Many of you may have been frequently introduced by your regular pharmacist to consume Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) whenever you make inquiry about this or that supplement for keeping up to healthy living. But how many of you bother to actually find out why do you need to take this or that supplement. Many, in fact, merely rely on the words of the pharmacist and fail to make attempts to know the reason/s you consume one or another supplement.
What intrigues me often has been the marvel behind the science of such supplements that scientists today spend substantial time in discovering the great “ingredients” of the basic processes your body works on. Your body is such a complex marvel that GOD has created and no science at any level could discover all the hidden latent processes the body undergoes.
ALA, is one of these natural occurring fatty acids found inside every cell in your body. Needed by the body to produce the energy for your body’s normal functions, ALA converts glucose (blood sugar) into energy. Itself an antioxidant by nature, ALA is a substance that neutralizes potentially harmful chemicals called free radicals. Being unique by being functional in water and in fatty tissue, unlike the more common antioxidants vitamins C and E, enabling it to enter all parts of the nerve cell and protect it from damage. ALA appears to be able to recycle antioxidants such as vitamin C. Its identity in bodily functionality is seen from its ability to increase the formation of glutathione after its consumption within your body. As glutathione is an important antioxidant that helps your body eliminate potentially harmful substances, ALA indirectly aids in this important glutathione function.
Its importance has been notably used in the treatment of peripheral neuropathy which can be caused by injury, nutritional deficiencies, chemotherapy or by conditions such as diabetes, Lyme disease, alcoholism, shingles, thyroid disease, and kidney failure. Symptoms of peripheral neuropathy can be exhibited to include pain, burning, numbness, tingling, weakness and itching.
In addressing brain function, ALA can cross the blood-brain barrier, a wall of tiny vessels and structural cells and pass easily into the brain and nerve tissues which it protects by preventing free radical damage and is being investigated as a treatment for stroke and other brain disorders involving free radical dam
age. Its role in age-related conditions is primarily based on its ability to neutralize free radicals which can damage bodily cells and it is these free radical damage is thought to contribute to aging and chronic illness.
As a suggested alternative treatment for cataracts, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, burning mouth syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease and stroke, there is a need for well-designed studies to ascertain if it is effective for these conditions.
ALA plays an important part in improving blood sugar management especially for those with diabetes. However, its use in conjunction with approved diabetes medication must be supervised by a qualified health professional and have their blood sugar levels carefully monitored. Animal studies indicate that ALA may alter thyroid hormone levels, so it could theoretically have the same effect in humans. Results of animal studies suggest that people who are deficient in thiamine (vitamin B1), a condition often associated with alcoholism, should not take ALA. People taking thyroid medications such as levothyroxine should be monitored by their healthcare provider.
ALA has been suggested as a treatment for alcohol-related liver disease, but to-date there is no scientific evidence that it works except that it has been administered by IV along with silymarin to treat people who have eaten the poisonous mushroom Amanita, which causes liver damage. In vitro, ALA appears to inhibit growth of the HIV virus, but it isn’t known whether the supplement would have the same effect in people.
Side effects are generally rare and may include skin rash, headache, tingling or a “pins and needles” sensation or muscle cramps. A rare condition called insulin autoimmune syndrome in people using ALA can happen which causes hypoglycemia and antibodies directed against your body’s own insulin without previous insulin therapy. The safety of ALA in pregnant or nursing women, children, or people with kidney or liver disease is unknown.
Made naturally by your body, ALA can be found in very small amounts in foods such as spinach, broccoli, peas, Brewer’s yeast, brussel sprouts, rice bran, organ meats (such as liver), and yeast (particularly Brewer’s).
In view of its great potential in healthcare of your body, ALA must not be overlooked but careful upervision is much needed when administering it into your body. It does not mean it is harmful to your body function but you need to really know its contrindication at whatever cost it may be.
