Is Alpha Lipoic Acid Good for Neuropathy?

Many health experts claim that Alpha Lipoic Acid is good for neuropathy. They say you can always take ALA supplements to feel better if you have neuropathy or nerve pain. There are numerous products in this category that you can buy, but before proceeding to a health shop checkout, make sure that you have bought only what’s best.

In other words, Alpha Lipoic Acid works for diabetics who also have neuropathy. It may also destroy free radicals and prevents feeling numbness, itchiness, tingling, burning, or pain in the legs and arms. In that way, Alpha Lipoic Acid addresses the symptoms of neuropathy. But, a decision to go with Alpha Lipoic Acid for neuropathy or diabetes should never be taken that lightly, as we will be discussing in this article.

If you want to learn more about Alpha Lipoic Acid, what it is, how it works, and when you should and shouldn’t consider the supplement, don’t hesitate to read this article. You will also find out about the most efficient ALA supplements you can use and how to take them so that you can lead a normal life, even if you are experiencing nerve pain.

Let’s start by defining the supplement.

What is Alpha Lipoic Acid?

Alpha Lipoic Acid is an antioxidant created naturally by the body. You can also find it in foods such as broccoli, red meat (e.g. ), carrots, potatoes, beets, and such as spinach. However, you must have too many of these foods when struggling with neuropathy, so for this reason, you could consider ALA supplements instead, as a solution.

The Alpha Lipoic Acid component is made by the mitochondrion, which is the powerhouse of cells. Here, it helps enzymes to turn nutrients into energy. It is not only water-soluble but also fat-soluble and thus, it works in all the body’s cells and tissues.

The human body produces Alpha Lipoic Acid in very small amounts. If you have diabetes or neuropathy, you should pay close attention to your diet and consider rely on ALA supplements based on your doctors’ advice. (But, more about what such supplements you can learn later…)

For now, let’s see the health benefits of Alpha Lipoic Acid…

Health Benefits

You must understand their benefits to better understand why you should use Alpha Lipoic Acid supplements when you have neuropathy or trying to improve your health.

Let’s see what ALA health benefits are.

· Weight Loss

According to research, there are several ways in which Alpha Lipoic Acid helps with weight loss.

For example, research suggests this component reduces the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) enzyme’s activity, and this decreases hunger sensations. A great way to cut your portion size!

· Preventing the Symptoms of Diabetes

Remember, Alpha Lipoic Acid is not a diabetes treatment, but it indeed helps reduce blood sugar levels. According to other studies, it also reduces insulin resistance and lowers HbA1c. Subsequently, it helps reduce diabetes complications in the long run.

· Reducing Skin Aging

Other research indicates that Alpha Lipoic Acid helps fight skin aging.

Applying ALA cream regularly on the skin reduces wrinkles, skin roughness, and fine lines without having any significant side effects. Besides, this component seems to also provide UV and antioxidant protection.

· Helping Fight Memory Loss

It looks like oxidative stress causes memory loss. But as one of the most powerful antioxidants, Alpha Lipoic Acid can slow the progression of memory loss disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, by suppressing inflammation and neutralizing free radicals.

Some of the other health benefits of Alpha Lipoic Acid and ALA supplements are: promoting healthy nerve function, fighting inflammation, and reducing heart disease risk factors.

Best to explain by understanding nerve pain better.

What is Nerve Pain or Diabetic Neuropathy?

Neuropathy is a condition that causes damage to the nerves in people with diabetes. It affects many nerves in the body, including those in muscles, organs, and feet.

Nerves have a very important role when it comes to being in good health, as they carry messages between your brain and the other body parts.

With time, high blood sugar or glucose levels with high fats or triglycerides levels cause diabetes damage to nerves. When glucose is at high levels, it also damages small blood vessels nourishing nerves with nutrients and oxygen. This is how neuropathy begins.

People who have diabetes can be sure that they also have neuropathy when they experience different symptoms, such as weakness, burning, aching, tingling, and numbness in their body. Usually, these symptoms appear in the hands or feet first, only to later spread to the arms and legs.

Let’s explore how ALA can help you with managing nerve pain…

Is Alpha Lipoic Acid Good for Neuropathy?

