{"id":690,"date":"2012-11-22T12:21:38","date_gmt":"2012-11-22T12:21:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/blog\/?p=690"},"modified":"2023-05-12T13:29:16","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T12:29:16","slug":"alpha-lipoic-acid-ala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/alpha-lipoic-acid-ala\/","title":{"rendered":"Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In our new feature, we take a look at some of the lesser known products in our range. Most of you will be pretty familiar with the Leucine\u2019s and Glutamine\u2019s of the supplement world, but we\u2019ve got a pretty big range here! We start off with Alpha Lipoic Acid \u2013 a well-researched nutrient that not everyone is familiar with.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA)?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>A non-essential nutrient produced by humans, which has an array of functions.<\/p>\n<h1><strong>What does it do?<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>ALA can be used as an anti-oxidant, but the main reason it is used by strength athletes is to improve the function of insulin (insulin mimicker) particularly post-exercise when taken with carbohydrate.<\/p>\n<p>Research by Burke et al (2003) showed that adding ALA to sucrose and Creatine increased Creatine uptake beyond and above just using sucrose. A 20% increase in phosphocreatine was seen (from 87.6 to 106.2mmol.kg). This may be linked to an increase in glucose uptake and utilisation (Poh &amp; Goh, 2009). For this reason, the role of ALA in Type 2 Diabetes is being investigated. Many supplement companies added ALA to Creatine products based on the research on improved Creatine and Glucose uptake when supplementing with Alpha Lipoic Acid.<\/p>\n<p>There is some great research on Alpha Lipoic Acid as a potent anti-oxidant; an anti-oxidant helps to neutralise free radicals and protect against damage. For those who train at a high intensity, or with a high frequency, anti-oxidants are beneficial.<\/p>\n<p>Research by Zembron-Lacny et al (2009) looked at the anti-oxidant effectiveness of ALA after muscle damaging exercise. The researchers concluded that ALA \u201cdiminished oxidative damage\u201d modulating a \u201cpro-antioxidant response to the muscle damaging exercise.\u201d In fact, levels of the potent anti-oxidant Glutathione increased by 40% with ALA supplementation (600mg per day).<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Quantity and timing<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The recommended dose is 1-2 500mg capsules per day, ideally with food. For the insulin mimicking benefits, consume ALA with glucose\/creatine post-training.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re looking for a potent anti-oxidant that may have the added benefit of improving glucose metabolism, then Alpha Lipoic Acid would be great product to try! Alternatively, combine it with Creatine and Dextrose post-workout.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>References<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Burke, D.G., Chilibeck, P.D., Parise, G., Tarnopolsky, M,A.,&amp; Candow, D.G. (2003) Effects of Alpha Lipoic Acid combined with Creatine Monohydrate on human skeletal muscle creatine and phosphagen concentration. <em>International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism<\/em>. 13, 294-302<\/p>\n<p>Poh, Z.X., &amp; Goh, K.P. (2009) A current update on the use of Alpha Lipoic Acid in the management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. <em>Endocrine, Metabolic and Immune Disorders \u2013 Drug Targets<\/em>, 9, 392-398.<\/p>\n<p>Zembron-Lacny, A., Slowinska-Lisowska, M., Szygula, Z., Witkowski, K., Stefaniak, T., &amp; Dziubek, W. (2009) Assessment of the antioxidant effectiveness of alpha lipoic acid in healthy men exposed to muscle damaging exercise. <em>Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology<\/em>, 60, 2, 139-143<\/p>\n<h3>Related articles<\/h3>\n<p>Eager to learn more? We believe that every person, with support, has the right to transform their lives through fitness. 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Most of you will be pretty familiar with the Leucine&rsquo;s and Glutamine&rsquo;s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[353],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-supplements"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=690"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22931,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690\/revisions\/22931"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}