Alpha Lipoic Acid, or ALA, is an antioxidant produced by the body as a compound similar to a vitamin. Alpha Lipoic Acid is special because is soluble in water and fat, which means that that it can battle free radicals just about any place in the body. Free radicals are basically the body’s warriors against immortality.
When they form they engage in a shock and awe campaign that essentially is never completed until the cell is dead. Although the body needs free radicals to survive, they also contribute to weakening the immune system with age.
Although Alpha Lipoic Acid’s discovery goes back to the middle of the last century, it wasn’t until the 1980s that its antioxidant advantages were realized. Without Alpha Lipoic Acid, your body would be unable to produce the energy you need to make it through the day. Not to get all Nobel Prize on you, but Alpha Lipoic Acid works within the metabolic system of the body, working as muscle for the mitochondria and DNA to protect them against getting impaired.
The body produces all the Alpha Lipoic Acid needed to take care of this job, but the antioxidant benefits can only be enjoyed when there is a surplus. Since the body goes through ALA at about the same pace that that George W. Bush goes through the budget, there is usually a deficit of in both cases. Which means that in order for you to experience those benefits, you typically will have to ingest ALA either injections or supplements. The bottom line is that foods contain, unfortunately, precious little of the stuff.
The scientific community has high hopes for Alpha Lipoic Acid. Studies are being conducted on animals as well as human subjects to determine whether it may one day prove to be a suitable treatment for such diseases as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, as well as heart disease and stroke related to diabetes.
Promises also looms on the horizon for those suffering from other immune-deficient disorders, ranging from general fatigue and loss of muscle strength all the way up to the big one, HIV. In fact, Alpha Lipoic Acid has already been approved for use in Germany in the treatment of several diabetes complications.
Of course, if you do happen to suffer from any of these problems and are holding out hope, make sure that’s all you hope and not your breath. Because Alpha Lipoic Acid is still relatively new player on the health care block, the long term effects are a long way from being known.
The dosage amount has already been relegated to a rather narrow route; most studies have used dosages between the 100 and 600 milligrams. As of yet, there has been no set determination on what kind of dose is best given for specific conditions.