While
it's not something that anybody will have heard of,
like echinacea or vitamin C, health-conscious
folks have become more and more familiar with
lipoic acid (or thioctic acid) over the
last few years. It's best known as an antioxidant
- but it's not just another free radical quencher.
And even among antioxidants, lipoic acid has an unique
place, as the central hub of the body's antioxidant
network.
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While many antioxidants - from beta-carotene to grape
skin polyphenols - are found in the diet, and play
powerful roles in supporting optimal health, conventional
antioxidants are like facial tissue: use it once,
and it's no good to you any more - so get rid of it.
Not so with the antioxidant network. While other antioxidants
work in isolation, the five members of the antioxidant
network work together to form the indispensable
core of the body's free-radical defense and "recycling"
system
1,
2,
3
That is, the body uses network antioxidants as a
team to protect you against rampaging free radicals.
These specific antioxidants team - whose other
members are the vitamin E complex (tocopherols plus
tocotrienols), vitamin C, Coenzyme Q10,
and glutathione (GSH) - complement each others' strengths,
and make up for each others' weaknesses. Above all,
network antioxidants have the unique ability to
"recharge" one another into their active,
antioxidant forms when they fall down in the fight
against free radical marauders.
Of that elite, free-radical counterterrorist strike
force, lipoic acid is the least-known … yet it
plays the most important role. Lipoic acid's place
at the heart of the network springs from its remarkable
versatility. This powerful nutrient is the only network
antioxidant which is active in both cellular membranes
and watery cellular fluid; which retains some of its
antioxidant powers even after stepping in to block
free radicals
4.
and which can directly or indirectly "recycle"
all of the other members of the network back
to their active antioxidant form when they become
neutralized in taking down free radicals. On top of
this - as we'll see - lipoic acid is the only antioxidant
you can get from diet and supplements that will actually
restore the youthful efficiency and energy-producing
potential of the body's cellular "power plants"
(mitochondria). It's literally the most crucial
antioxidant for a person to take.
Combine lipoic acid's dynamic antioxidant role with
the controlled trials which show that it provides
powerful support for healthy blood sugar metabolism
5, and protects
and even restores the functioning of nerves
6
and perhaps kidneys
7
damaged by years of high blood sugar exposure from
diabetes - and you know that anyone serious about
their health and longevity will look further into
this remarkable nutrient.
Yes, lipoic acid is a nutrient with awesome potential.
But if you're taking the form of lipoic acid found
in almost all supplements currently on the market,
then we advise you to sit down before continuing with
this article. Because what you'll learn may startle
yo u. If you're taking a conventional lipoic acid
pill, then the health-promoting, anti-aging benefits
associated with this nutrient are only being delivered
by half of your supplement. The other half
is worse than useless: it actually antagonizes
the effects of the good half of the supplement.
To put it bluntly: the lipoic acid you're taking
harbors both a hero … and an "evil twin."
