Alpha-Lipoic Acid
Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a thiol compound with antioxidant properties used in the treatment of diabetic polyneuropathy. (1)
It comes in the form of a vitamin-like supplement soluble in fat and water and is also found in foods like red meats, beef liver, spinach, Brussel sprouts, broccoli and yeast. Beef liver contains the highest amount of ALA compared to the rest of the foods listed.
It is found in every cell in the body and is just one of many antioxidants in your dietary foods.
Alpha-Lipoic Acid may help to improve
- Prevents and helps to treat Diabetes
- Helps with Neuropathy
- Increasing the efficiency of Vitamins C and E
- Increasing glutathione levels
- Detoxifying the liver
- Memory performance
What are the Benefits?
1) Prevents and helps to treat Diabetes
ALA possesses beneficial effects both in the prevention and in the treatment of diabetes as it decreases blood glucose and improves the sensitivity of insulin. (2)
2) Helps with Neuropathy
According to WebMD “Studies also found that alpha-lipoic acid supplements can help with neuropathy — nerve damage — caused by diabetes or cancer treatment. They seem to reduce symptoms like pain, tingling, and prickling in the feet and legs. It may also help protect the retina from some of the damage that can occur in people with diabetes”. (3)
3) Increasing the efficiency of Vitamins C and E
Alpha-lipoic Acid protects Vitamins C and E from oxidation by helping to maintain the body’s antioxidant defences.
4) Increasing glutathione levels
Alpha-lipoic Acid is not an antioxidant itself, but it is involved in the formation of the body’s natural antioxidant substances, including glutathione which is an important cellular antioxidant that prevents free radical damage.
5) Detoxifying the liver
The main function of ALA is that helps to neutralise free radicals in our bodies and protects our cells from damage.
6) Memory performance
A study carried out on mice shows that supplementation with ALA increased memory performance (4), this suggests that ALA may be useful for those with memory problems such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Alpha-lipoic acid works well with
- Vitamin C and E as it helps these vitamins to work more efficiently
- Creatine as it helps to push Creatine into the muscle fibres thus improving its absorption
Some things to consider
Although side effects are rare you should speak to your Dr before supplementing with ALA and children should not be given ALA.
According to the Linus Pauling Institute Alpha-lipoic acid is more bio-available in supplement form and a daily dose of 200 to 400 mg/day for generally healthy people is recommended. (5)
Resources
last accessed online 06/07/2020
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1884561/#b1
- https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/supplement-guide-alpha-lipoic-acid#1
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26406389
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22785389
- https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/dietary-factors/lipoic-acid
