r-ALA

[HIT]

HI

Since ALA is getting to be the hottest legal supplement to hit the shelves since creatin, I have some questions!

What is the difference between r and s ALA? I found this on AF:

r-ALA is the pure form of ALA found in nature. ALL other ALA products are a racemic mixture of the natural R and the synthetic S enantiomer. The S has little or no beneficial effects and is often detrimental to the activity of the R. In this racemic mixture half of the ALA is relatively useless and in many respects working against the other half. We have removed the unnatural S enantiomer and bring you the pure R enantiomer. Which is the one that has been shown to improve glucose uptake, insulin sensitivity, mitochondrial activity, and free radical elimination.

I belive everyone that has used ALA has used the mixed type, or is there any other company than AF that makes pure r-ALA? www.nutriteam.com, www.anabolical.com, www.kilosports.com or any of the known brands(EAS, Twinlab, AST and so on)?

So if everyone on this board has used the mixed type and getting unbelivable results, the AF brand must give the same/better results by using smaller amounts of ALA?

Any with some knowledge who can explain this?

HIT

 

[Ulter]

Exactly. You will get the same results using only 1/3 the dose.

 

[lawnsaver]

Please...english...is it cost effective??

 

[Ulter]

It's a bargain at twice the price!!!!

Seriously, it's about 3-4 times more than the worst crap you can buy, but you only need to use 1/3 as much. The question is do you want to use the worst crap you can buy and guess how much r-ALA is in it or just buy the right ALA to begin with?
To tell you the truth with all this ALA commotion I kinda lost count. So you gotta ask yourself this question, Do I feel lucky today?

 

[lawnsaver]

I use NOW FOODS...pretty good company.

Put me on the best site for r-ala please

 

[Ulter]

Click

 

[HIT]

Hi

I checked out what kind of ala www.nutriteam.com, www.anabolical.com and www.jarrowformulas.com contained. And this is the answers:

Nutriteam:
We were not aware that there
are r- or s- versions.
Regards, -Sam Allen/Nutriteam

Anabolical:
We sell the 50/50 mix. This is the same racemic
formula that has been on the market for years and
people have been getting great results with. We have
also verified with our American pharmaceutical
manufacturer that this is a true 50/50 mixture.

Thank you ABN Services

Still waiting for the answer from www.jarrowformulas.com....

Is it just AF that is selling a r-ala only product on the internet??

HIT

 

[Ulter]

Yes. There is only one place to get it. The AF Store. I don't know how long that will last but for now we're the only ones.
The 50 50 mix, Racemic, is not going to measure up to the r-ALA. No way no how. If all you want is an anti oxidant then it's fine but it should not be used to control insulin levels like people are using it. The reason is that the s ALA has been show to INCREASE insulin levels by 15% at the same time the r-ALA will decrease insulin levels by 17% and decrease Fatty acids by 35%. So if you put them together you have one enantiomer the s, that will negate the benefits of the r-ALA. In other words the s should not be in with the r.


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Am J Physiol 1997 Jul;273(1 Pt 1):E185-91 Related Articles, Books, LinkOut


Differential effects of lipoic acid stereoisomers on glucose metabolism in insulin-resistant skeletal muscle.

Streeper RS, Henriksen EJ, Jacob S, Hokama JY, Fogt DL, Tritschler HJ.

Department of Physiology, University of Arizona, Tucson 85721-0093, USA.

The racemic mixture of the antioxidant alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) enhances insulin-stimulated glucose metabolism in insulin-resistant humans and animals. We determined the individual effects of the pure R-(+) and S-(-) enantiomers of ALA on glucose metabolism in skeletal muscle of an animal model of insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and dyslipidemia: the obese Zucker (fa/fa) rat. Obese rats were treated intraperitoneally acutely (100 mg/kg body wt for 1 h) or chronically [10 days with 30 mg/kg of R-(+)-ALA or 50 mg/kg of S-(-)-ALA]. Glucose transport [2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) uptake], glycogen synthesis, and glucose oxidation were determined in the epitrochlearis muscles in the absence or presence of insulin (13.3 nM). Acutely, R-(+)-ALA increased insulin-mediated 2-DG-uptake by 64% (P < 0.05), whereas S-(-)-ALA had no significant effect. Although chronic R-(+)-ALA treatment significantly reduced plasma insulin (17%) and free fatty acids (FFA; 35%) relative to vehicle-treated obese animals, S-(-)-ALA treatment further increased insulin (15%) and had no effect on FFA. Insulin-stimulated 2-DG uptake was increased by 65% by chronic R-(+)-ALA treatment, whereas S-(-)-ALA administration resulted in only a 29% improvement. Chronic R-(+)-ALA treatment elicited a 26% increase in insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis and a 33% enhancement of insulin-stimulated glucose oxidation. No significant increase in these parameters was observed after S-(-)-ALA treatment. Glucose transporter (GLUT-4) protein was unchanged after chronic R-(+)-ALA treatment but was reduced to 81 +/- 6% of obese control with S-(-)-ALA treatment. Therefore, chronic parenteral treatment with the antioxidant ALA enhances insulin-stimulated glucose transport and non-oxidative and oxidative glucose metabolism in insulin-resistant rat skeletal muscle, with the R-(+) enantiomer being much more effective than the S-(-) enantiomer.

 

[HIT]

Jarrow formulas:

We offer a mixed version (1:1 ratio).



Regards,

John O'Connor

Jarrow Formulas, Inc.

HIT

 

[Addicted]

What's the advantage of mixed?

I still have some Twinlab ALA, receiving r-ala from Ulter tomorrow...should I mix the two??