Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) Overview

Alpha Lipoic Acid Story Begins with Glutathione

One supplement that we have added to our daily routine is Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA). We primarily are concerned with disease prevention and for that a person needs ample glutathione support. Glutathione is explained in other blogs and videos, and I will try to remember to add a link at the end of the article.

Glutathione is the body's primary detox agent and is also responsible for helping to activate other antioxidants like vitamin C and vitamin E.

Because glutathione is a simple molecule made of three amino acids (cysteine, glycine and glutamic acid), it breaks down easily in the gut. Glycine and glutamic acid are more common in our diets that cysteine so the amount of cysteine becomes a limiting factor in how much glutathione your body can make.

As it turns out, however, N acetylcysteine (NAC) is preferred over plain cysteine for glutathione production. That is OK because although glutathione is not easily utilized as a dietary supplement, NAC is. Many companies provide NAC in capsule form to help you with your glutathione support including our own brand, BetterGenix.

A couple of decades ago we began using LifeWave Glutathione Patches that help stimulate your body's own production of glutathione along with NAC capsules to add an extra layer of insurance to this vital process.

I had also read in my studies on PubMed that one group of researchers were having trouble getting glutathione levels where they wanted them with just the addition of NAC. They found that if they combined ALA and NAC, they got the glutathione increase they were looking for.

That sounded easy enough, add a little ALA to the mix.

ALA Can Help Increase Glutathione

ALA is a powerful antioxidant in its own right and by itself can also increase glutathione. The rest of this article will be about what is known about ALA benefits that we know of today and why you might add this to your daily regimen to help maintain your health.

What is ALA?

Alpha Lipoic Acid is sometimes referred to as lipoic acid or thioctic acid or α lipoic acid. Plants and animals make ALA and it is present in every type of cell. Young, healthy people probably make plenty of ALA so wouldn't need supplementation. That changes with advancing age, however and lower ALA no doubt contributes to some of the increasing issues of those accumulating years.

Also be aware that alpha linolenic acid is sometimes referred to as ALA. These two types of ALA are completely different molecules and do different things. Alpha linolenic acid is an omega 3 fatty acid often sourced from flax seed oil.

Antioxidant Properties

Alpha lipoic acid is generally protective of the brain, liver, heart, blood vessels due its effective antioxidant properties. It also seems to have some heavy metal binding ability helping the body to excrete things like lead, mercury, arsenic and iron.

An of course, as mentioned, ALA helps stimulate production and activity of glutathione that is your body's first line of defense against disease and aging.

Diabetes and Diabetes Complications

Adult-onset diabetes is at least, in part, due to insulin resistance, that is the insulin produced by the pancreas isn't as effective for moving glucose into cells. ALA has been shown to have some effect as modulating this insulin resistance helping you not become diabetic as easily.

Along those same lines, some studies also show that ALA can help lower blood sugar levels when looking at that specifically.

A primary effect of diabetes is neuropathy (nerve damage). This problem affects at least 50% of diabetics. It could affect any nerves but most common are legs and feet, heart and eyes. Although IV treatments with ALA are more effective than oral supplementation, not everyone has access to these treatments.

ALA and Eye Health

A common problem with age is oxidative damage to the retina. As we have mentioned antioxidation effects of ALA, it is not surprising that many studies also indicate that ALA can slow damage from age and/or diabetes to the retina.

Memory Loss and Cognitive Decline

Many docs specializing in brain health prescribe ALA as a neuron-protective agent. Like all brain support supplements, this is not THE magic bullet but one of tools in the toolbox to help prevent things like age-related dementias. Experiments in animals have shown some reversal of age-related damage to the brain.

Skin Health

Limited research indicates that ALA in a 5% topical solution can help reverse skin aging in some cases. We will continue to follow this research but aren't quite convinced as of this writing.

Negative Effects

Undesired supplement effects of dietary ALA are not common but are listed here just in case.

Insomnia

Fatigue

Diarrhea

Skin rash

If you are diabetic, on meds for blood sugar control, you should be monitoring your blood sugar levels. Be sure to pay closer attention to levels if you have added ALA to your regimen.

Researchers advise taking ALA on an empty stomach to get the full benefit. It appears that taking with food lowers bioavailability.

How Much to Take

Healthy adults can probably do just fine with 50-100 mg per day

Patients with diabetes can benefit from 600-800 mg per day. Take in two divided doses.

Those experiencing neuropathy might need 600-1800 mg per day. When taking high doses, be sure to work with a knowledgeable health care provider who is watching other factors as well.

Be sure to work with your health care provider if you are diabetic, recovering from chemo or taking anti-cancer meds, you have history of thyroid disorders and are taking thyroid medications.

We have several trusted brands offering alpha lipoic acid. Here are a couple of links below that should be helpful.