Other ingredients: Natural preservative-free gelatin capsules,
magnesium stearate and microcrystalline cellulose.
Made from pure, quality ingredients. Contains no sugar,
starch, yeast, wheat, soy, corn, egg, dairy, artificial flavors, colors,
or preservatives.
As a dietary supplement, take one (1)
or more capsules per day or as recommended by your health care professional.
It is recommended this product be taken with vitamins and minerals.
Store at room temperature.
Keep out of reach of children.
Keep in a dry place, tightly capped.
Variation in the product color may occur.
Is all ALA the same?
Actually, no. There are two forms of alpha lipoic acid.
R-ALA is the form found naturally occurring within the
body and is the biologically active form of alpha lipoic acid.
S-ALA is the unnatural, synthetic byproduct created during
the production of alpha lipoic acid.
Nobody sells S-ALA by itself as it isn't very effective,
but you will get S-ALA anytime you purchase ALA. The ALA you buy from nutrition
stores is in reality a 50/50 mixture of S-ALA & R-ALA. (though they
won't tell you that) Most companies don't go through the complicated and
expensive process required to purify and remove the synthetic S-ALA from
their products. Be aware that unless the bottle specifically states 100%
R-ALA, you are only getting a 50/50 blend.
It is important for you to know that R-ALA has been shown
time an time again to be up to 12 times as effective as S-ALA. There have
been many studies, doctors and researchers who have stated how much more
effective R-ALA is.
The benefits of R-Lipoic Acid
· R-Lipoic acid is the only form of lipoic acid
that your body synthesizes and can safely metabolize. (7)
· R-Lipoic acid is the only form of lipoic acid
that is proven to significantly reduce inflammation, an underlying cause
of aging. (5)
· R-Lipoic acid is the only form of lipoic acid
that is proven to significantly increase your cellular and mitochondrial
antioxidant activity for preventing mitochondrial decay. This effectively
attenuates the reported increase in oxidative stress with aging. (8)
· R-Lipoic acid is the only form of lipoic acid
that is proven to improve memory, reduce brain damage, reverse cognitive
dysfunction, and protect the brain from neurodegeneration associated with
aging. (8,9,22)
· R-Lipoic acid is the only form of lipoic acid
that is been proven to significantly increase insulin sensitivity, enhance
glucose transport, increase metabolic rate and reduce the gain in body
fat from aging. (10,11)
· R-Lipoic acid is the only form of lipoic acid
that is proven to protect body fats against oxidative damage, chelate harmful
metals and reverse stress damage in your heart. (12,13)
· R-Lipoic acid is the only form of Lipoic that
is proven to significantly increase or maintain levels of other antioxidants
including Coenzyme Q10, vitamin C, vitamin E and glutathione. (14,15)
· R-Lipoic acid is the only form of Lipoic acid
that is proven to expand total life span. (17)
The problems of S-lipoic acid
· S-Lipoic acid produces different biological actions
than R-Lipoic acid that may be undesirable. (16-18)
· S-Lipoic acid produces limited beneficial effects
since it cannot bind with key enzymes. (19)
· S-Lipoic acid is less effective than R-lipoic
acid as an antioxidant. (20)
· At high concentrations, S-Lipoic acid inhibits
mitochondria metabolism and the antioxidant activity of R-lipoic acid (21)
· S-Lipoic acid is metabolized in the outer cell
membrane. This may interfere with R-Lipoic acid's ability to penetrate
the inner mitochondrial membrane and energy production. (22)
· R-Lipoic acid costs slightly more per unit than
alpha-Lipoic acid. But it may be 10 times stronger than regular alpha-Lipoic
acid at reducing inflammation, a primary cause of aging. And it is free
of the problems from the S-form.
This is a simple explaination of why R-ALA is much more
effective than ALA.
References
1. Packer L, Witt EH, Tritschler HJ. Alpha-lipoic acid as a biological
antioxidant. Free Rad Biol Med 1995;19:227-250
2. Ou P, Tritschler HJ, Wolff SP. Thioctic (lipoic) acid: a therapeutic
metal-chelating antioxidant? Biochem Pharmacol 1995; 50:123-126.
