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Forms
Dosage
Information
Guidelines
for Use
General
Interaction
Possible
Side Effects
Cautions
What
Is It?
In the late 1980s,
scientists realized that alpha-lipoic acid, a
compound initially classified as a vitamin when it
was discovered three decades earlier, possessed
potent antioxidant properties that could prevent
healthy cells from getting damaged by unstable
oxygen molecules called free radicals. In fact, this
vitaminlike compound has proved to be many times
more potent than such old guard antioxidants as
vitamins C and E. As a perk, it even recycles C and
E (as well as other antioxidants), enhancing their
effectiveness.
Because it dissolves in
both water and fat, this so-called "universal
antioxidant" is able to scavenge more wayward
free-radical cells than most antioxidants, the
majority of which tend to dissolve in either fat or
water but not both. Alpha-lipoic acid can reach
tissues composed mainly of fat, such as the nervous
system, as well as those made mainly of water, such
as the heart.
Also known as lipoic
acid or thioctic acid, alpha-lipoic acid is mainly
derived from dietary sources (spinach, liver,
brewer's yeast), although scientists have discovered
that the body does manufacture small supplies of its
own. In order to get the concentrated doses needed
to treat specific ailments, however, many experts
recommend supplements.
Health
Benefits
In addition to
functioning as an antioxidant, this hard-working
nutrient assists the B vitamins in producing energy
from the proteins, carbohydrates, and fats consumed
through foods.
Intravenous forms of
alpha-lipoic acid are administered in hospitals to
treat cases of acute mushroom poisoning and for
other cases of acute poisoning that affect the
liver.
Studies indicate that
alpha-lipoic acid supplements hold promise for
treating various disorders, including HIV infection,
liver ailments, and glaucoma. But it has been most
intensively studied for preventing complications
from diabetes.
Specifically,
alpha-lipoic acid may help to:
Treat symptoms of
nerve damage in people with diabetes. Alpha-lipoic
acid has been used for decades in Europe to
counter nerve damage in people with diabetes
(types 1 and 2). Known as diabetic neuropathy,
this often very painful condition tends to develop
in people who have had uncontrolled diabetes for a
long time. The neuropathy may be caused in part by
free-radical damage to nerves resulting from
poorly regulated blood sugar (glucose). As an
antioxidant, alpha-lipoic acid helps to block such
damage. In addition, because of its effect on
glucose metabolism, lipoic acid my improve the
glucose-lowering action of insulin (the hormone
that regulates blood sugar).
In one clinical trial,
328 people with diabetic neuropathy received
either 100 mg, 600 mg, or 1,200 mg a day of alpha-lipoic
acid for three weeks. Participants who took 600 mg
daily had the greatest reduction in pain and
numbness. And in a separate study, blood sugar
levels dropped in 74 people with type 2 diabetes
who took 600 mg or more of alpha-lipoic acid
daily.
Alpha-lipoic acid may
also aid the large percentage (approximately 25%)
of people with diabetes who risk sudden death from
nerve-related heart damage. In one study, improved
heart function was observed in people at risk for
this complication who took 800 mg of alpha-lipoic
acid daily for four months.
Preserve brain
function in aging adults.
etc
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Maybe help for PAD
(Peripheral Artery Disease) in which there is poor circulation
Maybe a similar ailment as
these others
4-2-06 |