As mentioned, Alpha Lipoic Acid can help people with diabetes who also have neuropathy get better. Here ALA can delay or reverses neuropathy, as it’s a powerful antioxidant. Similarly, it increases levels of glutathione, which is one of the most important endogenous antioxidants.

Adults with diabetes who take 600 to 1800 mg of Alpha Lipoic Acid by mouth every day for 6 months or less say they no longer experience the symptoms of neuropathy that intensely. However, this doesn’t mean you should use ALA supplements without talking to your doctor first.

It seems that after 3 to 5 weeks of using Alpha Lipoic Acid, people who suffer from pain experience significant relief. If the same happens to you, keep on using the ALA product you have been taking, especially if you want to see long-term results.

Let’s dig deep into the mechanism of ALA.

How Does Alpha Lipoic Acid Affect Blood Sugar?

Alpha Lipoic Acid can control blood glucose levels by speeding up blood sugar metabolism. In other words, this component helps manage diabetes, a condition in which blood glucose is high. Therefore, take ALA supplements if you want to prevent the symptoms of diabetes too.

Analyzing the effects of Alpha Lipoic Acid supplements in people with metabolic disorders, type 2 diabetes included, we notice lower fasting blood glucose levels, decreased insulin concentration and insulin resistance, and reduced hemoglobin A1C levels.

Hemoglobin A1C levels show the average blood sugar in the past 3 months. When normal A1C levels are under 5.7% or 6.4%, you have pre-diabetes. A1C levels higher than 6.5% indicate diabetes.

If you measure your A1C levels and your doctor gives you a pre-diabetes or diabetes diagnosis, you can start using Alpha Lipoic Acid health products if your doctors recommends that.

We have discovered that ALA is good for nerve pain in diabetics; but how it would affect your overall diabetes other than neuropathy?

Let’s find out…

Is Alpha Lipoic Acid Good for Diabetes?

Generally speaking, Alpha Lipoic Acid is good for diabetes and can prevent the onset of neuropathy or other diabetic complications. At the same time, it helps maintain a normal weight.

When you include ALA in your diabetic treatment, you also prevent the progression and development of renal fibrosis (a kidney disease), which is also caused by diabetes.

As a person with diabetes, you could take Alpha Lipoic Acid supplements 30 minutes before meals because the bioavailability of this component is under 40% and decreases when you eat something. Therefore, if you want your ALA supplement to work against the symptoms of diabetes, take it as recommended or as the doctor indicates.

Further, Alpha Lipoic Acid has positive effects on insulin sensitivity and protective effects on beta-cells that suffered damage. Therefore, it is effective for managing diabetes in many different ways. Another study reported that ALA could also reduce bad cholesterol levels too.

Now, let’s turn to the effects of ALA at an early stage of the disease, during pre-diabetes…

How Does Alpha Lipoic Acid Help in Cases of Pre-diabetes?

Alpha Lipoic Acid supplements also help impede disease progression in pre-diabetes cases. This type of short-chain fatty acid has glycemic control properties, so it can prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes when the disease is in its first stages.

When you have pre-diabetes, and you can use Alpha Lipoic Acid, it may take you somewhere between 2 to 6 years to reverse the condition. But this doesn’t mean you should rely only on supplements and no longer also stick to a healthy diet.

In other words, you should take Alpha Lipoic Acid products and lead a healthy lifestyle when struggling with pre-diabetes. Move your body as much as possible, and ask your doctor what you’re allowed to eat.

Note that supplements can help you reverse the condition in time, so don’t expect immediate results.

Saying so, the research about ALA and diabetes is vague and interesting…

What Does Research Say?

Scientists have conducted many studies on Alpha Lipoic Acid and its effects in cases of diabetes and neuropathy. Some voices in the scientific community say this component didn’t show enough relevant results so far. But let’s focus on research with positive results because it is indeed very promising.

Aside from being a powerful antioxidant, Alpha Lipoic Acid also enhances nitric oxide-mediated vasodilation dependent on the endothelium. To sum up, it improves microcirculation in people with diabetic polyneuropathy.

In addition, Alpha Lipoic Acid has extraordinary iron-chelation properties. Its thiol groups chelate irons and increase glutathione levels in cells.

