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Alpha Lipoic Acid

numan43 said:
ok you two, is there any way i can verify which "flavour" i'm taking as i get it in a plastic bag on ebay, may be getting conned......btw i got an o level in french
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Le R(+)ALA est trop cher, mon ami. Go for the cheapest. We need more posters here to validate their experience with this supplement, or are we all being conned? I have been taking the Swanson one for three months, and have not seen my neuropathy reduce yet. The only way to get your bag of bits verified is to gain access to a mass spectrometer, or zap it in the Large Hadron Collider at Cern. Or ask the seller nicely.

Interesting that Germany has been doling these tabs out like candy, but there is no trials report from there that i can find so far. All i can find is sponsored reports in bodybuilding mags.
 
Diabetes

Several studies suggest alpha-lipoic acid helps lower blood sugar levels. Its ability to kill free radicals may help people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy, who have pain, burning, itching, tingling, and numbness in arms and legs from nerve damage. Researchers believe Alpha-lipoic acid helps improve insulin sensitivity.

Alpha-lipoic acid has been used for years to treat peripheral neuropathy in Germany. However, most of the studies that have found it helps have used intravenous (IV) alpha-lipoic acid. It's not clear whether taking alpha-lipoic acid by mouth will help. Most studies of oral alpha-lipoic acid have been small and poorly designed. One study did find that taking alpha-lipoic acid for diabetic neuropathy reduced symptoms compared to placebo.

Taking alpha-lipoic acid may help another diabetes-related condition called autonomic neuropathy, which affects the nerves to internal organs. One study of 73 people with cardiac autonomic neuropathy, which affects the heart, found that subjects reported fewer signs of the condition when taking 800 mg of alpha-lipoic acid orally compared to placebo.

https://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/alphalipoic-acid
 
catherinecherub said:
Diabetes

Several studies suggest alpha-lipoic acid helps lower blood sugar levels. Its ability to kill free radicals may help people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy, who have pain, burning, itching, tingling, and numbness in arms and legs from nerve damage. Researchers believe Alpha-lipoic acid helps improve insulin sensitivity.

Alpha-lipoic acid has been used for years to treat peripheral neuropathy in Germany. However, most of the studies that have found it helps have used intravenous (IV) alpha-lipoic acid. It's not clear whether taking alpha-lipoic acid by mouth will help. Most studies of oral alpha-lipoic acid have been small and poorly designed. One study did find that taking alpha-lipoic acid for diabetic neuropathy reduced symptoms compared to placebo.

Taking alpha-lipoic acid may help another diabetes-related condition called autonomic neuropathy, which affects the nerves to internal organs. One study of 73 people with cardiac autonomic neuropathy, which affects the heart, found that subjects reported fewer signs of the condition when taking 800 mg of alpha-lipoic acid orally compared to placebo.

https://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/alphalipoic-acid
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I cannot afford an 800 mg-a- day habit, unfortunately, I believe that ALA needs to be taken in this sort of dose for a while to see effects from the oral supps.
 
Last year I was experiencing what felt like pins were being hammered into the soles of my feet. This would last only for a few minutes but would drive me nuts. I read a post on here by @Omnipod about ALA and B12 so started taking them and my feet are fine now. I don't know how long the tabs took to kick in, or even if they did, as the pain would occur randomly and could be weeks apart. Not very scientific, but that's my story.

This is the ALA I take. One a day. The R and S ratio is 50/50

http://www.drbvitamins.com/products/alpha-lipoic-acid-600mg/drb-00133#sthash.CnyaMWPt.dpbs
 
numan43 said:
this the one I've bought over last two months, any thoughts? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291601907508?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
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Seller has good track record apparently. Seems to be genuine, but with no brand identified it is difficult to ascertain the source manufacturer, so I am in the dark. 400mg is a goodly size, so it would seem that 2 tabs daily would be an efficacious dose, just to see if there is any effect. As stated just above, the sellers id of piccolina implies this guy does similar supplements on a regular basis, which may be good news since there are no negative reviews (or that may be suspicious given the number of stars.)
 
Bewbushman said:
Am taking alpha lipoic acid supplements, it's substance that neutralizes free radicals it has also been suggested for diabetic neuropathy its found in small amounts in food sources such as spinach, broccoli, peas, brussel sprouts, has any one else considered trying it out.
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I have been taking some as recommended by Dr Bernstein. Very expensive and, of course, you can't really know if they are doing any good or not.
 
Avocado Sevenfold said:
Last year I was experiencing what felt like pins were being hammered into the soles of my feet. This would last only for a few minutes but would drive me nuts. I read a post on here by @Omnipod about ALA and B12 so started taking them and my feet are fine now. I don't know how long the tabs took to kick in, or even if they did, as the pain would occur randomly and could be weeks apart. Not very scientific, but that's my story.

This is the ALA I take. One a day. The R and S ratio is 50/50

http://www.drbvitamins.com/products/alpha-lipoic-acid-600mg/drb-00133#sthash.CnyaMWPt.dpbs
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It could be the B12 doing most of the work here.
 
Tim55 said:
It also seemed to assist with my FBG levels too - since taking ALA I have halved my Metformin dose and still maintain good control.
Tim
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I have been taking it for that reason. I think it does have a small impact but hard to be definite about it.
 
The comments the guy on e-bay makes about R and the standard S types are at best misleading, and frankly, wrong. However I guess he is just the seller and I can't really comment on his record or the quality of the product.

I get mine on-line from Simply Supplements, 250mg capsules of what I am pretty certain is the racemic, 50:50 mix.

I take 2 per day, but am wondering about upping it to 3 for a while as although I have seen noticeable improvements in my fingers - at worst, I was struggling to fancy my shirt buttons, while I now have no trouble with an M3 nut, and I have got some feeling back in my feet and I can bend my toes properly again, I really would like my feet to improve a bit faster than they are doing.
 
dbr10 said:
I have been taking it for that reason. I think it does have a small impact but hard to be definite about it.
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Sorry - missed that, must have crossed posts, as it were.

I am convinced it helps with my FBG control. I saw my levels stabilise when I started taking it, they rose and became more erratic when I stopped, and good control returned when I started taking it again.

Hardly a scientific study I grant you, just my experience.
 
dbr10 said:
I think I might try this too. What sort of dose do you take?
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I started with straight B12 at 2 x 250 mcg daily, but now I take The methyl form, methyl Cobolamine at 2 x 1000 mcg per day.

Also take Benfotiamine (methyl B1) at 2 x 250 mg daily.

If you have the time, take a look at the information Omnipod and Winnie53 put up in the "Help in Dealing with Neuropathy" thread. I found it extremely useful, and I think susikav did too.....
 
Tim55 said:
I started with straight B12 at 2 x 250 mcg daily, but now I take The methyl form, methyl Cobolamine at 2 x 1000 mcg per day.

Also take Benfotiamine (methyl B1) at 2 x 250 mg daily.

If you have the time, take a look at the information Omnipod and Winnie53 put up in the "Help in Dealing with Neuropathy" thread. I found it extremely useful, and I think susikav did too.....
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Okay, great. Thank you.
 
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