Alpha lipoic acid is a naturally occurring compound in the body, yet only recently been recognized as an antioxidant.
In fact, a leading expert on antioxidants at the University of California, Berkeley, has researched it and found it functions more effectively as an antioxidant only when it is in excess in the cells. The body manufactures enough alpha lipoic acid for its role in cellular energy production and the metabolic process, by helping convert fat and sugar to energy, however, foods contain such small amounts it is impossible to reach this excess amount without supplementation.
One very important characteristic of alpha lipoic acid is it is fat and water soluble, unlike other antioxidants which are either one or the other. Because alpha lipoic acid is easily absorbed in different areas of the body, and recycles other antioxidants such as vitamin C and E, it can be considered a very versatile and important enzyme for deactivating a large number of cell-damaging free radicals. It also may be able to take on the work of other antioxidants when the body becomes deficient in them.
There is another antioxidant, glutathione, that depends on alpha lipoic acid to increase it’s level in the body and to stimulate it’s production so it may function in stressful situations. Glutathione also needs alpha lipoic acid to cross cell membranes.
The use of alpha lipoic acid has been studied for its positive effects on age-related disease, including heart disease, stroke, vision problems, nerve damage (diabetic neuropathy), burning mouth syndrome, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Tests that study levels of alpha lipoic acid on patients with diabetes, liver cirrhosis, and atherosclerosis have shown low levels.
Alpha lipoic acid is able to pass into all parts of the nerve cell because of its combined solubility, and protect the nerves from damage. A neurologist at Mayo Clinic found a considerable decrease in pain involved with diabetic neuropathy when taking alpha lipoic acid, along with “some improvement in neurologic signs and nerve conduction....When patients were given ALA, also known as thioctic acid, the researchers found statistically significant improvement in the symptoms of diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DSPN) damage to multiple nerves caused by diabetes.”*
