Raw Food Blog: alpha lipoic acid

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Thursday, January 28, 2010

Alpha Lipoic Acid for Acne - Antioxidants In Action

Acne is a type of skin disease occurring at the sebaceous follicles of the skin. It usually appears on the face, neck and back. The follicles secrete a natural substance, called sebum, and this mixes with dirt and dust. This then causes the follicles and its surrounding tissues to become inflamed. It's a good thing to know that a such a substance as alpha lipoic acid for acne may hold a solution.

Getting To Know Acne There are two types of acne, either inflammatory or non-inflammatory. For the non-inflammatory type of acne, there is the closed comedo (whitehead) which appears as small, whitish bumps on the surface of the skin. In this case, the plugged follicle does not surface on the skin. There is also the open comedo (blackhead) wherein the plug is slightly darker in appearance, which is due to melanin buildup. This time the plug enlarges and becomes visible on the skin surface.

For the inflammatory acne types there are papule, pustule, nodule or cyst, and acne conglobata. These skin diseases range from a small, pink bump, to an inflamed bump that contains visible pus, to an acne with severe bacterial infection.

What Is Alpha Lipoic Acid? Tagged by some as the "universal" antioxidant, alpha lipoic acid is used widely for its ability to cure and prevent various diseases by neutralizing free radicals in our bodies and protecting the cells from damage. Free radicals are substances that cause damage to the cells. Some common sources of free radicals are fried foods, smoking, exhaust, and pollution.

What Does Alpha Lipoic Acid Do? The main function of the alpha lipoic acid is to boost the levels of gluthathione, which is responsible for dissolving toxic substances in the liver. Alpha lipoic acid can be easily absorbed into the blood stream, and is found in vegetables and meats.

Because alpha lipoic acid is both water and lipid soluble, it is able to reach all portions of the cell. This exceptional ability to work itself within the cell helps the body rid itself of toxins present in the body. It also works effectively in fighting inflammation resulting from acne lesion on a cellular level, curing them before they develop into a more serious type of inflammatory acne.

Another beneficial effect that can be derived out of the alpha lipoic acid is its ability to preserve and protect vitamins C and vitamin E levels in the skin, which can decrease steadily with constant exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

More Benefits Alpha lipoic acid can boost energy production in aging cells, enhancing their ability to repair cellular damage and expel waste products within the cell. This process has been used to treat aged skin because alpha lipoic acid is made up of 1% lotion.

Another effect of the activity of alpha lipoic acid is its ability to prevent and reverse scar formation due to acne. This is due to the skin renewal properties present in alpha lipoic acid that is why it has been used as an ingredient of facial creams to help diminish scar formation.

These are just some of the benefits that can be derived from alpha lipoic acid for acne, which has been widely used as an acne treatment formula. Clinical studies have also proven that the alpha lipoic acid does not have adverse effects, even at high doses.

Flor Serquina is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Healthy-Skin-Today.com. She provides more information on topics such as alpha lipoic acid for acne, Murad acne treatment and Proactiv acne medicine, which you can research on her website even while lounging in your living room.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Flor_Serquina

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Friday, October 31, 2008

Alpha Lipoic Acid- The Anti Aging Antioxidant

By: GiGi Konwin

The best line of defense in your anti aging program is a powerful antioxidant. Alpha Lipoic Acid is the newcomer in the field, but promises to be one of the most important contenders. We need antioxidants to fight off the effects of stress, pollution and bad diets.

Although Alpha lipoic acid has been known since the 1950s, it was originally thought to be a vitamin and wasn't classified as an antioxidant until 1988.

All antioxidants basically work the same - they are chemicals that get rid of free radicals -- destructive chemicals produced by the body and thought to contribute to aging and ailments ranging from heart disease to stroke.

What's Different About Alpha Lipoic Acid?

Alpha Lipoic Acid is the only antioxidant that is soluble in water AND fat. It can go into all cell parts. It's the only antioxidant that can reach the brain.

It is a metabolic antioxidant, which means it is important for cell metabolism or the energy of the cell.

The body actually makes enough alpha-lipoic acid for cell metabolism, however it acts as an antioxidant only when there is an excess of it and it is in the "free" state in the cells. There is little free alpha-lipoic acid circulating in your body, unless you consume supplements.

When taken orally, it is quickly absorbed. It then changes to it's most potent form, dihydrolipoic acid.

What Are The Benefits of Alpha Lipoic Acid?

*It is currently utilized in Europe to treat peripheral nerve degeneration (neuropathy) resulting from diabetes. *It helps make Vitamin C and Vitamin E work better. *It is used to treat and detox the liver. *Protects and repairs cells. *Scientists are discovering it may be helpful in treating or preventing cataracts, atherosclerosis, strokes and heart attacks, and memory and brain function.

What's the Best Form of Alpha Lipoic Acid?

