The Possibilities of Alpha Lipoic Acid

Throughout the process of trying to restore our bodies to tip-top shape from the inside out, the addition of supplements is not uncommon in our nutrition-obsessed world. Once such supplement, Alpha-Lipoic Acid also known as thioctic acid or ALA has long been debated in research circles about whether or not it is helpful for the human body.

In the 1950s ALA was discovered as being a necessary nutrient inside the body, one which we use to help building structures within the cells that make energy that we thrive off of. Although as humans, we make enough ALA to sustain the process of making these cell structures, ALA was found to be a powerful antioxidant in the late 1980s. Now we love our antioxidants; from the pomegranate craze to the blueberry boom,  the pressure to continuously increase our intake of antioxidants is more popular than ever nowadays.

Because ALA is known to destroy “free radicals”—the molecules floating around your body responsible for tissue damage, aging, and certain diseases—many studies have been done trying to determine if ALA could be the answer to diseases such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s, diseases which deal with the aging effects of brain tissue. ALA has also been studied to help find a cure for HIV and less serious problems, including muscle control and immunity.

Although ALA was able to be defined a bit farther, being found as a “good fatty acid” contained in every cell in our body helping us make energy out of our blood sugar, the reality is that science has yet to find the root task of ALA and therefore cannot be certain if it helps any of these causes. Experiments done with rats have seen changes in brain activity to help stop the progression of multiple sclerosis, but serious side effects took place which ultimately question the safety of ALA. Experts cannot give an exact dosage recommendation because they are unsure of the side effects or long-term effects in humans with any amount of ALA, leaving a lot more research still to be done.