What is lipoic acid? It is a light yellow powder with a bitter taste that can be easily replaced with hundreds of other chemicals. However, the unique qualities of the unusual combination of fatty acid and sulfur make you pay special attention to lipoic acid: it promotes weight loss, gives the body extra energy, protects the brain and, perhaps, is the key to opening the door to humanity in the land of eternal youth. . . Intrigued?
It is known that lipoic acid sometimes improves the effectiveness of exercise for weight loss. How else can it help the body?
Lipoic acid: cleanser or special forces?
Lipoic acid, also known as LA, is also thioctic acid, it is also lipamide, it is also vitamin H, which often appears as a semi-vitamin or vitamin-like substance.
The fact that LA is synthesized in the human body has prevented it from becoming a "full" vitamin. It is also interesting that lipoic acid dissolves in both fat and water, while its other counterparts in "vitamin activity" can boast only one comfortable habitat.
Lipoic acid is the real Figaro: she is here, she is there. By monitoring enzymatic reactions in mitochondria, it helps to make the process of obtaining energy by cells as efficient as possible.
Lipoic acid molecules - miniature plants for recycling. The substance "picks up" the breakdown products of amino acids and allows you to squeeze out of them the absolute maximum of substances that our body needs, and then removes all the "waste rock" from the body.
In recent years, doctors have begun to talk seriously about lipoic acid as the future elixir of eternal youth, because this substance proved its ability to prevent DNA damage during experiments, which has been recognized as a real cause of aging cells and extinction of vital functions.
Lipoic acid and weight loss: why it works
Lipoic acid is able to "tame" the forces that make us gain weight and retain excess fat. Its activity in this capacity is multiple. So when you lose 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 in 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 combined with changes in diet and physical activity. There is a logical explanation for this. With the "change in the course" of the diet, there are chemical changes in the body (most pronounced when adhering to protein, paleo or keto diets, which give the fastest results and most noticeable side effects), and with increased strength and cardio exercise, microtrauma occurs in muscles.
Therefore, oxidative processes are intensified in the body, causing a "rush" of free radicals, damaged molecules.
Thus, lipoic acid is able not only to neutralize them, but also to absorb them, and then - to recover and rush back to the fight against antioxidants.
This is another unique quality of lipoic acid: it is the only antioxidant that can be used repeatedly.
In addition, vitamin H is in a friendly mood: lipoic acid is able to cooperate with other substances that fight free radicals (vitamins C and E, as well as glutathione), and even 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 have begun to discover more and more new properties of the amazing substance and, in addition, have learned to synthesize it quite qualitatively in laboratory conditions.
Today, chemists produce for various purposes two chemically "mirror" variants of lipoic acid - R ("right isomer") and S ("left isomer"). There are certain differences in their molecular composition, and the human body efficiently and almost completely assimilates only R-type lipoic acid.
The latest methods enable the achievement of higher drug purity and high concentrations of R-lipoic acid. It is clear that such a substance has great potential for all the properties inherent in LA, in addition, it has been experimentally proven that the R-isomer is the one that increases the sensitivity of cells to insulin. However, the production of pure R-variant substance is quite expensive, which, of course, affects the price of the product.
Alpha-lipoic acid, in which the "right isomer" and the "left isomer" are in equal proportions, has become the most popular.
Products containing natural lipoic acid
Inside: 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) can synthesize a certain amount of lipoic acid on their own - this explains the fact that high concentrations of this beneficial substance are found in the internal organs of animals.
Unfortunately, you don't have to rely entirely on LA food sources: as explained by the American specialist in functional nutrition, Dr. Jeffrey Webb, our enzymes are unable to "break" the bond between alpha lipoic acid and the amino acid lysine, in the company of which lipoic acid travels through the gastrointestinal tract in the form of food. Therefore, we will get only crumbs of valuable substance from a dinner rich in ALA.
The question is: if people are able to produce only a modest amount of lipoic acid, and food can get even less, as we have lived so far, until doctors learn 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 the entire burden of free radicals, are quite capable of coping with the amount of free alpha-lipoic acid that is. But the deteriorating environmental situation and the rapid degradation of eating habits in the 21st century have brought lipoic acid from the shadows to the fore.
If you need the help of a substance that is both an antioxidant, a water and fat soluble vitamin, a stimulant of lipid metabolism and, as a bonus, a protector against degenerative brain diseases - talk to your doctor about taking extra alpha-lipoic acid as a dietary supplement.
Lipoic acid: how much to take
The standard recommendation that your doctor may 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 using the vitamin-like substance and the health condition of the "host".
Those who deal with increased sports load for weight loss can be prescribed to "eat" 100-200 mg of alpha-lipoic acid, often as part of complex preparations containing L-carnitine (levocarnitine). LA enhances the effect of "fat burning" of this natural anabolic.
It should not be forgotten that such supplements are taken in strictly time-limited courses, so that the body would not "get used" to the constant intake of substances that stimulate metabolism and would not cause a withdrawal syndrome, full of rejection of the body. to produce these substances on its own.
Because lipoic acid has the ability to maintain the action of insulin, and even partially takes over its functions in some processes and reactions, diabetics are often prescribed higher doses, than 400 mg of LA per day.
Renowned neuroscientist David Perlmutter, author of The Brain Nutrition Diet, believes that 600 mg of alpha lipoic acid is essential for anyone interested in preventing neurodegenerative diseases and eliminating the effects of long-term abuse of fast carbs.
In recent American experiments, alpha-lipoic acid, taken at a dose of 1800 mg daily for 20 weeks, helped to 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 dose should be halved due to its high bioavailability.
It should be noted that with all the benefits of lipoic acid, its overdose can cause indigestion and nausea, increased skin sensitivity and muscle pain, as well as a sharp decrease in blood sugar with all the accompanying "surprises" such as weakness, dizziness. and severe hunger.
So be sure to consult your doctor before going to the pharmacy for a huge can of lipoic acid for quick weight loss: an expert will help you determine a dose that is effective and safe for you, your leanness and your health.
During the entire period of taking lipoic acid, alcohol is strictly contraindicated. For best absorption, the supplement should be taken 60-30 minutes before a meal or at least an hour after a meal.
Visible and tangible results of taking the substance appear only after eight weeks.