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Message: <blockquote data-quote="J_T3" data-source="post: 1859385" data-attributes="member: 479011">I use AOR's High Dose R-Lipoic Acid. It's available in Canada through Amazon but I notice their UK site doesn't list it. In the UK the iherb website does carry it. Supplement brands vary widely in distribution.You definitely want the R- version. ALA is made by your liver, is non-toxic and safe, and has long been recognized as a potent antioxidant. More recently it has been demonstrated to have neuro-protective benefits, but any research reports documenting positive results are recent. Prior to 2012 published research was equivocal: studies showed little conclusive benefit in general, & specifically for neuropathy. Despite that, ALA was approved in Germany in 1966 (intravenously I think) as a treatment for diabetic neuropathy. All research done before 2012 utilised the synthetic form of ALA (S-ALA), as the natural form (R-ALA) was not shelf-stable and was massively more expensive. So the upshot is that S-ALA (sold as just "ALA") doesn't work. This is the cheap stuff you'll find in most ALA supplements.Subsequent research on R-ALA - the natural form your liver makes - became possible once a process was discovered to manufacture it cheaply in a shelf-stable format, and multiple studies have since demonstrated conclusively that it has neuro-protective qualities. The wikipedia page for ALA notes "Gastrointestinal absorption is variable and decreases with the use of food. It is therefore recommended that dietary LA be taken 30–60 minutes before or at least 120 minutes after a meal. Maximum blood levels of LA are achieved 30–60 minutes after dietary supplementation."Note that many supplement manufacturers sell R-ALA products that are actually a mix of R- & S- versions of ALA. There will always be a little S-ALA in any product: its almost impossible to eliminate. You want a product with as little S-ALA as possible: under 5%. The synthetic form of ALA doesn't help at all, but worse, appears to interfere with bioabsorption or efficacy of the natural form of the chemical. So if the supplement you take has much S-ALA in it, you're wasting your money & won't see any benefit.The web site for one manufacturer (Geronova: see their website; I'd provide the link but this forum seems to kill submissions that do that) describes in detail the problems with manufacturing a shelf-stable version and claims that most commercially-available R-ALA supplements degrade (polymerize) almost immediately, making them non bio-available, something they've found a way to counteract. I can't comment. I notice a difference within 24-48 hours if I suspend twice-daily use of the R-ALA referenced above, but it is possible I'd find Geronova's product even more effective. See their comments on fragility of R-ALA products: keep this stuff away from heat. I do intend to try Geronova's product, but it's pretty expensive.Aside from not taking R-ALA with food, you may improve efficacy by taking Acetyl-L-Carnitine with it: I've seen multiple studies document this. Unfortunately R-ALA isn't cheap. OTOH its cheaper than many medications, and there is no medication yet demonstrated to stop or reverse neuropathy (at least, none officially endorsed by the FDA/NIH). And the cost of untreated neuropathy is horrific, as you know.I have largely reversed substantial Peripheral Neuropathy (PN) and thoroughly disabling dementia (MCI, technically) - both almost certainly caused by a metabolic problem, a kind of diabetes. R-ALA was one of four things in the protocol that achieved recovery. I'm happy to document the rest, but it makes for a much longer response - more than you were specifically asking for here. BTW, if you achieve success, expect it to take time (5 years for me so far: 3 to see really significant reversal of the PN). Nerves absolutely can heal, but it's slow.</blockquote>

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