Diabetic neuropathy is a result of too much sugar in your bloodstream. Does Alpha Lipoic Acid Help With Neuropathy? Alpha lipoic acid is able to treat your neuropathy. Tingling, numbness and pain in your feet and legs are caused by neuropathy from diabetes. While alpha lipoic acid (or ALA) is beneficial with treating this condition, maintaining healthy blood glucose levels are the first defense against it.
What is Alpha Lipoic Acid?
While there’s no magic potion here, ALA can help in fighting the free radicals that are responsible for causing damage to your cells and in addition increase insulin sensitivity in your body. Peripheral neuropathy can occur not only in your legs and feet, but also in your arms and hands.
Neuropathy is no stranger to me since I have it in my feet. If you know anything about it, it is horrible. Thankfully, it’s only in my feet and it’s not pain, but I am passionate about treating this and helping you do the same. I was told by my chiropractor years ago that it’s permanent and there’s no cure. BULL****! Sorry, but I believe that there’s always something you can do and ALA is it!
I’ll be the first to admit that there are many underlying issues with diabetes and peripheral neuropathy. Other conditions are linked to diabetes such as hypertension, high cholesterol, heart disease and of course neuropathy. These are obviously serious issues to deal with. But alpha lipoic acid is found in your body in your cells. And this compound containing sulfur is fuel for your energy being produced in the mitochondria cells. This information helped me decide to start taking it for my neuropathy.
There have been clinical studies done showing that ALA is beneficial in supporting the management and controlling of type 2 diabetes and the complications resulting from it. It was also concluded that it can aid in enhancing the lowering of your blood glucose, sensitivity of insulin, improve your blood vessels, decreasing your cholesterol levels, lowering oxidative stress and treating neuropathy.
Details of Symptoms of Peripheral Neuropathy
Symptoms are most common in your legs and your feet but also in your arms and hands. But here are the most common symptoms:
- Cramps or sharp pain
- Losing your balance
- Having a sensitivity to touch
- Weakness of your muscles
- Numbness, especially to a point where you can’t feel temperature changes
- Issues with your feet for example: unable to feel any possible damage to your feet and infections or ulcers
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, it’s time to call and see your doctor immediately!
So here is a secret that will help even further with neuropathy:
Acetyl L Caritine. So what is this amino acid? It’s a powerful antioxidant that improves function of the brain. Similar to alpha lipoic acid, it is responsible for the function of the energy in the mitochondria cells and it supplies the brain with the energy. It is a booster for transmitting nerve impulses for your nerve and brain functions. It is also linked to treating and improving anxiety and depression while providing benefits for your memory, cognitive ability, and your mood as well.
The key here is to take Acetyl L Caritine and Alpha Lipoic Acid together! This will speed up the process faster and give you better results with regards to addressing neuropathy. (Of course check with your doctor first) With alpha lipoic acid you want to make sure that you take the R- Lipoic Acid and not the S- Lipoic Acid. I will explain this later with further details.
Here are the best brands of Alpha Lipoic Acid and Acetyl l-Caritine that I take to help treat diabetic neuropathy:
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Does Alpha Lipoic Acid Lower Blood Sugar?
ALA can be extremely beneficial for you and it can help you in lowering your blood glucose levels. This is according to several medicinal reports that there is a possibility that it can decrease blood glucose levels when fasting. But you want to talk to your doctor first because your blood sugar can decrease so you should be monitoring your blood sugar levels regularly.
Lipoic acid can have affects that are beneficial in treating diabetes by helping to lower blood glucose and also preventing it. Research performed revealed that patients with type 2 diabetes, ALA improved insulin sensitivity and decreased blood sugar levels. For these same type 2 diabetic patients again ALA was shown to reduce A1C levels, cholesterol, body mass index, triglyceride levels, and improve HDL good cholesterol.
ALA is being looked at because as a powerful antioxidant it is an excellent source for controlling specific complications of type 2 diabetes such as vascular disease, retinopathy and of course neuropathy. The nerve damage that occurs from neuropathy and diabetes can be very stressful both physically and emotionally. Between being uncomfortable with the burning pain, numbness, tingling, and prickling feeling sensations, it can really take a toll on you. Alpha lipoic acid can be a Godsend for your symptoms.
