Alpha-Lipoic acid is an organo-sulfur compound that is found in almost all foods, but in very low amounts and does not absorb well into the body from food since it is covalently bound. It has been taken as a nutritional supplement since the 1950’s, and has been the subject of numerous clinical studies since its discovery.
My interest in it began when I read an article stating that alpha-lipoic acid had helped many people who suffer from diabetic neuropathy. My mother has suffered with diabetic neuropathy in her legs and feet for years. She had tried a slew of prescription items for the nerve pain including amitriptyline, gabapentin, and pregabalin all with limited success. And none of the supplements she had tried at the time had made any difference. After I showed her that there was clinical data that validated lipoic acid’s use for nerve pain, she agreed to give it a try.
Alpha-Lipoic Acid’s Benefits
Diabetic Nerve Pain
Multiple clinical trials have shown that Alpha lipoic acid improves neuropathic symptoms in diabetic neuropathy and they conclude that it should be considered as a treatment option.1 It is even approved as a drug in Germany for diabetic and alcoholic nerve pain.
One study has shown that its positive effects may come from its ability to increase blood flow to the nerves, reduce the effects of oxidative stress there and to significantly improve neural conduction velocity.2
A five-week study of patients with diabetic neuropathy measured the effect of Alpha lipoic acid on stabbing pain, burning pain, paresthesia and numbness of feet. They concluded that there was a significant benefit in these areas and determined that 600 mg once a day was the most effective dose with the least amount of side effects.3
Improved Sugar Metabolism
The benefit of alpha-lipoic acid is not limited to neuropathy. Studies have shown that it significantly improves insulin uptake in muscles.4 Long term treatment can increase glycogen synthesis and its concentration in the muscles.
Insulin Resistance
Alpha-lipoic acid can help prevent insulin resistance quite possibly because its antioxidative properties prevent the increase in oxidative stress.5
Diabetic Retinopathy
One study demonstrated alpha-lipoic’s beneficial effect on preventing diabetic retinopathy. The study’s conclusion was to recommend alpha lipoic acid as an adjunct to help prevent vision loss in diabetic patients.6
Kidney Damage
Another study examined the effects of alpha-lipoic acid on the early stages of kidney damage from diabetic neuropathy. They concluded that it is effective in preventing diabetic glomerular injury.7
Atherosclerosis and CVD
It is well documented that high blood sugar makes atherosclerosis worse and increases cardiovascular complications. Alpha lipoic acid helps prevent atherosclerosis and may turn out to protect the heart against CVD complications in diabetics.8
Improves Brain Function
A study that has gotten a lot of attention was conducted on old rats that were fed acetyl l-carnitine and alpha lipoic acid. At the conclusion of the trial Bruce N. Ames, professor at UC Berkeley who led the study said, “The brain looks better. They are full of energy. Everything we looked at looks more like a young animal. The animals seem to have much more vigor and are much more active than animals not on this diet.” The study concluded that alpha-lipoic acid and acetyl l-carnitine drastically improved memory and brain function.9
Alpha-lipoic Acid and Weight Loss
Researchers who had documented how well alpha-lipoic acid worked in preventing weight gain in rodents wanted to determine if it could have the same effect on humans. They studied 360 obese patients who had diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol in a double-blind placebo controlled study. After 20 weeks, the lipoic acid group lost significantly more weight than the placebo group.10
Alpha Lipoic Acid’s Side Effects
In low doses, lipoic acid seems to have very few side effects. In high doses (above 1000 mg a day) mild hives, itching, nausea, and diarrhea have been reported.
Alpha Lipoic Acid Skin Cream
Alpha lipoic acid has gained a lot of popularity as the active ingredient in anti-wrinkle face creams. The reason it has been used in these types of creams is because it is a really good antioxidant. Antioxidants block the cellular destruction caused by unstable molecules called free radicals. We are bombarded by free radicals from pollutants, toxins, stress, and aging. There destructive effects on skin cells can lead to increased wrinkles, age spots, and even skin cancer.
Although alpha-lipoic acid would work well as an antioxidant in antiwrinkle face creams, ascorbyl palmitate has been used much longer in the same type of cream. It is a stronger antioxidant and has been shown to have more of a protective effect for epithelial cells.
Personal Note and Recommendation
My mother noticed a slight improvement in her peripheral neuropathy after just one month of taking alpha-lipoic acid 300mg three times a day. The improvement was gradual. The first symptom that she noticed was decreasing in frequency was the burning pain. She has now taken alpha-lipoic acid for over a year now and though she still has portions of her feet that feel numb, she says she has not felt any stabbing pain for months and has had more improvement with lipoic acid than with anything else she has tried. She doesn’t hesitate to recommend it.
References
- Foster T. (2007). “Efficacy and Safety of α-Lipoic Acid Supplementation in the Treatment of Symptomatic Diabetic Neuropathy”. The Diabetes Educator 33(1): 111-7.
- Nagamatsu, M, Nickander K, et. al. (1995). “Lipoic Acid Improves Nerve Blood Flow, Reduces Oxidative Stress, and Improves Distal Nerve Conduction in Experimental Diabetic Neuropathy”. Diabetes Care 18(8): 1160-7.
- Ziegler D, Ametov A, et. al. (2006). “Oral Treatment With α-Lipoic Acid Improves Symptomatic Diabetic Polyneuropathy”. Diabetes Care 29(11): 2365-70.
- Jacob S, Streeper R, et. al. (1996). “The antioxidant alpha-lipoic acid enhances insulin-stimulated glucose metabolism in insulin-resistant rat skeletal muscle.” Diabetes 45(8): 1024-9.
- Midaoui A, de Champlain J. (20020. “Prevention of Hypertension, Insulin Resistance, and Oxidative Stress by α-Lipoic Acid”. Hypertension 39: 303-307.
- Kowluru R, Odenbach S. (2004). “Effect of Long-Term Administration of α-Lipoic Acid on Retinal Capillary Cell Death and the Development of Retinopathy in Diabetic Rats”. Diabetes 53(12): 3233-8.
- Melhem M, Craven P, Deruberis F. (2001). “Effects of Dietary Supplementation of α-Lipoic Acid on Early Glomerular Injury in Diabetes Mellitus.” J Am Soc Nephrol. 12:124-33.
- Yi X, Maeda N. (2006). “Alpha-Lipoic Acid Prevents the Increase in Atherosclerosis Induced by Diabetes in Apolipoprotein E–Deficient Mice Fed High-Fat/Low-Cholesterol Diet”. Diabetes 55(8): 2238-44.
- Liu J, Head E, Gharib A, Yuan W, Ingersoll R, Hagen T, Cotman C, Ames B. (2002). “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-α-lipoic acid”. PNAS 99(4): 2356-61.
- Koh EH, Lee WJ, et. al. (2011). “Effects of alpha-lipoic acid on body weight in obese subjects”. Am J Med 124(1): 85el-8.