On the other hand, Alpha Lipoic Acid can also excrete various toxic metals, so you should pay attention to how much you are taking.

Remember, as noted earlier, the best way to consume ALA is through the food you eat. Only if that is not sufficient, you should consider the supplementation…

Alpha Lipoic Acid Rich Food

Now let’s look at the Alpha Lipoic Acid foods you can consume if you want to no longer experience or reduce the symptoms of neuropathy. As mentioned, red meat is a rich source of ALA, but you can also find this component in other animal products such as organ meats.

If you don’t eat meat, you can gain the health benefits of Alpha Lipoic Acid if you consume plant foods such as Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, and spinach. However, if you are running low on food, the best idea would be to rely on Alpha Lipoic Acid supplements because these pack as much of the component as your body would need to get healthier.

Now the time to dig into ALA supplements.

Tip: we have covered how Lecithin Can Help Controlling High Blood Pressure.

Alpha Lipoic Acid Rich Supplements

Many Alpha Lipoic Acid supplements are available, and if you want to try them when experiencing the symptoms of neuropathy, you should know more about each. But let’s see which are two of these best supplements and how they work.

Nutricost Alpha Lipoic Acid

Let’s find out the first of the two; Nutricost Alpha Lipoic Acid Supplement.

What Is Nutricost Alpha Lipoic Acid?

Neuropathy is one of the worst consequences of when you have diabetes. If you experience the symptoms of this condition, you may want to try Nutricost Alpha Lipoic Acid, which contains 600 mg of ALA per serving.

You can use Nutricost Alpha Lipoic Acid capsules if you’re vegetarian or gluten intolerant too.

The product is made in an FDA-registered and GMP-compliant facility, so you can be sure that its manufacturing process follows the highest hygiene and production standards.

Nutricost Alpha Lipoic Acid is available in 120-capsule and 240-capsule bottles. This means 60 and 120 servings, respectively. Therefore, if you buy a 120-capsule bottle, you can use it for 2 months, whereas if you buy a 240-capsule bottle, you can use it for 4 months.

How Does Nutricost Alpha Lipoic Acid Work?

By packing 600 mg of Alpha Lipoic Acid in only 1 serving, Nutricost Alpha Lipoic Acid is one of the most efficient ALA supplements available on the market. Not many products in its category contain this much of this ingredient to deliver its health benefits efficiently.

Nutricost Alpha Lipoic Acid is more effective if you take it as recommended and before meals. According to the manufacturer, it gets very easily absorbed in the bloodstream through the intestinal tract, so you will experience its health benefits quickly. However, the product won’t work if you don’t use it in the long run.

Last, Nutricost Alpha Lipoic Acid contains some other ingredients that help the body remain healthy in the long run. You will learn more about these ingredients in the following section of this article. For now, know that this supplement is indeed versatile.

Nutricost Alpha Lipoic Acid Nutritional Content

Here’s the nutritional content table for Nutricost Alpha Lipoic Acid. Study it, and if you are concerned that you could be intolerant to one of these ingredients, don’t use the supplement or ask your doctor about what you should do.

Ingredient	Amount per serving
Alpha Lipoic Acid	600 mg
Di-Calcium Phosphate	Unspecified
Hypromellose	Unspecified
Microcrystalline cellulose	Unspecified
Magnesium stearate	Unspecified
Silica	Unspecified

Pros

• By reducing glucose levels, Nutricost Alpha Lipoic Acid can also reduce the symptoms of diabetes.
• Because it contains increased amounts of Alpha Lipoic Acid, this supplement can help prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes in people who suffer from pre-diabetes.
• The Alpha Lipoic Acid content of this product can reduce diabetic neuropathic pain.

Cons

• Likely, you won’t find Nutricost Alpha Lipoic Acid anywhere online or at most health shops because the stocks exhaust very rapidly.
• Some people say the Nutricost Alpha Lipoic Acid capsules have a bad taste.
• The supplement is not available with FREE shipping when you don’t buy it in bulk.

Sundown Naturals Alpha Lipoic Acid Supplement

Now let’s take a look at Sundown Naturals Alpha Lipoic Acid Supplement.