Health Benefits of Alpha Lipoic Acid
*Inflammation- Inflammation is the main cause of many diseases such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Alpha lipoic acid has anti-inflammatory properties that reduce inflammation. People with diabetes can prevent cardiovascular problems because ALA decreases the oxygen from free radicals which improves the function of your blood vessels.
*Blood pressure- It goes without saying that high blood pressure is extremely unhealthy. It can and will cause a slew of health issues. You want to avoid strokes, heart attacks, and every other horrible disease and alpha lipoic acid is beneficial because it improves the function of the cells of your blood vessels. Check your blood pressure frequently and make sure your numbers are good. ALA can help you.
*Migraine headaches- These can be extremely painful I’m told. Thankfully I’ve never had a migraine. It’s hard enough to deal with a headache that is normal. It can just bring you down to where you can’t even function. Lipoic acid can be very beneficial in lowering the intensity, how long you have one and how often and that’s a good thing for sure. Headaches are NOT something you want!
*Live longer- This reverts back to the secret I gave you before. Research was done on rats that were old (Okay not that part) about the mitochondria and the rejuvenation. And after giving them ALA and acetyl L caritine, it decreased oxidants to a level of young rats. By fighting the free radicals that are the enemy, ALA is totally effective in the protection against them.
*Osteoporisis and bone loss- It was shown that alpha lipoic acid somewhat increased the bone mineral density in women who were past menopause with low bone density. Scientists tried this in female rats and it stimulated formation and halted bone resorption. Alpha lipoic acid is powerful!
*Weight loss- Studies showed that women who were overweight and following a diet counting calories, adding a supplement of ALA raised their weight loss numbers. Alpha lipoic acid can vastly increase fat metabolism and improve glucose numbers. You will get that full feeling for a longer period of time because there will be more fats and sugars that get broken down and being used for energy. This is a good thing because they won’t be stored as fat.
*Reactivating muscles- If you are a guy who’s exercising you can do oxidative damage to your muscles, but ALA can lower your risks of this happening. You can increase the regenerating of your muscles and halt oxidative stress related to exercise, and help to protect your cells and DNA by taking alpha lipoic acid supplements but not for the long term period.
*Your vision- It’s important to make sure that your vision is not affected by diabetes. And oxidative stress is more common as you age. ALA can be very beneficial by combating this in your eyes. Research was done showing that lipoic acid helps in improving your vision and other eye symptoms in patients tested for glaucoma.
*Healthy nerves- ALA helps to protect your nervous system, the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system. While both are vital to your health, it’s the peripheral system that’s important when it comes to tingling, numbness because if your nerves aren’t healthy they can affect your feet and your legs. I have numbness in my feet especially the right foot which is why I make sure I get ALA and acetyl L caritine every day.
But the deal with the nerves is that it can affect your balance and your ability to hold on to something for support. This can become very serious. That’s why alpha lipoic acid is so important because it helps to support your nervous system and hopefully avoid any issues with numbness, tingling, pain and your balance too.
*Thyroid- Your thyroid is responsible for producing hormones that aid in the regulation of your growth, maturity, and metabolism. If your thyroid is challenged then your hormones are messed up. You can help in avoiding this by taking quercetin, resveratrol and ALA together that will indeed help with promoting thyroid hormone levels that are in the normal range.
*Skin- There are many different skin ailments that you could possibly have or wind up with. And there’s a variety of issues that can cause skin conditions including stress, too much sodium or too much sugar in your body, genetics, or age just to mention a few. Many skin care products are available to help you with skin that is dry cracked, or itchy. Alpha lipoic acid is another that can help you with having healthy skin.
Possible Side Effects of ALA
- Constipation
- Skin rash
- Pain in the abdomin
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
Alpha Lipoic Acid to get is the R-Alpha Lipoic Acid that is 100% pure in its natural state. Do not get the S-Alpha Lipoic Acid because it’s a commercial byproduct that isn’t “pure.” The recommended dosage is 600 mg once daily. Check with your doctor and do not take more. It’s important to check your blood sugars while you’re taking alpha lipoic acid. Run everything by your physician!
These are the best brands of Alpha Lipoic Acid and Acetyl l-Caritine. I take them everyday for diabetic neuropathy:
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Medical disclaimer
The information that I provide on my website is purely based on my own personal experience and subsequent research into the diabetes disease. It is not intended to take the place of medical advice,diagnosis and treatment. Care and investigation should always be sought from an appropriate health care provider. I am happy to discuss my own symptoms, diagnosis and history of my diabetes disease but want to stress that I am not medically trained in any way. All opinions on my website are my own. I have created this site as a way to share information and experiences.
