|
2003/05/08, 09:09 PM
I hope this helps.
Alpha-Lipoic Acid
Claims, Benefits: Prevents or treats many age-related diseases, from heart disease and stroke to diabetes and cataracts.
Bottom Line: This potent and versatile antioxidant may some day be seen as a very important supplement. But for now, not enough is known to recommend it. If you have diabetes or heart disease and decide to take it, tell your doctor.
Full Article, Wellness Letter, September 1999:
A special antioxidant, but . . .
Alpha-lipoic acid is a hot new supplement. Scientists first discovered the importance of this substance in the 1950s, and recognized it as an antioxidant in 1988, but only recently has it made its way into American health-food stores. Very potent and versatile, alpha-lipoic acid is apparently a special antioxidant. It has been the subject of a tremendous amount of basic research around the world, some being done at UC Berkeley by Dr. Lester Packer, a leading expert on antioxidants.
The body needs alpha-lipoic acid to produce energy. The body actually makes enough alpha-lipoic acid for these basic metabolic functions. This compound acts as an antioxidant, however, only when there is an excess of it and it is in the "free" state in the cells. But there is no free alpha-lipoic acid circulating in your body, unless you consume supplements or get it injected. Except for yeast and liver, foods contain only tiny amounts of it. What makes alpha-lipoic acid so special as an antioxidant is that it helps deactivate a wide array of fat- and water-soluble free radicals in many bodily systems. In particular, it may help protect the genetic material, DNA. It is also important because it works closely with vitamins C and E and some other antioxidants, "recycling" them and thus making them much more effective.
Alpha-lipoic acid is being studied—and already marketed—as a preventive and/or treatment for many age-related diseases, from heart disease and stroke to diabetes and cataracts. In Germany, in particular, it is often prescribed to treat long-term complications of diabetes, such as nerve damage, thought to result in part from free-radical damage. Some studies—mostly in animals, a few in humans, often using intravenous doses—do show that supplemental alpha-lipoic acid can help keep nerves healthy and play other beneficial roles in the body.
Why it is too soon to act
The research on alpha-lipoic acid is still in its infancy. The studies have been small, and the results sometimes inconsistent. There has been little good research in humans. Large, long-term, well-controlled studies need to be done. No one knows what dose should be used for what ailment. Studies in humans have used much larger doses than are found in most supplements. Though alpha-lipoic acid so far appears to be safe (except for a few reports of allergic skin reactions), no one knows what the long-term side effects of large supplemental doses may be. If alpha-lipoic acid is as powerful as it seems, there may be a danger in too much of a good thing. In addition, while in Germany it is sold only by prescription and (like other supplements) is monitored by the government, in the U.S. you have no way of knowing what's in the bottles.
Down the road: In a few years, alpha-lipoic acid may be seen as important an antioxidant supplement as vitamin E. Meanwhile, don't be a guinea pig. Not enough is known now to recommend it. If you have diabetes or heart disease, in particular, you may be unwilling to wait until more research is done. In that case, it is crucial that you talk to your doctor before taking it. The supplement may, for instance, affect the dosage of your diabetes medication.
UC Berkeley Wellness Letter, September 1999
--------------
I will lift my own weight someday!!!!!
|
|
2003/05/09, 04:00 PM
ALA is truly a bodybuilders supplement. Here is a very good article from Paul Cribb:
There has been a surge in research interest in ALA from scientists; however there is still confusion about its benefits to athletes. Consider this an update on the latest findings on ALA supplementation. More importantly, I’ll clear up exactly what these findings mean for anyone interested in building a premium body.
ALA and insulin and glucose metabolism . . .
First up, there is history of research showing that ALA has a positive impact on insulin action and skeletal muscle glucose transport in both human and animal models where insulin function is ineffective , Collectively these in vitro (cell culture) results indicate that although a portion of ALA action enhances muscle insulin sensitivity (via the insulin signal transduction pathway), the majority of the benefits of ALA on skeletal muscle glucose transport is insulin-independent. The possibility that ALA enhances insulin activity and may also work independently of insulin to transport nutrients into muscle makes this compound one exciting supplement for bodybuilders.
Scientists at The University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, Arizona recently completed some rather noteworthy research involving dietary supplementation with ALA. Using insulin-resistant obese Zucker rats these researchers first demonstrated that exercise training and ALA interacted in an additive fashion to improve insulin action .
However, another study performed last year by the same scientists assessed the interactions of exercise and ALA on insulin action and oxidative stress in a model of normal insulin sensitivity, the lean Zucker rat. Although six weeks of exercise training and ALA supplementation (30 mgs/body wt/day) caused reductions in soleus protein carbonyls (an index of oxidative stress), ALA supplementation failed to improve insulin action or glucose transport in these healthy, lean animals .
The effects of ALA as an insulin “mimicker” appears only to be strong in models where insulin metabolism is defective. The only study to investigate ALA's effects on healthy insulin management did not show this compound to be effective at enhancing insulin action any further, nor did ALA improve glucose disposal within muscle .
While these findings may seem disappointing to bodybuilders, a lot more research on ALA’s effects on glucose metabolism are needed before an informed decision can be reached.
ALA enhances brain function . . .
The loss of memory and mental capacity associated with aging seems to be caused in good part by oxidative mitochondrial decay in brain nerve cells (neurons). In the case of age-related neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, this damage proves debilitating and fatal. Recent research has demonstrated that feeding ALA to old rats improved performance on memory tasks, reduced brain mitochondrial structure decay, and reduced oxidative damage in the brain .