Actually, there are two forms of Alpha Lipoic Acid and if you're not vigilant, you could be taking the wrong form. Most supplements are selling a type of Lipoic Acid that consists of BOTH forms of the antioxidant, called S and R. You should be looking for R - Lipoic Acid which is the only form of lipoic acid that your body synthesizes and can safely metabolize. The label should state that it is ONLY R-Lipoic Acid. Otherwise, you are probably getting the blend, which is only 50% of the R type.

Are there Any Side Effects?

Alpha Lipoic Acid seems to have very few side effects. The recommended dosage is between 50 - 100 mg per day. Higher doses can result in nausea and upset stomach.

Alpha lipoic acid may benefit blood sugar control, so people with diabetes who are taking medication to lower blood sugar should only take it under their physician's supervision.

Animal studies indicate that alpha lipoic acid may alter thyroid hormone levels, so it could theoretically have the same effect in humans. People taking thyroid medications such as levothyroxine should be monitored by their healthcare provider.

Of course, you should consult with your doctor before taking supplements. It is wise to be tested for hormone and vitamin deficiencies first.

Alpha Lipoic Acid is the first in the Anti Aging Supplements articles. To receive updates and the free book Healthy Aging, click on http://www.antiagingnutritionnews.com/lipoicacid

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Thursday, March 20, 2008

A New Antioxidant Fat-Burner for Overweight Diabetics?

By: Robert Rister

The natural products market in North America is saturated with products that claim to boost the metabolism to take off the pounds. You can find a hydroxycut caffeine-free fat burner, a liquid
gel green tea product, and a variety of supplements that claim to correct "glucose intolerance" (the mainstream term is "insulin resistance") specifically to help diabetics lose weight. A research study published just in February 2008, however, suggests that a combination of two safe and inexpensive supplements may:

*Enlarge and activate the mitochondria ("energy machinery") inside adipose tissue to oxidize lipids

*Activate insulin to transport glucose and fatty acids out of the bloodstream to fat cells with these activated mitochondria and

*Do all this without accelerating the heart rate or interfering with the action of thyroid ormones.

These two supplements are lipoic acid and L-carnitine.

Alpha-lipoic acid, or ALA as it's commonly called, counteracts the glycation, or "caramelizing" of hemoglobin proteins in the blood. This takes stress off the kidneys, and it also gives diabetics lower HbA1C numbers at their regular checkups. The most common form of ALA contains a mixture of chemical isomers, one of which can be used by the body (R-lipoic acid) and one that can't (the S-form of the same molecule), but every ALA supplement is at least 50 per cent bioavailable.

L-carnitine is not as well known but has some applications in diabetes, too. There's a growing body of evidence that taking 200 to 2,000 mg of L-carnitine a day may protect diabetic brain tissue.

And it was brain specialists at the University of California at Irvine and Shanghai's Institutes of Biological Sciences in China who seem to have uncovered the potential for a combination of lipoic acid and L-carnitine to aid weight control

In research just published in February 2008, the scientists exposed adipose cells to lipoic acid, L-carnitine, or a mixture of the two. Neither lipoic acid nor L-carnitine by itself had much effect on the activity of fat cells. Together, however, the two antioxidants caused the energy making organelles known as the mitochondria to literally grow overnight, burning more fatty acids and more glucose.

The combination of lipoic acid and L-carnitine also stimulated the uptake of fatty acids and sugars in the same way as the drugs Actos and Avandia with one critical difference. Actos and Avandia just get the sugar out of the bloodstream and into storage. Lipoic acid and L-carnitine
get the sugar and fat into a fat cell that's primed to burn it.

While taking 2,000 mg a day of both supplements won't hurt you (be sure to take supplemental biotin if you take lipoic acid), this study does not establish with scientific certainty that the combination of lipoic acid and L-carnitine will act as an effective diet aid. The scientists used cells taken from lab rats, not humans, and the level of the experiment was laboratory, not clinical. Still, as a way of enhancing weight loss without caffeine or thyroid hormone, this study is a very
important first step.

Robert Rister is the author or co-author of nine books on natural health including the critically acclaimed Complete German Commission E Monographs and Healing without Medication. Visit his daily natural health news website at Savvy Natural Healer. Read a more in-depth technical article on this topic here.

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Monday, March 17, 2008

Alpha Lipoic Acid Is A Powerful Antioxidant

By: Darrell Miller

The discovery of alpha lipoic acid at the University Of Texas Chemistry Department in 1951 was not heralded with trumpets of joy at the revelation of such a powerful antioxidant, but was instead largely ignored. This is largely due to the biochemistry involved not being fully understood at that time, but by the 1980s it was a commonly used supplement, recommended for several medical conditions.

Chemically, the substance is a 5-membered cyclic disulphide with a carboxylic acid grouping. Biochemically, it’s extremely powerful antioxidant properties are largely due to the fact that it one of those rare active molecules that are soluble in both water and fats, and in fact is the only such antioxidant currently know. One of the properties that this ability enables it to possess is to cross the blood-brain barrier, and apply antioxidant propertied to the brain.