Final Thoughts
Does Alpha Lipoic Acid Help With Neuropathy? ALA is very beneficial and for many health issues as well. But the most vital one and the main point of my article is for the benefits it provides for neuropathy. Taken with acetyl L carnitine you will begin to feel relief and the difference. It’s working for me when nothing else has.
Reverse Your Type 2 Diabetes Now!
Please forward this article to others who need help and please leave any questions or comments you may have below. I would love to interact with you. Thank you for reading and I appreciate it! Have a happy and a healthy!
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Coming from a medical background, I saw many diabetic patients. One of the most common things that I saw (that you briefly mentioned) were injuries to the feet and the diabetic patient didn’t even know it. Before they realized it, the wound was already infected and they needed antibiotics. Now I’ll admit, I don’t know much about alpha lipoic acid and acetyl L caritine, but if what you say is true and you’ve done the research, it sounds like this could really help a diabetic’s neuropathy and help prevent those wounds on feet from becoming infected. So I agree, diabetics should give this a shot, but they should be consult their doctor first and definitely monitor their blood sugars. Thanks for sharing this!
Hey Jeremy,
So you know a lot about diabetes and the feet then. It’s vital to keep watch on the feet for injuries as you say. I am currently taking alpha lipoic acid and acetyl L caritine and it is having a positive affect on my feet. I’m going to give it more time too but it works! Thanks for your comments Jeremy! Have a happy and a healthy one! 🙂
Thank for the very informative article Rob. I will certainly look into the benefits of ALA some more.
Hey Mariette,
Alpha lipoic acid combined with acetyl L caritine is really helping the neuropathy in my feet. It’s the only thing that has ever helped me and I am so grateful for it. It sure doesn’t hurt that ALA offers so many other health benefits! I believe that everyone should be taking it. Consult your doctor! Thank you for stopping by!
~Rob
Love this post! Definitely saving. This is an issue that effects so many people, including a number of my family members.
Great info! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Freya! I love everything about Alpha lipoic acid! It combined with acetyl L caritine is helping my neuropathy! I think more people should know about ALA and the other benefits that it offers. Please pass it on to others. Thank you for your comments!
~Rob
I love this information very helpful for those who have diabetes. Some of my family members and friends have diabetes. I want to help them as much as possible with this, and you have the information they need
I do like the pictures and design of your website and the article here it looks very professional. It was easy to follow your advice and overall I feel you’ve done a great Job
I love this information
I love this information and I hope to find the share buttons. You have information that needs to be out there in the social media, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.
I like the design and layout of your website the articles are full of useful information.
Overall you’ll do a great job!
Let me know if you get social going and I will follow you there.
Carl
Hi there Carl! Neuropathy is something I take very seriously since I’v had numbness in my feet for quite some time now. Alpha lipoic acid is the key for helping it along with acetyl L caritine. But ALA is also helpful in many ways and I feel it’s vital for our health.
Thank you for saying so and my social buttons are on the bottom of every article.
Cheers!
~Rob
Alpha Lipoic Acid is so helpful to our bodies in so many ways, I had never heard of it. Thanks for the information! Staying away from sugar is definitely a great line of advice, it has so many health impacts! And not good ones at that..
Hi Danielle, There are many folks who haven’t heard of alpha lipoic acid. I know about it because I have numbness in my feet from neuropathy and ALA is very beneficial for the numbness. I just wanted people to know how many other benefits it offers. And yes sugar IS the enemy!
Thank you for your comments!
~Rob
What excellent information! By the way, I am also impressed that your written English is so good. Have seen many bad examples lately. More important than your English, though, is the valuable information you have provided. Thanks for putting it out here for all of us to read. You gave me some good ideas.
Hello Fran, I am passionate about alpha lipoic acid because our bodies actually cannot live without it. This is important for diabetes and if I can help even one person learn from my article, it’s worth it. I hope you pass this on to others. Thank you for your insight.
~Rob
That’s quite interesting that you have found something to help after being told no by a medical professional.
Will it work for pre- diabetics or just those in neuropathy stage?