This research was a continuation of work by Stoll and co-workers several years ago that showed that ALA supplementation improved long-term memory in aged female mice. Therefore, there is strong evidence to suggest that ALA supplementation may prevent mitochondrial decay in neurons and delay brain aging as well as other age-associated neurodegenerative diseases .
ALA plays a number of subtle yet vital roles in building a lean, mean body. ALA is an essential co-factor in many mitochondrial dehydrogenase reactions, which means ALA is intimately involved in the proper metabolism of all carbohydrates and fats. However, probably ALA’s most powerful virtue as a supplement for bodybuilders lay in its unique capability as a muscle mass-stimulating antioxidant.
ALA - The bodybuilder’s antioxidant . . .
ALA, first and foremost, is considered by many scientists as a premium antioxidant. However, a carryover effect of potent ALA’s antioxidant capacity maybe an increase in lean muscle mass .
In research, ALA supplementation has shined in a number of oxidative stress models, such as ischemia-reperfusion injury and diabetes, as well as preventing cataract formation, HIV activation, neurodegeneration, and radiation injury . Furthermore, ALA functions as a protective antioxidant for other important proteins such as myoglobin, prolactin, thioredoxin and NF-kappa B transcription factor. All this research adds up to a compelling amount of data that demonstrates ALA’s powerful ability to protect cells from free radical damage .
While this aspect alone warrants ALA to be an essential supplement to any human interested in a healthy, disease free existence, ALA appears to be an antioxidant that is biologically, tailor-made for bodybuilders.
Firstly, ALA works specifically to protect cells from the barrage of free radicals generated by intense, regular exercise training . ALA is unique in that it quenches all reactive oxygen species such as superoxide radicals, hydroxyl radicals, hypochlorous acid, peroxyl radicals, and singlet oxygen species. It also protects cell membranes by interacting with glutathione, which in turn recycles vitamins C and E . If you’re interested in building lean mass, take note of this.
In muscle cells, ALA is shown to actually harness the metabolic power of the cell to continuously regenerate its own active dithiol form, maintaining a continuous supply of cysteine within cells to boost glutathione levels .
In my articles and research reviews I’ve extensively documented the importance of increasing and maintaining cysteine and glutathione levels for building lean muscle mass . Increasing and maintaining circulating cysteine and glutathione levels correlates directly to gains in lean mass. Low cysteine/glutathione levels correlate directly with losing lean muscle mass. If you’ve been training diligently for months or years with little to show for your efforts, I guarantee that you’re suffering from low levels of circulating cysteine .
In research, any time a cysteine-rich supplement is introduced, lean muscle mass automatically increases . The biochemistry on this is complex, but the clear facts are all there — unlike the bogus, transparent supplements that are flooding the bodybuilding market today.
While “cysteine-rich” supplements, like NAC 500, VP2 Whey Isolate and Ny-Tro PRO-40, should be the “bread ‘n’ butter” of any bodybuilder or bodyshaper who does it naturally, regarding the cysteine factor, ALA may stand in a class of its own.
Due to ALA’s unique ability to work synergistically within cells to continuously regenerate its own active form, ALA appears to be the most potent cysteine supplement available today. Do not forget, there is some rather compelling research that demonstrates cysteine levels govern how much muscle you gain from weight training . If you want a healthy, lean, muscular body for life, base your nutritional supplementation program around cysteine-rich compounds like ALA.
References:
1. Henriksen, EJ. In: Antioxidants in Diabetes Management, edited by Packer L, Rosen P, Tritschler HJ, King GL, and Azzi A.New York: Dekker, 303–318, 2000. 2. Haugaard, N, and Haugaard E. Biochim Biophys Acta 222: 583–586, 1970.
3. Singh, HPP, and Bowman RH. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 41: 555–561, 1970.
4. Strödter, D, Lehmann E, Lehmann U, Tritschler HJ, Bretzel RG, and Federlin K. Diabetes Res Clin Pract 29: 19–26, 1995.
5. Estrada, DE, Ewart HS, Tsakiridis T, Volchuk A, Ramlal T, Tritschler H, and Klip A. Diabetes 45: 1798–1804, 1996.
6. Maddux, BA, See W, Lawrence JC, Jr, Goldfine AL, Goldfine ID, and Evans JL. Diabetes 50: 404–410, 2001.
7. Henriksen, EJ, Jacob S, Streeper RS, Fogt DL, Hokama JY, and Tritschler HJ. Life Sci 61: 805–812, 1997.
8. Saengsirisuwan, V, Kinnick TR, Schmit MB, and Henriksen EJ. J Appl Physiol 91: 145–153, 2001.
9. Saengsirisuwan V, FR. Perez, TR. Kinnick, and EJ. Henriksen. J Appl Physiol 92: 50–58, 2002.
10. Jiankang L. Head E, Gharib AM, Yuan W, Ingersoll RT, Hagen§ TM, Cotman CW, and Ames BN. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 99 4 2356–2361, 2002.
11. Khanna S et al. J.Appl.Physiol. 86(4):1191–1196, 1999.
12. Packer L, Roy S,Sen CK. Adv Pharmacol 38: 79–101, 1997.
13. Packer, L, Witt EH, and Tritschler HJ. Free Radic Biol Med 19: 227–250, 1995.
14. Boost your Glutathione Levels Naturally.
15. Cysteine Levels and NAC: Critical Components of Building Muscle.
16. The Scientific Intricacies on the Incredible Muscle Building Effects of VP2.
|
