What is Lipoic AcidIt is a light yellow powder with a bitter taste that can be easily mistaken for hundreds of other chemicals. However, the unique qualities of an 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, eventually, is the key that will open the door for humanity to the land of eternal youth. . . Intrigued?
Lipoic acid is known to improve the effectiveness of exercise for weight loss at times. How else can it help the body?
Lipoic Acid: Cleaner or Special Forces?
Lipoic acid, also called LA, is also thioctic acid, it is also lipamide, it is also vitamin N which often appears under the name of semi-vitamin or vitamin substance.
The fact that LA is synthesized by the human body has prevented it from becoming a "full" vitamin. It is also interesting to note that lipoic acid dissolves both in fat and in water, while its other colleagues in "vitamin activity" can only boast of having one comfortable habitat. .
Lipoic acid is real Figaro: it is here, it is there. By accompanying the enzymatic reactions in the mitochondria, it helps make the process of obtaining energy by cells as efficient as possible.
Lipoic Acid Molecules - Miniature Recycling Plants. The substance "rams" the breakdown products of amino acids and allows you to extract the absolute maximum of the substances our body needs, and then removes all "residual rocks" from the body.
In recent years, doctors have seriously started talking about lipoic acid as the future elixir of eternal youth, since it is this substance that, in experiments, has proven its ability to prevent DNA damage, recognized as the real 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 gain weight and retain excess fat. Its activity as such is multifaceted. So, when losing weight, lipoic acid:
affects 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 weight loss results when combined with dietary changes and physical activity. There is a logical explanation for this. With a "change of course" in the diet, chemical changes occur in the body (most pronounced when following a protein, paleo or keto diet, which give the fastest result and the most noticeable side effects), and with increased strength and power. cardio exercises, microtrauma occurs in the muscles.
As a result, oxidative processes are intensified in the body, causing a "surge" in the formation of free radicals, damaged molecules.
So, lipoic acid is able to not only neutralize them, but also absorb them, then recover and jump into the battle of antioxidants 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 against free radicals (vitamins C and E, as well as glutathione) and even strengthen the action of itsallies.
Is alpha lipoic acid the first?
For the first time, researchers succeeded in extracting lipoic acid from beef liver cells in the fifties of the last century. 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 in addition, they learned how to synthesize it quite qualitatively under laboratory conditions.
Today, chemists produce for different purposes two chemically "mirror" variants of lipoic acid - 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 the R type of lipoic acid.
The latest methods make it possible 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 proven that it is the R isomer which 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 became the more affordable alpha-lipoic acid in which "the right isomer" and "the left isomer" are in equal proportions.
Products containing natural lipoic acid
Waste: 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.
Unfortunately, you don't have to rely entirely on dietary sources of AL: as the American functional nutrition specialist Dr Jeffrey Webb explains, our enzymes are not able to "break" the bond between the acid. alpha lipoic and the amino acid lysine, along with which lipoic acid circulates in the gastrointestinal tract in the form of food. Therefore, from a dinner rich in ALA, we will receive only crumbs of the valuable substance.
The question arises: if people are only able to produce a modest amount of lipoic acid, and with food, they are able to get even less, as we have experienced so far, until doctors learned how 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 built up a whole load of free radicals, are quite capable of coping with the amount offree alpha lipoic acid that is. But the deterioration of the ecological situation and the rapid deterioration of eating habits in the 21st century have brought lipoic acid out of the shadows.
If you need the help of a substance that is both an antioxidant, a water-soluble and a fat-soluble vitamin, a stimulant of lipid metabolism and, as an added bonus, a protector against degenerative brain diseases, talk to your doctor. the possibility of taking additional alpha-lipoic acid as a dietary supplement.
Lipoic acid: how much to take
The standard recommendation that your doctor can give you for alpha lipoic acid as a support and tonic is 25 to 50 mg per day. But this can vary depending on the purpose of using the vitamin-like substance and the state of health of the "host".
Those who exercise increased exercise to lose weight may be prescribed to "eat" 100-200 mg of alpha-lipoic acid, often as part of complex preparations also containing L-carnitine (levocarnitine). LA enhances the "fat-burning" effect of this natural anabolic.
It should not be forgotten that these supplements are taken in cures strictly limited in time, in order not to "accustom" the body to the constant supply of substances which stimulate the metabolism and not to cause a withdrawal syndrome, heavy withrefusal of the body to produce these substances by itself.
Since lipoic acid has the ability to maintain the action of insulin and even partially resume its functions in certain processes and reactions, diabetics are often prescribed higher doses, starting at 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-have for anyone interested in preventing neurodegenerative diseases and eliminating the effects of years of rapid abuse. of carbohydrates.
In recent American experiments, alpha-lipoic acid, taken at a dose of 1, 800 mg per day for 20 weeks, allowed 9% of body weight to be lost without modifying the diet in severely obese patients.
If you decide to spend the 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 pain, as well as a sharp decrease in blood sugar with all "surprises "that accompany it such as weakness, dizziness and great hunger.
Therefore, be sure to consult your doctor before going to the pharmacy to get a huge box of lipoic acid for rapid weight loss: a specialist will help you determine its effective and safe dose for you, your slimness. and your health.
During the entire period of taking lipoic acid, alcohol is strictly contraindicated. For better absorption, the supplement should be drunk 60 to 30 minutes before a meal or at least one hour after a meal.
The visible and tangible results of taking the substance do not appear for eight weeks.