Thanks for sharing,
Shannon Kamal
Hey Shannon, When you have a condition you’ll look to find a solution anywhere. Alpha lipoic acid can definitely help with neuropathy but as with anything else it does take time. I do believe that it will work for pre-diabetics as well as those who already have neuropathy.
Thank you for your comments!
~Rob
I had never heard of this before reading your article. What a fantastic treatment. I think that food is the key to good physical health – eat well and prevent most problems from occurring. I am sure this article will be very useful to people looking for this treatment. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Catherine, Alpha lipoic acid is great. I started looking into it when I was diagnosed with neuropathy. Although food is the best treatment for our bodies, alpha lipoic acid can really help when it comes to diabetic neuropathy. It’s best used with acetyl L caritine for maximum results.
Thank you for contributing!
~Rob 🙂
I was looking for some information on neuropathy and treatment options when I came across your article. I’m so glad I found it as it provides detailed answers to my questions and much more.
The reason for my interest is that one of my aunts is suffering from that condition but also has pain in her knees due to inflammation (according to her doctor). She told me that she was taking alpha lipoic acid to treat neuropathy, however, as some sort of side effect the pain in her knees is gone as well. I didn’t think it was due to ALA but now I think it must be, because of its anti-inflammatory properties. So this seems to be quite powerful and beneficial.
I was just wondering whether there is a difference between the various R-Alpha Lipoic Acid products available as their prices vary a lot. Can you just go for the cheapest or does the quality vary?
I look forward to your answer.
Sammy
Hey Sammy 🙂 I have had neuropathy for some years now and it’s something that I am passionate about finding the answers to. I’ve tried many things to treat it but nothing was successful.
I spoke to my doctor before taking it and he agreed that because it contains vitamin B, it could be a big benefit for my neuropathy. So I take 600 mg of Alpha lipoic acid and 500 mg of Acetyl L caritine because together they work best for neuropathy and I AM seeing a change!
I found the best alpha lipoic acid is Doctor’s R- Stabilized Lipoic acid. It has to be an “R” and not an “S” product. I hope this helps!
Thanks for your insight!
~Rob
Hi Rob,
This is definitely a very useful article for me as it affects some of my family members. I’ve worked in assisted living and saw how diabetes can affect the feet and eyes. This is an extremely helpful article.
I’m bookmarking it.
Thank you so much,
Kelly
Hey Kelly 🙂 I have to say that as someone who has type 2 diabetes and neuropathy, I’ve tried about everything I could to treat the numbness in my feet. You see what happens where you work, right? Well I think I finally found the combination that’s going to help me. Even my doctor agrees with taking alpha lipoc acid and acetyl L caritine together each day.
I’ll keep you updated! Thanks for your insight 🙂
~Rob
As a type-2 diabetic, I am always looking for ways to improve my situation. This sound very interesting. I am curious how this interacts with my diabetic medications, like Metformin and Glipizide. Do you know how this interacts with prescription meds? I am going to bookmark this for more information.
Thanks for this valuable information.
Hi Curtis 🙂 That’s what my website is all about, treating diabetes and lowering blood sugar the natural ways.
I’ve been taking the alpha lipoic acid and acetyl L caritine for a short time now and I do feel the combination is producing positive results. It does take time and I do know that alpha lipoic acid is loaded with B vitamins which are essential for the nervous system.
As far as Metformin and an interaction goes, this may help answer that question further: click here
Thanks for your input! 🙂
Wow, I have not heard of Alpha Lipoic Acic before, but so many benefits to gain from it. Sounds like another supplement that is definitely worth a purchase! To keep some of the ailments listed away, then it is well worth it for sure! Thank you for the great source of information!
Hi Leahrae, yes alpha Lipoic acid is something that is very beneficial for your health. It’s very beneficial for neuropathy when taken with acetyl- L caritine. I take 500 mg daily. Before you decide to take this always consult with your doctor first. While it is very beneficial for many health issues it’s always better to make sure that your doctor knows you’re taking it first. Thank you so much for your comments 🙂
HI Rob
Thank you for a very informative article, I have learned a lot from this article.
Hi Carmen, You’re welcome! I try to be as informative as I can. Alpha lipoic acid is very important for diabetes and our bodies. I’m curious as to what it is that you learned? I’d like to address it? Thanks Carmen!
This site is very informative and relative. Being that the writer has this condition as well lead me to trust their word. Each section read words and their meanings. It was enjoyable that an everyday person can understand what healthy tips and tools the writer has to offer. There’s even links to treatment products one click away. Thank you.