3. Hagen et al, "(R)-alpha-Lipoic acid-supplemented Old Rats Have
Improved Mitochondrial Function, Decreased Oxidative Damage, and Increased
Metabolic Rate," FASEB J 1999 13:411-418
4. Freisleben HJ, Neeb A, Lehr F, Ackermann H. Influence of selegiline
and lipoic acid on the life expectancy of immunosuppressed mice. Arzneimittelforschung
1997 Jun; 47(6): 776-80
5. Ulrich H, Weischer CH, et al. Pharmaceutical composition containing
R-.alpha.-lipoic acid or S-.alpha.-lipoic acid as active ingredient. US
Patent 5,728,735, 1998.
6. Hagen et al, op. cit.
7. Suh JH, et al, Oxidative stress in the aging rat heart is reversed
by dietary supplementation with (R)-(alpha)-lipoic acid. FASEB J 2001 Mar;
15(3): 700-6
8. Liu J, Head E, Gharib AM, et al, Memory loss in old rats is associated
with brain mitochondrial decay and RNA/DNA oxidation: partial reversal
by feeding acetyl-L-carnitine and/or R-alpha -lipoic acid. Proc Natl Acad
Sci U S A 2002 Feb 19; 99(4): 2356-61
9. Hager K, Marahrens A, Kenklies M, et al, Alpha-lipoic acid as a new
treatment option for Azheimer type dementia. Arch Gerontology Geriatric
2001 Jun; 32(3): 275-282
10. Jacob S, Rues P, Hermann R. Oral administration of RAC-alpha-lipoic
acid modulates insulin sensitivity in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus:
a placebo-controlled pilot trial. Free Rad Biol Med 1999 Aug;27(3-4):309-14
11. Moines H, Trios O, Park YC, Chow KJ, Packer L R-alpha-Lipoic Acid
Action on Cell Redox Status, the Insulin Receptor, and Glucose Uptake in
3T3-L1 Adipocytes. . Arch Biochem Biophys 2002 Jan 15; 397(2): 384-91.
12. Suh JH, Shigeno ET, Morrow JD, Cox B, Rocha AE, Frei B, Hagen TM.
Oxidative stress in the aging rat heart is reversed by dietary supplementation
with (R)-(alpha)-lipoic acid. FASEB J 2001 Mar; 15(3): 700-6
13. Androne L, Gavan NA, Veresiu IA, Orasan R, In vivo effect of lipoic
acid on lipid peroxidation in patients with diabetic neuropathy. In Vivo
2000 Mar-Apr; 14(2): 327-30
14. Suh JH, Shigeno ET, et al, Oxidative stress in the aging rat heart
is reversed by dietary supplementation with (R)-(alpha)-lipoic acid. FASEB
J 2001 Mar; 15(3): 700-615. Lykkesfeldt J, et al, Ames BN. Age-associated
decline in ascorbic acid concentration, recycling, and biosynthesis in
rat hepatocytes--reversal with (R)-alpha-lipoic acid supplementation. FASEB
J 1998 Sep; 12(12): 1183-9
16. Streeper RS, Henriksen EJ, et al, Tritschler HJ. Differential effects
of lipoic acid stereoisomers on glucose metabolism in insulin-resistant
skeletal muscle. Am J Physiol 1997 Jul; 273(1 Pt 1): E185-91
17. Freisleben HJ, Neeb A, Lehr F, Ackermann H. Influence of selegiline
and lipoic acid on the life expectancy of immunosuppressed mice Arzneimittelforschung
1997 Jun; 47(6): 776-80
18. Haramaki N, Han D, Handelman GJ, Tritschler HJ, Packer L. Cytosolic
and mitochondrial systems for NADH- and NADPH-dependent reduction of alpha-lipoic
acid Free Radic Biol Med 1997; 22(3): 535-42
19. Maitra I, Serbinova E, et al. Stereospecific effects of R-lipoic
acid on buthionine sulfoximine-induced cataract formation in newborn rats.
Biochem Biophys Res commun 1996; 221:422-429.
20. Streeper RS, Henriksen EJ, et al, Differential effects of lipoic
acid stereoisomers on glucose metabolism in insulin-resistant skeletal
muscle. Am J Physiol 1997 Jul; 273(1 Pt 1): E185-91
21. M.S. Patel, et al, Stereospecific effects of lipoic acids on mammalian
pyruvate dehydrogenase complex
22. Packer, L; Tritschler, H; Wessel K, Neuroprotection by the metabolic
Antioxidant alpha Lipoic Acid. 1997 Free Rad Biol Med 22, Nos 1/2, 359-378