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Alpha-lipoic acid is considered one of the most powerful antioxidants manufactured by the human body. It has been called the “universal” antioxidant because it boosts glutathione levels in cells, and is both water and fat soluable. Alpha-lipoic acid is found in every cell of the body, a cofactor in several multi-enzyme complexes where it helps turn glucose into energy.

Alpha-lipoic acid is an essential co-factor in energy metabolism in organisms from microbes to humans. A nutritional coenzyme that participates in the energy metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, with a particular role in blood glucose disposal,  alpha-lipoic acid is necessary for the mitochondrial energy production of the cell, which keeps us alive; it can also help reduce the aging process which reduces wrinkles in the skin and inhibits the disease process.

The therapeutic potential of alpha-lipoic acid is just beginning to be explored, but holds great promise. Alpha-lipoic acid can be found in foods such as organ meats, spinach, broccoli, peas, brussel sprouts, and rice bran. The richest natural food source of alpha-lipoic acid is red meat; other sources include, spinach, broccoli, potatoes, yeast (particularly brewer’s yeast), and certain organ meats (such as kidney and heart).

Alpha-lipoic acid is a small molecule with chemical properties that allow it to pass easily in and out of cells. Unlike other antioxidants, which work only in water (vitamin c) or fat (vitamin e), alpha-lipoic acid is soluable in both fat and water, and thus can penetrate tissues composed mainly of fat, such as the nervous system, or mainly of water, such as the heart, to protect them from free-radical damage.

Therefore, alpha-lipoic acid is able to deactivate both fat and water soluble free radicals and thereby protect both lipoproteins and membranes; no other anti-oxidant can do this. This means that the antioxidant activity of alpha-lipoic acid is working in the extra-cellular fluid and also within the cell.

Alpha-lipoic acid is unique in several ways. Alpha-lipoic acid exerts apoptotic (cell death) effects on tumor cell lines (anti-cancer effects). It is very important to the liver cell metabolic pathways and can be rapidly depleted when the liver is under stress.

One beneficial effect of alpha-lipoic acid is its ability to regenerate other important antioxidants such as vitamins c and e, coenzyme q10, and glutathione, superoxide dismutase (sod) and glutathione peroxidase (gpx). In fact, alpha-lipoic acid has been shown to protect against the symptoms of vitamin e or vitamin c deficiency in animals fed diets deficient in those nutrients.

Alpha-lipoic acid is used to help treat diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, cardiac autonomic neuropathy, liver disease, retinopathy, dementia, cataracts, and glaucoma,  chronic fatigue syndrome (cfs), hiv/aids, cancer,  wilson’s disease, cardiovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease (pad), intermittent claudication, lyme disease, and lactic acidosis that originate in genetic abnormalities in metabolism.

Supplements of Alpha-lipoic acid have shown benefits in treating pre-diabetes and type-2 diabetes, nerve diseases, increasing energy metabolism, and slowing the aging process.

Thus it benefits our body by regulating blood sugar levels and improving symptoms of cardiovascular ailments, blurred vision, and liver complication. Results suggest that dietary alpha-lipoic acid is a promising agent for reducing cardiovascular complications of diabetes. It is used for improving insulin-resistance and glucose levels  in type 2 diabetes, and treating amanita mushroom poisoning.

For well over 30 years physicians in germany have been clinically treating diabetics with alpha-lipoic acid and in germany to date, alpha-lipoic acid is an approved medical treatment for peripheral neuropathy, a common complication of diabetes.

Topically, alpha-lipoic acid can be used to decrease wrinkles and lines in the skin, and protect against sun damage. Alpha-lipoic acid is an antioxidant used in Europe to promote liver and nerve health, and confer protective benefits against oxidative processes.