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Home > Conditions A-Z > Diabetic Treatment > Alpha Lipoic Acid
Home > Personal Care > Diabetic Treatment > Alpha Lipoic Acid
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Alpha Lipoic Acid
Alpha lipoic acid has been called the universal antioxidant mainly because it is soluble in both water and oil. As you know antioxidants are very important for our health and beauty.
Alpha Lipoic Acid is an antioxidant that helps the body produce energy and to regenerate. It functions as a co-factor for a number of important enzymes responsible for the conversion of our food to energy (ATP). However, we still need to get most of our lipoic acid from our diet or from supplements. In nature, lipoic acid is found in the leaves of some plants and in red meat.
It is very important at a cellular level to produce energy and to protect the DNA (the genetic material) in the cells. This last part is very important in skin care (and aging), because as we age, our cells may lose the capacity to regenerate as effectively as when we are young.
Alpha Lipoic Acid has been credited with many benefits. There have been a lot of studies in some areas, but not as many in others, and skin care and aging prevention belongs to the latter category.
Unlike other antioxidants, lipoic acid is both fat and water-soluble and is easily absorbed and transported across cell membranes. This unique quality offers protection against free radicals both inside and outside the cell while other antioxidants only provide extracellular protection. Recent research has shown alpha-lipoic acid to be an efficient free radical scavenger.
Alpha Lipoic Acid helps to reduce the blood sugar levels in diabetics and to balance sugar levels in non-diabetics. It also helps to reduce glycation; in other words, the damage that sugar does to our body, including accelerated aging.
Some studies have found that it may be beneficial in the treatment of glaucoma.
Alpha Lipoic Acid helps the liver regenerate, especially in the treatment of liver degeneration because of damage from excessive consumption of alcohol.
Alpha Lipoic Acid may help in the prevention and treatment of cataracts.
Alpha Lipoic Acid may help to balance the level of cholesterol.
Alpha Lipoic Acid may help in the case of cardiovascular problems such as hard arteries.
Alpha Lipoic Acid may help to improve the efficacy in our bodies of other nutrients such as vitamin C and E.
It may help to detox your body.
Alpha Lipoic Acid is a powerful antioxidant.
Alpha Lipoic Acid also helps to prevent brain damage in older people
There are not enough studies to support the following claims made by some practitioners, but there are not studies against them either:
Alpha Lipoic Acid Helps to:
Prevents cancer
Treats depression
Treats HIV
Reduces obesity
Alleviates pain after surgery
Uses in skin care
Alpha lipoic acid: a novel treatment for depression.
Salazar MR. Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.
Insulin resistance has been associated with people diagnosed with depression. Conversely, it has also been documented that diabetics have an increased risk of depression. Evidence suggests that insulin activity plays a role in serotonergic activity by increasing the influx of tryptophan into the brain. This increased influx of tryptophan has been shown to result in an increase in serotonin synthesis. In accordance with the serotonin theory of depression, it may be possible to treat depression by increasing insulin activity. The antioxidant alpha lipoic acid has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity and is used to treat people with diabetes. Therefore, the nutrient alpha lipoic acid should be clinically tested as an adjunct treatment for depression.
It is said that it helps to prevent and combat fine lines and wrinkles. It can help to treat scars and it can help to enhance the effect of other antioxidants to protect the skin against free radicals and give the skin a healthy glow.
There are very few and inconclusive studies about alpha-lipoic acid in skin care. But we cannot deny its effectiveness as antioxidant. As an antioxidant, and because of its effect in improving the performance of other antioxidants, it certainly can help us have better skin and to slow down the aging process.
Most studies with alpha lipoic acid have been done with supplement of this acid, not with face creams. We cannot call the creams that contain this ingredient wrinkle cures, but we can take it as part of our daily supplements.
What is Alpha Lipoic Acid
Alpha Lipoic Acid, also called Thioctic Acid, is a disulfide molecule (containing two thiol groups). A thiol (or -SH) consists of a sulfur and a hydrogen atom.
This unique antioxidant is both lipid and water soluble, a potent promoter of glutathione and an important co-factor in energy metabolism.
Apha lipoic acid is unique in that, like vitamin C, it is effective as an antioxidant in water based tissues such as the blood, and yet as dihydrolipoic acid it also is effective in protecting fatty tissues and membranes, a role it shares with vitamin E. Thus alpha lipoic acid and dihydrolipoic acid together function as a universal antioxidant, meaning an antioxidant that quenches free radicals in both lipid and water-soluble portions of tissues and cells.
Alpha lipoic acid is an important component in the production of energy from carbohydrates. It is involved throughout the complex multienzyme process that catalyzes glucose (blood sugar) into energy. Also, alpha lipoic acid both stimulates insulin activity and reduces insulin resistance.
Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) is a sulfur-containing fatty acid that performs vitamin-like roles in the body. Also known as "lipoic acid" or "thioctic acid," ALA functions, in a similar way to B complex vitamins, as a co-enzyme in the metabolism of carbohydrates that produces energy inside cells for the body’s metabolic needs. Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) is required for synthesis of "acetyl CoA," a key metabolite in the cellular process that turns glucose (blood sugar) into energy. Because the body produces Alpha Lipoic Acid ALA on its own, it is not classified as a true vitamin. As with other so-called "non-essential" nutrients, however, internal Alpha Lipoic Acid ALA production may not always be optimal. Alpha-lipoic acid functions as both a water-soluble and fat-soluble antioxidant. (Antioxidants neutralize free-radicals, normal by-products of metabolism that, while necessary at normal levels, may damage tissues over time if not properly kept in check by antioxidants.) Alpha Lipoic Acid ALA’s ability to act upon free radicals in both a watery and fatty environment makes it a highly versatile antioxidant. In the body, alpha-lipoic acid can be converted (reduced) to DHLA, or dihydrolipoic acid. Together, these two forms of ALA make up a "redox couple," which means that each form can chemically change into the other and back again. DHLA also functions as an antioxidant.
How “Sustained Release" Works
Using a highly sophisticated process involving mixing and compression, a specialized form of cellulose is combined with Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA), which results in substantial lengthening of the time required by the stomach to digest and release the nutrient into the small intestine. This enables the ALA to be slowly absorbed by the system, thereby maintaining and optimal concentration of effective antioxidant in the bloodstream throughout the day.
Alpha Lipoic Acid occurs in two forms, designated "R" and "S". Studies suggest that R-alpha lipoic acid, the natural form, is more biologically active than the S form. Like ALA, RLA recycles antioxidant nutrients, such as vitamin C and E, and helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels when used as part of the diet.
Best Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) Benefits:
Supports the Body’s Defense Against Free Radicals
Recycles Antioxidant Nutrients such as Vitamin C and Vitamin E
Helps Maintain a Healthy Blood Sugar Level when used as part of the diet
Alpha-lipoic Acid?the "Ideal Antioxidant"
The antioxidant potential of a substance is based on a number of criteria, including:
Alpha Lipoic Acid has Ability to quench specific free-radicals.
Alpha Lipoic Acid has Ability to bind or "chelate" metal ions that can generate free radicals.
Alpha Lipoic Acid Supports function of other antioxidants.
Alpha Lipoic Acid Absorption/bioavailability.
Alpha Lipoic Acid Concentration in tissues, cells and extra cellular fluids.
Alpha Lipoic Acid Ability to function as an antioxidant in fatty and watery environments.
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