Featured Nutrient of the Week: Alpha Lipoic Acid
When taking vitamins and supplements to enhance your health and body, it is important that you know what nutrients you have to ensure that your body gets what it needs. As your body needs proteins in order to build muscle, it also needs antioxidants to keep it protected from diseases, while at the same time speed up the restoration wounds and broken tissues. And among these antioxidants, you need to have Alpha Lipoic Acids (ALA).
What is ALA?
Alpha lipoic acid is a kind of antioxidant discovered during the latter part of the 1980’s. It is found mainly in dietary sources such as liver and spinach, as well as yeast. Alpha lipoic acid can bring a lot of benefits to the body, as it is an antioxidant that helps increase the powers of Vitamins C and E. Below are some of the benefits of ALA:
- Alpha lipoic acid helps B vitamins in creating energy out of fats, carbohydrates and proteins from the food we consume. Without ALA, the production of energy would be slower and lower, and would be inadequate for our body’s needs.
- ALA can be used for treatment of liver diseases, as well as acute poisons that affect the liver and the bloodstream.
- Alpha lipoic acid also is effective in treating diabetic neuropathy, a kind of nerve damage suffered by type 1 and type 2 diabetics.
- ALA supplements can help a lot in treating serious illnesses such as HIV and glaucoma, as well as liver ailments.
- Alpha lipoic acid helps in the speedy recovery of the heart and brain after one has suffered from a stroke.
- It also stimulates a more active blood flow to the nerves to prevent numbness in the limbs.
As a dietary and fitness nutrient, alpha lipoic acid is an important factor in inducing the levels of glutathione in the body. Glutathione is the nutrient that dissolves toxic elements in the liver, thus allowing the liver to live longer and free from diseases.
A lot of today’s vitamin supplements include alpha lipoic acid in their list of ingredients mainly because of its various benefits to the body. Bodybuilders need not just bigger and leaner muscle mass but as well as more energy, and ALA helps in boosting one’s energy levels by converting the carbs, proteins and fats we digest.
Without adequate amounts of ALA, it would be hard for the immune system to protect the body from infections and diseases, and would increase the body’s risk to diabetes and other liver problems. Most of all, alpha lipoic acid strengthens the cardiovascular system against stress and pain during exercise, making it more capable of enduring more pressure during workout sessions.
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