What is it?

What Is Sundown Naturals Alpha Lipoic Acid?

Sundown Naturals Alpha Lipoic Acid offers great value for money. It’s a complete ALA supplement that contains 600 mg of the ALA component per serving. Further, this product supports sugar metabolism and helps you prevent neuropathy symptoms.

The manufacturer calls the Sundown Naturals Alpha Lipoic Acid product a universal antioxidant. There is no gluten in this supplement, and neither are any artificial flavors.

Further, Sundown Naturals Alpha Lipoic Acid doesn’t contain any dairy or milk content and is free from GMOs.

Don’t use Sundown Naturals Alpha Lipoic Acid if you experience side effects such as nausea, pain, dizziness, or vomiting. The supplement shouldn’t have any side effects, but some people might be intolerant to one of its ingredients.

How Does Sundown Naturals Alpha Lipoic Work?

Just like Nutricost Alpha Lipoic Acid, Sundown Naturals Alpha Lipoic Acid delivers 600 mg of Alpha Lipoic Acid per serving. This is more than enough to address the symptoms of diabetes or diabetic neuropathy. Higher doses of the supplement are not recommended because you won’t obtain any extra health benefits.

When using Sundown Naturals Alpha Lipoic Acid, paying attention to what you are eating is also very important. The product won’t work if you don’t use it in combination with a clean diet that uses mostly ingredients known to address diabetes.

Because it doesn’t contain any food allergens, Sundown Naturals Alpha Lipoic Acid is unlikely to cause allergies. It shouldn’t have any considerable side effects either, but if you experience some after taking it, you should no longer use it and talk to a doctor.

Sundown Naturals Alpha Lipoic Acid Nutritional Content

Here are the ingredients in Sundown Naturals Alpha Lipoic Acid, as the product’s label specifies them:

Ingredients	Amount per serving
Alpha Lipoic Acid	600 mg
Gelatin	Unspecified
Silica	<2%
Vegetable Magnesium Stearate	<2%

Pros

• Sundown Naturals Alpha Lipoic Acid is made in the US, under the highest standards of safety, hygiene, and manufacturing.
• The product has many positive reviews on Amazon, so most people who use it are generally happy with its results.
• Sundown Naturals Alpha Lipoic Acid doesn’t have any effect on diabetes medication because its manufacturer made sure to use only ingredients that work well with diabetes treatments.

Cons

• Some people complain that the Sundown Naturals Alpha Lipoic Acid capsules are not too easy to swallow because they are large.
• Capsules smell like sulfur, and many users say they can’t take them as a result.
• According to a negative Amazon review, Sundown Naturals Alpha Lipoic Acid doesn’t control nerve pain well.

Let’s learn when you shouldn’t consider any of the above ALA supplements. This section is one of the most important in this article, so make sure to read it.

When Should You Not Take Alpha Lipoic Acid?

Don’t use Alpha Lipoic Acid supplements if your doctor says you shouldn’t. These products might work for most people who have pre-diabetes, diabetes or neuropathy, but not all bodies are the same, and some ALA supplements may not do you any good in the long run. Your doctor should know better about these things.

It’s also best to no longer take any Alpha Lipoic Acid product if you experience side effects such as those mentioned in this article. You could be allergic to one of the ingredients in a specific product, which means you can opt for a new one.

Last, there could also be a situation in which your body doesn’t tolerate Alpha Lipoic Acid at all. This is where you should reach out to your doctor immediately too.

Conclusion

Alpha Lipoic Acid is an effective component that shows positive results in cases of diabetes and diabetic neuropathy. You can use ALA supplements if you have these conditions, yet not without talking to a health specialist that knows everything about your health state first.

Many Alpha Lipoic Acid supplements are available on the market, but this article mentions the most popular ones. After all, if you have diabetes or neuropathy, you must use only take the best ALA products out there.

Both Nutricost Alpha Lipoic Acid and Sundown Naturals Alpha Lipoic Acid supplements are also affordable. You can buy them in bulk too, if you want to spend less and make sure that you have enough Alpha Lipoic Acid to rely on for a few months. Most scientists recommend using supplements with this special component, so you could try them to prevent neuropathy symptoms.