Alpha-lipoic acid... there is probably no nutritional supplement of greater benefit to type 2 diabetics that will actually help lower blood sugar levels! Acting in the body in many of the same ways as insulin, this potent antioxidant acts inside cells, on the surface of cells, and between them.
Alpha-lipoic acid enables your cellular furnaces known as mitochondria, to burn glucose safely by soaking up the excess free radicals of oxygen that otherwise might injure your cells. It protects the lining of your red blood cells from the caramelization process known as glycosylation, (the process that makes HbA1c), and it encourages the flow of fluid in your tissues so that you might even get a tighter abdomen and a better defined jaw line, even as you gain lower blood sugar levels.
\"Biotin\"
The benefits of alpha-lipoic acid are greatest, however, when taken the right way. The biggest mistake type 2 diabetics make with this supplement is to take too much all at once.
In general:
- If your stomach feels like it is fizzing, you have taken too much
- If your urine smells sulfurous, you have taken too much, and
- If your blood sugar level plummets with no other identifiable cause, you have really, really taken too much.
And taking too high a dose of this most potent of all antioxidant supplements for type 2 diabetics, just does not do your body good. The half-life of lipoic acid in the bloodstream is less than 2 hours. Substances we take into our bodies don't know they are supposed to follow rigid mathematical rules but, more or less half the lipoic acid you take is gone 2 hours later, and nearly 90% is gone six hours later.
So to get continuous benefit from this antioxidant, it's important to take smaller doses throughout the day instead of one large dose in the morning. For instance, if you could benefit from taking 1,200mg daily, take 200mg at your main meals, at snacks and before bedtime to give you 24-hour antioxidant protection.
The metabolic processes supported by lipoic acid requires the addition of B vitamin biotin. You need to add 100mg of biotin for every 1,000mg of lipoic acid you take. Biotin can be taken all at once, or you may prefer to use a brand of lipoic acid combined with biotin in the same capsule. Either way, you need more biotin every day.
It's also possible to buy more expensive products that contain R-lipoic-acid. If you are buying "alpha-lipoic acid," you are getting a mixture of two isomers of lipoic-acid. One has atoms arranged with a leftward or "sinister" twist, and is known as S-lipoic-acid. The other has atoms arranged with a rightward twist, and is known as R-lipoic-acid. The usual manufacturing process creates a mixture of both forms.
The human body only recognizes R-lipoic-acid: about 40% of "alpha-lipoic acid" is actually R-lipoic-acid, so it's better value to pay about twice as much for R-lipoic-acid products. Take half the dose but twice as much biotin.
Alternative Health - The Best Way to Take Alpha Lipoic Acid and Have Lower Blood Sugar Levels!
Would you like more information about alternative ways to handle your type 2 diabetes?
To download your free copy of my E-Book, click here now: Answers to Your Questions... its based on questions many diabetics have asked me over recent months.
Beverleigh Piepers is a registered nurse who would like to help you understand how to live easily and happily with your type 2 diabetes.
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