Antioxidants are essential to human life in that they destroy free radicals. These are compounds with free unpaired electrons that destroy human body cells in their hunt for electrons to pair with. Electrons come in pairs in organic animal tissue, just as they do in organic compounds. However, under certain circumstances this pairing can become destroyed, leaving a molecule with one of its electrons without a partner.

The factors that lead to this situation are many and varied, and our own biochemistry can produce free radicals during the normal chemical processes of life. However, pollution can also lead to the oxidation processes that create free radicals, common such pollutants being
cigarette smoke, vehicle exhaust fumes, pesticides and the like. Excessive exposure to the UV content of sunlight can also create free radicals as can eating barbecued and smoked foods, and exposure to carbon monoxide and peroxides. Even the biochemical conversion of glucose to energy in our bodies creates free radicals.

These free radicals can destroy body cells, including DNA, and can create conditions such as premature aging due to destruction of skin cells, destruction of brain cells, strokes, cancers, diabetes, atherosclerosis due to oxidation of LDL cholesterol that deposits in the main arteries of the body, stiffening of the joints and many other undesirable conditions.

Free radicals are destroyed rapidly by antioxidants: the reaction is very rapid and most are destroyed immediately they are formed before they can do harm. Fortunately, if your diet is well maintained, the body possesses many antioxidants such as vitamins A, C and E, and other
substances such as Coenzyme Q10, flavanoids, xanthenes, polyphenols and carotenoids. Many of these are found in highly colored foods, and if your food is brightly colored, it should contain a good supply of antioxidants.

However, the problem with all of these is that they are either fat and oil soluble or water soluble, which means that they can either be freely carried round the body by the blood or have to be emulsified by the bile and transported via the lymphatic system that places restrictions on their effectiveness in certain organs of the body. The fact that alpha lipoic acid is soluble in both water and fats enables it to be carried to all parts of the body and to every organ, and can cross
water/fat barriers that other antioxidants cannot do.It can therefore be carried via the blood to the brain and carry out an essential antioxidant function within our brains. It took a long time
for this property of ALA to be recognized and its consequent health benefits understood. It is, in fact, the ideal antioxidant. The substance provides many known benefits to the body due to its
antioxidant properties and also helps the body to generate the maximum possible amount of energy from the blood glucose and thus improve the energy balance of your body.

However, it is with its antioxidant properties that we are most concerned here. One of the benefits of these properties is its effect in holding back the visible effects of aging on your body. Because it is both water and fat soluble, alpha lipoic acid can help destroy free radicals in every part of your skin; the areas served by the blood and the fatty and oily secretions are protected simultaneously by the same strong antioxidant. The end result is a reduction in the destruction of the cells through the dermis and epidermis and a reduction in the degree of wrinkling with age.

Its antioxidant effect in the brain renders ALA in great demand for reducing cognitive impairment with age. In fact studies have indicated that alpha lipoic acid can improve memory and brain function in the aging and the elderly. This effect appears to be increased by the
synergistic combination of alpha lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine that work together to prevent cognitive decline in the brain through the effect of free radicals.

There is evidence that during a stroke, ALA works synergistically with vitamin E to reduce the effect of free radical damage on the vulnerable brain cells, and so reduce the longer term effects of the stroke. Together with ALC, it also reduces oxidative stress on the mitochondria of cells and in so doing helps once again to reduce the effects of aging, and maintain the body’s capacity to generate energy from blood glucose.

Cardiovascular disease is the main killer of the western world, largely due to our diets, and this is especially true of the USA. Although Americans appear unable to change their unhealthy diet, alpha lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine can be used to offset much of the damage done. ALA reduces the development of atherosclerosis through its antioxidant properties and the reduction of the adhesion of monocytes to the artery walls.

LDL trapped in the wall of the artery can be oxidized and enable monocytes to also enter under the surface of the arterial wall, where it changes into macrophages and ingests the oxidised LDL, causing the plaque that forms atherosclerosis. As the plaque thickens, the artery becomes increasingly restricted until the blood flow is significantly reduced or even stopped, causing cardiac failure or a stroke.

Alpha lipoic acid can prevent this free radical oxidation from occurring by destroying them before they act on the low density lipoprotein (LDL). Acetyl-L-carnitine works with the ALA to achieve this, as does another substance known as carnosine. Between them, these three musketeers work to keep your arteries clear and your brain functioning as it should, though it is the ALA that is most powerful due to its oil and water solubility properties.

Although alpha lipoic acid is available as a supplement, either alone or in combination with acetyl-l-carnitine, it is also available from natural food sources. It is particularly rich in offal such as heart and kidney, and also in broccoli, spinach and brewer’s yeast. It is also available in beef, and it is here that burgers can perhaps repay some of the damage that it causes. However, it is not a recommended source since burgers still cause more damage to your health than any of their constituent nutrients can allay.

Like any other supplement, you should seek medical advice before taking any substance if you have a health condition. Nevertheless, the benefits of alpha lipoic acid are such that it is difficult to see it doing anything but good. However, please consult your physician if are taking other drugs.

About the Author:

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