What is Lipoic Acid? It is a light yellow powder with a bitter taste that can be easily confused with hundreds of other chemicals. However, the unique qualities of an unusual combination of fatty acid and sulfur make you pay close attention to lipoic acid: it promotes weight loss, gives the body additional energy, protects the brain and, possibly, is the key that will open the leads for humanity to the land of eternal youth. . . Intrigued?
Lipoic acid is known to increase the effectiveness of exercise for weight loss at times. How else can it help the body?
Lipoic acid: cleanser or special forces?
Lipoic acid, also called LA, is also lipoic acid, it is also lipamide, it is also vitamin N which often appears under the name of a semi-vitamin or vitamin-like substance.
The fact that LA is synthesized by the human body prevented it from becoming a "full" vitamin. It is also interesting that lipoic acid dissolves in both fat and water, while its other colleagues in the "vitamin activity" can boast of only one comfortable habitat.
Lipoic acid is the real Figaro: it is here, it is there. By accompanying enzymatic reactions in the mitochondria, it helps to make the process of obtaining energy by the cells as efficient as possible.
Lipoic acid molecules - miniature recycling plants. The substance "collects" the decomposition products of amino acids and allows us to squeeze out of them the absolute maximum of the substances our body needs, then removes all the "waste rock" from the body.
In recent years, doctors have seriously begun to talk about lipoic acid as the future elixir of eternal youth, as it was this substance that during experiments demonstrated its ability to prevent DNA damage, recognized as the true cause of cellular aging and the extinction of vital functions.
Lipoic acid and weight loss: why it works
Lipoic acid is able to "tame" the forces that make us fat and retain excess fat. His activity in this capacity is multifaceted. So, when losing weight, lipoic acid:
affects the areas of the brain responsible for appetite, reducing hunger;
stimulates energy consumption;
increases insulin sensitivity;
qualitatively improves the absorption of glucose by cells, reducing its level in the blood;
reduces the tendency of the liver to accumulate fat.
Practice shows that lipoic acid gives the best results in weight loss in combination with dietary changes and physical activity. There is a logical explanation for this. With a "change in the course" of the diet, chemical changes occur in the body (most pronounced when following a protein, paleo or ketogenic diet, which give the fastest result and the most noticeable side effects) and with increased strength and exercises cardio, microtrauma occur in the muscles.
For this reason, oxidative processes are intensified in the body, causing an "increase" in the formation of free radicals, damaged molecules.
So lipoic acid is able not only to neutralize them, but also to absorb them, and thus - to recover and rush into the antioxidant battle again.
This is another unique quality of lipoic acid: it is the only "reusable" antioxidant.
In addition, vitamin N has a friendly disposition: lipoic acid is able to cooperate with other substances that fight free radicals (vitamins C and E, in addition to glutathione) and even to enhance the action of its allies.
Is Alpha Lipoic Acid First?
For the first time, researchers were able to extract lipoic acid from beef liver cells in the 1950s. Therefore, alpha-lipoic acid for weight loss began its "medical career" as a hepatoprotector. However, scientists began to discover more and more new properties of an amazing substance, and, moreover, they learned to synthesize it quite qualitatively under laboratory conditions.
Today chemists produce two chemically "mirror-like" variants of lipoic acid for different purposes: R ("right isomer") and S ("left isomer"). There are some differences in their molecular composition and the human body efficiently and almost completely assimilates only type R of lipoic acid.
The latest methods allow to achieve greater purity of the drug and a high concentration of R-lipoic acid. It is clear that such a substance has great potential for all the properties inherent in LA; moreover, it has been experimentally shown that it is the R isomer that increases the sensitivity of cells to insulin. However, the production of a pure R variant of the substance is quite expensive, which, of course, affects the cost of the product.
The most popular has become the cheapest alpha-lipoic acid, in which the "right isomer" and the "left isomer" are in equal proportions.
Products containing natural lipoic acid
Offal: kidneys, heart, liver;
Vegetables: broccoli, spinach, Brussels sprouts, peas, tomatoes;
Other sources: brewer's yeast, brown rice.
When your strength is not enough
Many living organisms (including humans) are able to synthesize a certain amount of lipoic acid on their own - this explains the fact that a high concentration of this useful substance is found in the internal organs of animals.
Alas, it's not necessary to rely completely on food sources in Los Angeles: as American functional nutrition specialist Dr. Jeffrey Webb explains, our enzymes are unable to "break" the link between alpha lipoic acid and amino acid. lysine, in the company of which lipoic acid travels to the gastrointestinal tract in the form of food. Therefore, from a dinner rich in ALA, we will receive only crumbs of the precious substance.
The question arises: if people are able to produce only a modest amount of lipoic acid, and with food they can get even less, as we have lived until today, until doctors have learned to synthesize it?
The answer is simple: those happy organisms that do not suffer from metabolic disorders, are not prone to obesity and have not accumulated a whole load of free radicals, are quite capable of getting by with the amount of free alpha-lipoic acid that is. But the deterioration of the ecological situation and the rapid degradation of eating habits in the 21st century have brought lipoic acid out of the shadows to the fore.
If you need the help of a substance that is simultaneously an antioxidant, a water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamin, a lipid metabolism stimulant and, as a bonus, a protector against degenerative brain diseases, discuss with your doctor the possibility of taking a Additional alpha-lipoic acid as a dietary supplement.
Lipoic acid: how much to take
The standard recommendation your doctor can give you for alpha-lipoic acid as a support and tonic is 25 to 50 mg per day. But it can vary depending on the purpose of the use of the vitamin-like substance and the state of health of the "host".
Those who practice increased sports loads for weight loss can be prescribed to "eat" 100-200 mg of alpha-lipoic acid, often as part of complex preparations that also contain L-carnitine (levocarnitine). LA enhances the "fat burning" effect of this natural anabolic.
It should not be forgotten that these supplements are taken in strictly limited-time courses, so as not to "accustom" the body to the constant intake of substances that stimulate the metabolism and not to cause a withdrawal syndrome, fraught with the organism's refusal to produce these substances on their own.
Since lipoic acid has the ability to maintain the action of insulin and even partially assume its functions in some processes and reactions, diabetics are often prescribed higher doses, from 400 mg of LA per day.
Renowned neuroscientist David Perlmutter, author of The Brain Nutrition Diet, considers 600 mg of alpha lipoic acid a must for anyone interested in preventing neurodegenerative diseases and cleaning up the effects of years of fast carbohydrate abuse.
In recent American experiments, alpha-lipoic acid, taken at a dose of 1, 800 mg per day for 20 weeks, helped lose 9% of body weight without changing the diet in severely obese patients.
In case you decide to spend money on the more progressive and expensive R-isomer of lipoic acid, the dosage should be halved due to its high bioavailability.
It should be noted that despite all the usefulness of lipoic acid, its overdose can cause indigestion and nausea, increased skin sensitivity and muscle aches, as well as a sharp decrease in blood sugar levels with all the accompanying "surprises" such as weakness , dizziness and severe hunger.
Therefore, be sure to consult your doctor before you rush to the pharmacy for a huge can of lipoic acid for quick weight loss - a specialist will help you determine its effective and safe dose for you, your thinness and your health. .
During the entire period of taking lipoic acid, alcohol is strictly contraindicated. For better absorption, the supplement should be drunk 60-30 minutes before a meal or at least one hour after a meal.
Noticeable and tangible results of taking the substance appear no earlier than eight weeks.