQ10's role in the immune system. And there is a vital connection between the immune system and aging that cannot be ignored.”
• Emile G. Bliznakov, MD

"CoQ10 is energy on call. I have long considered CoQ10 a wonder nutrient because of its ability to support heart health.”
• Dr. Stephen Sinatra

“Ubiquinone (CoQ10) is possibly the hub around which life processes revolve in the human body.”
• Dr. William V. Judy

Along with its many benefits for numerous aspects of human health, CoQ10’s energy producing properties, along with its antioxidant capabilities make it an ideal nutrient for naturally enhancing athletic performance and recovery. 37+ years ago, most people had never even heard of CoQ10, let alone knew about its multiple benefits for athletic performance and overall health. One company, however, Hammer Nutrition (known as E-CAPS back then), was already "in the know" about this remarkable nutrient, harnessing the power of CoQ10 (ubiquinone) into a product called "Race Caps."

It didn't take long for the word to get out that a truly effective, safe, and perfectly legal endurance-enhancing supplement was finally available. If you were a serious endurance athlete in the late 1980s and 1990s, Race Caps was a part of your arsenal. In the coming years, athletes and non-athletes became more informed about the plethora of benefits attributed to CoQ10, and CoQ10 supplements became more readily available. Not content to rest on its laurels, Hammer Nutrition continued to blaze the trail. In 2003, while other companies were still trying to play catch up, the original Race Caps formula was revised. A great product had become even better, so a new name was in order: Race Caps Supreme.

For more on CoQ10’s benefits, please see the article More Pep in Your Step

Race Caps Supreme—CoQ10 and so much more!

In addition to CoQ10, Race Caps Supreme contains much more than the standard ubiquinone or ubiquinol supplements, all of which provide even greater endurance/recovery/general health benefits.

Idebenone is an analogue of CoQ10 (the "good substitute" that James South mentioned earlier) and a superb complement to CoQ10, with some suggesting it may be even more powerful than CoQ10. One nutritional scientist explains, "Idebenone supplies all of the same benefits as CoQ10 [acting as a "spark plug" for the production of energy (ATP) as well as being a potent antioxidant] plus some distinct advantages and features based on its more complex chemical structure."

Some of those features include:

1. Improved cognition and mood, reduced damage from Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, and a role in the prevention of damage caused by excitotoxins (a class of substances produced from the consumption of substances such as MSG and some artificial sweeteners) which can impair neuronal functioning.
   
   
2. Positively affects liver mitochondrial function, which suggests that it would support and enhance the detoxification functions of the liver.
   
   
3. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of idebenone is its unique ability to operate under hypoxic (low oxygen) conditions, helping to produce energy and maintain high energy levels without creating free radicals. In other words, under the same cellular low oxygen conditions that can cause CoQ10 to act as a pro-oxidant, idebenone helps prevent free radical damage while still supporting ATP production.

Vitamin E – The problem with energy production is that it's not a completely "clean" process; a naturally occurring and unavoidable metabolic by-product is the production of free radicals that can cause tissue and cellular damage. That's precisely why vitamin E, is a vital component in the Race Caps Supreme formula. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that, along with CoQ10 and idebenone, helps neutralize the free radicals naturally produced during energy production. Vitamin E has numerous general health benefits as well, especially in the areas of cardiovascular and circulatory system health.

Research in animals has shown that supplementation with vitamin E alone reduces inflammation by lowering the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). Higher levels of CRP are associated with an increased risk developing cardiovascular problems. Co-supplementation with CoQ10 significantly enhances this anti-inflammatory effect of vitamin E. [6]

Oxy-Assist is a unique blend of nutrients which work in combination to enhance oxygen utilization, optimize fat burning, increase energy production, and buffer against acid build-up.

1. Trimethylglycine (TMG) helps convert fatty acids to energy. It has been used to treat muscular weakness and degeneration, due in part to its role in transporting oxygen to muscle tissues. TMG is also a powerful antioxidant and is also noted for its beneficial effects at helping lower elevated levels of homocysteine, which is implicated in cardiovascular disease.
   
   
2. Inosine helps increase the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, allowing more oxygen to be delivered to working muscles, thereby reducing fatigue.

Krebs cycle intermediates – Supports the Krebs cycle (a.k.a. the citric acid cycle or the tricarboxylic acid cycle) process of energy production by supplying precise amounts of the Krebs cycle intermediates malate, citrate, aspartate, lysinate, and glycinate, which are chelators for the minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Another Krebs cycle intermediate, alpha-ketoglutarate, is included as well.

Race Caps Supreme also contains the patented black pepper extract, Bioperine®, along with the unique Enzyme Blend (Amylase, Lipase, Phytase, Protease, Glucoamylase, Cellulase, Sucrase, and Maltase) to ensure maximum digestion and absorption of the nutrients in this product.

Summary

Race Caps Supreme supplies so much more than stand-alone ubiquinone or ubiquinol CoQ10 supplements. For over 37 years, the extraordinary combination of "super nutrients" found in Race Caps Supreme works powerfully and synergistically to cover a wide range of requirements for maintaining consistent and efficient energy production, while also supporting enhanced recovery. The athletic performance benefits supplied by Race Caps Supreme continue to be completely unmatched by any other athlete-specific supplement.

Perhaps even more impressive are the overall health benefits that may be derived from use of Race Caps Supreme. [7] For enhancing both athletic performance AND overall health consistent supplementation with Race Caps Supreme is a no-brainer strategy. We firmly believe that all people would benefit from this product and it's an absolute essential for athletes.

REFERENCES:
[1] FL Crane, Y Hatefi, RL Lester, C Widmer (1957) Isolation of a quinone from beef heart mitochondria. Biochim Biophys Acta 25: 220-221.
[2] FL Crane (1989) Comments on the discovery of coenzyme Q. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1000: 358-361.
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7146408/
[4] https://wholefoodsmagazine.com/columns/vitamin-connection/coenzyme-q10-research-confirms-ubiquinone-and-ubiquinol-are-nearly-equally-absorbed-compounds-the-physical-form-and-companion-ingredients-make-the-bioavailability-and-absorption-difference-in-coenz/
[5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10715596/
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1356523/
[7] https://www.hammernutrition.com/blog/more-pep-in-your-step