The Most Life-Extending Antioxidant You Can Take

by Dharma Khalsa, MD

Oxidative stress and the damaging free radicals it produces is the byproduct of normal metabolic activities – breathing, digestion, fighting infection, and even strenuous exercise. Factors like environmental pollutants, smoking and drinking are major contributors too.

Over time, oxidative stress accelerates the aging process and dramatically increases your risk of developing a multitude of illnesses including Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease and immune disorders.

While you can’t eliminate all sources of oxidative stress from your life, there are nutritional supplements you can take with powerful antioxidant properties that scavenge free radicals inside and outside your cells to render them harmless.

Alpha-lipoic acid, called the “universal antioxidant” by leading researchers, is one of the very best nutritional supplements you can take to slow down the aging process and protect yourself from the killer diseases that can develop after years of cellular damage from oxidative stress.

Here’s what the research shows:(1)

• Unlike most antioxidants, ALA can cross the blood brain barrier to protect your brain cells from free radical damage that can lead to Alzheimer’s and other neurological disorders.
• Because it is both water-soluble and fat-soluble, ALA has the unique ability of penetrating every part of the cell to stop disease-causing free radical damage.
• ALA has been shown in numerous studies to improve glucose tolerance thus helping to combat type II diabetes.
• When taken along with acetyl-L carnitine, studies show that ALA restores mitochondrial function to youthful levels, helping to keep these cellular powerhouses strong and healthy.
• In animal studies, ALA decreased body fat and triglyceride levels while reducing the formation of lesions in large blood vessels that cause atherosclerosis.
• ALA has been shown to cause the death of cancer cells and inhibit their proliferation in both pancreatic and ovarian cancer cell types.
• When applied in a topical cream, ALA reduced the effects of sun damaged skin on middle-aged women.

While ALA is a superstar nutrient on its own, it’s a first-rate team player too. This means that it recycles and regenerates other potent antioxidants like vitamins C and E, and CoQ10, enabling their disease-fighting properties to work longer and more effectively in your body.

Perhaps most importantly, ALA increases your body’s production of its own powerful natural antioxidant, glutathione. Reduced glutathione production due to natural aging leaves you vulnerable to decreased energy production and increased susceptibility to life-threatening diseases.

As you can see, numerous scientific studies show that alpha-lipoic acid should be at the top of your list to fight the disease-causing effects of oxidative stress and reverse the signs of aging.

1. http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2008/jun2008_Reducing-Aging-Markers-With-Lipoic-Acid_01.htm?source=search&key=alphalipoic%20acid