Alpha lipoic acid is important to me. I have diabetic neuropathy and one of the best things that can treat it is alpha lipoic acid.
While there are other benefits, for myself and other diabetics, we should be looking to it for treating this horrible, painful, and uncomfortable condition.
It also works best if taken with Acetyl l Caritine!
If you’ve got diabetic neuropathy then alpha lipoic acid is going to help you!
Thanks for sharing!
Very informative article. There are a lot of health benefits of Alpha Lipoic Acid. Who knew it could treat so many different things.
The side effects never sound good, but I guess that is the price you pay when you need help with an effective treatment for different ailments.
Wow, it can even help you live longer. That is incredible!
Hi Shy 🙂
Thank you! Alpha lipoic acid has many benefits but for me the best benefit is I take it with Acetyl L Caritine for neuropathy. Together they work well together.
There’s always side effects to anything but fortunately they are rare and not severe. Alpha lipoic acid is something to look into especially if you have diabetes and neuropathy.
It is all part of helping you live a longer healthier life.
Thank you for your comments! 🙂
My step dad had really bad diabetes and would often get infected feet and not even realize it until it had turned into a full blown infection. At time we were very worried that he would lose his feet altogether.
I like you attitude when it comes to trying to find cures and ways to help yourself with conditions that doctors say are incurable. Just shows that there is always something that you can do.
I was also very interested to read that Alpha Lipoic Acid could help prevent Alzheimer’s. If the person already has it, could taking this supplement still be beneficial I wonder?
Hey Michel 🙂
Sorry about your step dad. It’s important to check your feet all the time with diabetes. I know because I have neuropathy.
And you’re right, I do feel there is always something you can do with any condition in this day and age so as to not give up.
I’m not a doctor and in my opinion and research I do believe that alpha lipoic acid could help to prevent Alzheimer’s. But the things is that if someone already has it, the best results can only be mild to moderate as far as the effects of it on the patient already diagnosed as far as I know.
Thank you so much for your input! 🙂
Many discoveries are coming and exposed. This is the benefit of having the internet to help us connect with other people in the world sharing their own experiences in how they got well from their dreaded situation.
Alpha Lipoic Acid is just one of the many but it takes the advantage when the user is the one certifying the efficacy of this supplement.
It is effective to share ones experience than just to tell something about a food supplement that has not be proven effective.
The internet is no doubt the way to helping many people get through things such as diabetes. There are many different ways to help in treating of this horrible disease.
Diabetes can cause neuropathy which cause pain and numbness which I do have in my feet. But it’s improving by taking alpha liopic acid together with Acetyl L caritine and B vitamins.
It’s always a positive thing when you find out about a user’s positive experience. You learn and help yourself at the same time.
Thank you for your thoughts!
So diabetes runs in my family and I thankfully do not have it and hope to God I never do, but I have struggled with this disease watching my aunts an uncles who have it fight the urges of just taking a pill when their sugar is too high and eating snickers bars when its low. I am going to refer them to this articles for naturals ways of dealing with this unkind disease
Hi Kira 🙂
It’s tough when diabetes runs in your family. You want to do everything you can to prevent it.
Alpha lipoic acid is something that can certainly help with blood sugars. And it provides other benefits as well.
But what it is also helpful in doing is being something that can help with neuropathy.
I have numbness in my feet and alpha lipoic acid does help.
I also take it with acetyl L caritine and it works wonders!
Thank you for passing this on!
Hi Rob,
You clearly know what you are talking about, which is great.
My take away from your whole article is that I clearly know very little about my own body.
I have seen a few of your posts and I keep coming up with the same conclusion.
At my age of 55, I think it is time that I really start taking care of myself.
I am really healthy today and almost never get sick or feel bad, but your post reminds me that I do need to start taking more care and find out about myself.
I think I have been the absent landlord and it’s time I look after my temple.
Thank you for a reminder!
Tim
Hey Tim 🙂
I think many of us realize as we get older that things happen and we must take better care of ourselves.
When I found out I had neuropathy in my feet it was time to turn things around.
Alpha lipoic acid helps immensely with the numbness in my feet from neuropathy.
I think it’s time for all of us to change our health for the better! You can do it Tim and so can all of us!
Thanks for your insight 🙂