Discover Amazing Alpha Lipoic Acid Benefits

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The list of possible alpha lipoic acid benefits is long, while negative side effects are rare.
There have been numerous alpha lipoic acid clinical studies, pre clinical trials and laboratory
studies. This is merely a brief review of those studies.
First, just to be clear, here is a brief explanation of the difference between clinical and pre clinical
studies. Alpha lipoic acid clinical studies are those which include real people with or without
specific health conditions in a controlled setting.
Other studies are considered pre clinical, because they took place in a laboratory setting using
either cell lines or animal models.
When results of pre clinical trials are promising, researchers typically recommend that clinical
studies should be performed.
In the case of small alpha lipoic acid clinical studies or single blind studies, researchers usually
suggest larger more controlled studies. The alpha lipoic acid clinical studies that are considered
most scientifically sound are those that are placebo controlled and double blind.
A placebo controlled study is one in which about half of the participants receive an active
substance and about half receive an inactive substance or "placebo". Double blinding means that
neither the person receiving the substance, nor the person "handing out the pills" knows which is
"real" and which is not.
Double blind placebo controlled studies are particularly important when evaluating symptoms such
as pain relief, but not so much in other cases. And in some cases clinical studies are simply
impossible.
For example, alpha lipoic acid benefits that have been suggested by laboratory studies include the
prevention of cancer. There is no way to use clinical studies to prove this theory, but in the
laboratory, it has been shown that ALA prevents the growth of cancerous cell lines and tumors.
Alpha lipoic acid clinical studies have shown benefit to patients who have undergone radiation
and/or chemotherapy for the treatment of cancer.
Other laboratory studies have indicated that alpha lipoic acid benefits may include the prevention
of heart disease. With this in mind, researchers at Boston University School of Medicine
conducted a double blind placebo controlled study lasting eight weeks.

2. In their opening statement researchers pointed out that ALA and l-carnitine are known to reduce
oxidative stress and improve mitochondrial function. Their goal was to see what if any effect
supplementation would have on patients with coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and
metabolic syndrome.
Study participants were patients with either coronary artery disease or metabolic syndrome. At the
end of the eight week trial, those participants receiving ALA and acetyl-l-carnitine had significantly
lower blood pressure and increased diameter in the brachial artery, the major blood vessel in the
arm.
This study suggests that alpha lipoic acid benefits include stabilizing blood pressure and improving
blood flow and support the idea that ALA supplements may help prevent heart disease.
Many alpha lipoic acid clinical studies have focused on the benefits to people suffering from
diabetes, in particular those people whose small blood vessels have been damaged by high levels
of glucose in the blood stream for an extended period of time, a condition called diabetic distal
symmetric polyneuropathy or diabetic neuropathy.
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic reported that ALA at 600mg/day relieved the pain associated with
this condition. Numerous alpha lipoic acid clinical studies from around the world support this
conclusion.
At the Department of Neuroscience in Pisa, Italy ALA has been used along with vitamin E,
coenzyme Q10, riboflavin, creatine and exercise training to effectively treat mitochondrial
diseases, a group of disorders caused by damage to the DNA of the mitochondria. The
mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cells of the human body, responsible for converting food
molecules into the energy that fuels cellular functions.
Other studies suggest that ALA may protect mitochondria from the damage that occurs during the
aging process, although these are laboratory studies, not alpha lipoic acid clinical studies.
One of the small alpha lipoic acid clinical studies concluded that alpha lipoic acid benefits may
include the relief of migraines. Clinicians at the Headache Research Unit in Belgium evaluated the
symptoms of nearly 100 migraine sufferers over a period of three months. This was a single blind
placebo controlled study, so results need to be followed up with a larger clinical trial.
But, these researchers found that the frequency and severity of migraine attacks were less in
participants receiving ALA, while participants receiving placebo reported no change at all. These
scientists described ALA in this way "known to enhance energy metabolism in mitochondria and to
be beneficial in diabetic neuropathy".
According to the Alternative Medicine Review, alpha lipoic acid benefits to human health were first
identified in the 1980s. Researchers and scientists accept the fact that ALA is a powerful
antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in both the fatty and watery regions of cells. Other
antioxidants work in either the watery regions (vitamin C) or the fatty regions (vitamin E) but not
both.
Over the years, alpha lipoic acid clinical studies have shown that the supplement can be used to

3. treat and prevent deficiencies in vitamin C or E. With this and other evidence, it can be stated with
confidence that alpha lipoic acid benefits and enhances the performance of other antioxidants.
Other alpha lipoic acid benefits listed by the Alternative Medicine Review include the treatment of
glaucoma and heavy metal poisoning. Supplements may be beneficial to stroke victims and to
persons who have suffered from a clot in the arteries of the heart.
Many sources state that it may be helpful in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's and
Parkinson's. Laboratory studies have shown that it prevents the replication of the HIV virus.
Several alpha lipoic acid clinical studies have shown benefit to persons suffering from Burning
Mouth Syndrome.
People with type II diabetes, pre-diabetes, insulin resistance or a family history of type II diabetes
should know that ALA enhances insulin sensitivity and stimulates the production of insulin.
Although this means that the possible prevention of type II diabetes is one of the many alpha lipoic
acid benefits, it also means that it should be used with caution by person's with hypoglycemia, low
blood sugar or a tendency towards hypoglycemic. Although actual hypoglycemia is rare, it is just
as life threatening as hyperglycemia.
It may seem that alpha lipoic acid helps practically every system and every part of the human body
and this is actually true, because mitochondria exist in every cell and alpha lipoic acid benefits to
mitochondria are well established and accepted by the scientific community.
Mila Sabido is editor of http://www.nutritional-supplements-information.com . Visit
http://www.nutritional-supplements-information.com/alpha-lipoic-acid-benefits.html for more info on
how to choose a quality supplement containing alpha lipoic acid.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mila_Sabido
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