Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) - A Scientific Breakthrough

In 1999 we looked at a relatively new antioxidant supplement called alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) and concluded that it might one day prove to be very important, but that it was too early to recommend it. Since then more studies on it have been done. Is the evidence today strong enough to support its use?

Scientists first discovered the importance of ALA in the 1950s, and recognized it as an antioxidant in 1988. It has been the subject of a tremendous amount of basic research around the world, some being done at the University of California, Berkeley by Dr. Lester Packer, a leading expert on antioxidants.

The body needs ALA to produce energy. It plays a crucial role in the mitochondria, the energy-producing structures in cells. The body actually makes enough ALA 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 little free ALA circulating in your body, unless you consume supplements or get it injected. Foods contain only tiny amounts of it. What makes ALA special as an antioxidant is its versatility—it helps deactivate an unusually wide array of cell-damaging free radicals in many bodily systems.

In particular, ALA helps protect the mitochondria and the genetic material, DNA. As we age, mitochondrial function is impaired, and it’s theorized that this may be an important contributor to some of the adverse effects of aging. ALA also works closely with vitamin C and E and some other antioxidants, "recycling" them and thus making them much more effective.