Home
Store
Home
Location
Hormone Therapy

Emotional Freedom

Pharmacies

EZPAK

Skin Care

Research

Practitioners

Functional Diagnostic Nutrition

Patient Remarks

Presentations

L'Essentiel Oils
News
Store

Optimal Health Clinic
  • AT3 the Newest Asyra EDT (Electral Dermal Testing)
  • Nutritional Balance and Weight Management
  • Functional Diagnostic Nutrition for Optimal Health
  • Metabolic Typing Diet
  • Bio-Identical Natural Hormone Therapy
  • Anti Aging, Regenerative and Functional Medicine
  • Skin Care with 100% Organic Products
  • Emotional Freedom Technique
  • For Information Call:
  • 801-264-8561
Alpha-lipoic acid
Overview:

Alpha-lipoic acid is an antioxidant that is made by the body and is found in every cell, where it helps turn glucose into energy. Antioxidants are substances that work by attacking "free radicals," waste products created when the body turns food into energy. Free radicals cause harmful chemical reactions that can damage cells in the body, making it harder for the body to fight off infections and resulting in damage to organs and tissues.

Alpha-lipoic acid is unique in several ways. Unlike other antioxidants, which work only in water (such as vitamin C) or fatty tissues (such as vitamin E), alpha-lipoic acid is both fat- and water-soluble. That means it can work throughout the body. In addition, antioxidants are depleted as they attack free radicals, but evidence suggests alpha-lipoic acid may help to regenerate these other antioxidants and make them active again.

In the cells of the body, alpha-lipoic acid is converted into dihydrolipoic acid. Alpha-lipoic acid is not the same as alpha linolenic acid, which is an omega-3 fatty acid that may help heart health. Confusion can arise because both are sometimes abbreviated Alpha-lipoic acid.

Brain Function and Stroke

Because alpha-lipoic acid can pass easily into the brain, it has protective effects on brain and nerve tissue and is being investigated as a treatment for stroke and other brain disorders involving free radical damage. Animals treated with alpha-lipoic acid, for example, suffered less brain damage and had a four times greater survival rate after a stroke than animals who did not receive this supplement.

Dietary Sources:

It is found in red meat, organ meats (such as liver), and yeast (particularly Brewer's yeast).