Alpha-Lipoic Acid (ALA) is an important fatty acid that is involved in energy metabolism, which is found within the diet in meat and in small amounts in some fruits and vegetables. At a cellular level it has its effects within the mitochondria, which are the energy producing parts of the cells and plays important roles as an antioxidant, helping to protect against oxidative damage which can damage our cells.
Oxidative damage is caused by free-radicals, which despite their bad reputation, is a normal part of metabolism and play important roles especially as cellular signallers. The real issue lies when we are in situations where we are under great ‘oxidative stress’ which can be caused through both physical and environmental stressors.
It may come as no surprise then that ALA is used as a supplement primarily for its antioxidant effects and also in the treatment of chronic inflammatory disorders such as heart disease, liver disease, and diabetes and even in helping prevent age related declines in cognitive function. It has gained particular interest in the treatment of diabetes due to its effects on lowering blood glucose and helping glucose uptake into the body.
Supplementation has also been associated with fat loss as it acts as a natural appetite suppressant, helping to control energy intake and it may also have some benefits in tapping into our fat reserves when taken in high doses and may have benefits for athletes due to reducing the oxidative stress caused by high training volumes, especially when combined with dietary stress such as for those who are combining high levels of exercise with dietary restrictions such as competitive bodybuilders and physique athletes.
Standard supplement doses or 300-600mg per day are suggested for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and are within safe to use limits, with amounts of 1800mg used in studies that have shown benefits for fat loss; however it is uncertain if long term use of this amount is safe due to the lack of long term studies used at these amounts.
ALA comes in several forms including S and R isomers (these have the same chemical formula but different structures) and NA-R-ALA which is also commonly found in supplements, however there doesn’t appear to be much difference in the impacts that the different forms have in increasing blood ALA levels after supplementation.
The most exciting recent study on ALA looking at its fat loss benefits was conducted on 228 obese or overweight people who had metabolic abnormalities (such as symptoms of diabetes like high blood glucose) who were given 1200mg or 1800mg taken in three doses before meals all of which were subject to a 600kcal deficit. The 1800mg group demonstrated nearly twice the weight loss as the 1200mg group (2.76kg versus 1.49kg) and this was 3kg compared to the control group who had only lost 1kg over the 20 week period. Although this may not seem a lot of extra weight over 20 weeks, it does show that ALA has the potential to help with weight loss in overweight people, showing that, as with other fat loss products, they can aid in fat loss but only as part of a controlled dietary and exercise regime.
In summary, ALA has potential benefits when used as an antioxidant in those who are under physical stress such as people in hard training, may help with the appropriate and efficient uptake of glucose into our cells and act in a number of different ways, but primarily through helping to suppress appetite as a weight loss aid, especially when used with an appropriate diet and exercise regime. If you are looking for a high quality ALA supplement then Now Foods ALA comes in easy to dose 250mg tablets.
