Alpha Lipoic Acid

Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) is familiar to many people as an ingredient in skin care products. However, researchers are now learning that it is a valuable antioxidant in the battle against many types of free radicals. ALA is both a water- and fat-soluble substance. Its fat-soluble properties make it able to reside in cell membranes, and it keeps those membranes from being destroyed by free radicals. ALA also enters water-based parts of cells, providing further protection.

The antioxidant capabilities of ALA were first investigated in the late 1930s. Early in the 1940s, research studies proved that antioxidant ALA fought free radicals. By 1951, scientists had learned that ALA is naturally present in our energy-generating cells of the body. When ALA production is increased, it enters those cells and protects their molecules from being damaged by unstable free radicals that are trying to become stable by replacing their missing molecules.

Benefits of ALA:

1. ALA can cause chemical reactions in the body that boost or recycle other key antioxidant levels, including vitamins C and E.

2. It can increase nitric oxide production, as well as making it more stable and increasing its duration.

3. ALA can help with glucose metabolism, making it often recommended for people with diabetes.

4. Animal studies have shown that ALA has lowered blood pressure, provided protection in the brain from stroke-related injuries, and improved vascular system functioning.

In an animal study reported in Brain Research in 1996, scientists in India and the U.S. induced a stroke in laboratory rats by manipulating the carotid artery leading to the brain. When they restored bloow flow, there was a surge in oxygen radicals, causing 78 percent of the animals to die within 24 hours. They repeated the experiment, but gave the rats alpha lipoic acid this time just before the blood flow was reestablished. After 24 hours, the death rate had fallen to 26 percent, which indicates that the antioxidant properties of ALA may have provided protection for the animal brains against injury when the blood flow resumed.

In another study, Canadian researchers divided hypertensive rats into groups, supplementing the diet of one group with alpha lipoic acid, while the other group had a normal diet without ALA. After nine weeks, systolic blood pressure readings were significantly lower in the group supplemented with ALA. The systolic measurements decreased from a mean of 180 mm Hg to 140 mm Hg, while the systolic rate in the group treated without ALA increased from 180 to 195 mm Hg. There were also signs of structural improvement within the vascular system, including reduced vascular damage and decreased signs of atherosclerosis.

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