Alpha Lipoic Acid

Cutler seems to be against sustained release ALA. Some of the experiences below are quite old though - there may be better products now.


http://onibasu.com/wiki/Comments_on_other_protocols

And to add to the compexity, has anyone taken ALA while still having a few amalgam fillings?

SJB - Yes, I took it once a day for a few months a few years ago (can't remember the dose) when I still had all my 18 amalgam fillings. Didn't get any reaction - no better and no worse.

Jenny

I have amalgam fillings and have been taking my two kinds of ALA mentioned above for over two years. I have never had a problem, My doctors have my supplements in a schedule and well thought out. I JUST talked to my doctor about my new blood tests that came back. I get them twice yearly on many things including hormones, B12, about 19 things. Dzugan program, plus a few my integrative doctor added. They work together.

We tested for mercury, lead and copper. All were great. My doctor was never worried about ALA. That is healing my nerves. I was just wondering what the levels were.

Hi!

I don't know if it's of any help. But my experience with ALA is probably a little bit different than that of most of the others.
The first time I used ALA in connection with the Cutler protocol (I had my mercury fillings removed several years befor that) and later seperately in another context.
Both times I experienced an increased feeling of inflamation in my body, especially in my joints. It's probably due to the ALA, since it occured only during the times I used ALA.
When I first talked to my current physician and mentioned that I tried ALA before, he said to me, that he thought that I probably had a bad reaction to it, before I even mentioned it to him. But I can't remember what his reasoning was. I want to ask him next time I talk to him.

Oliver

Hi Sjb944,

I've been taking ALA for approximately 6 years now, a period in which my amalgam fillings dropped from about 6 to 2. Other than aiding the l-carnitine fumarate and adb12 in the mitochondria I have noticed nothing at all from it.

I took ala and was so sick! I also had rashes, diarrhea (probably metals coming out), and severe fatigue and lethargy without any positives that I could see. I know Yasko says if you take it that it should only be at very low doses like 1/4 capsule or something.
Angela

I have around 4-5 amalgam fillings and I took 1200 mg/day Alpha Lipoic Acid for over a year without any problems. In fact, I improved during that time. I attribute most of my recovery to getting a lot of sleep and limiting activity, but I'm sure supplements help. I was also taking 1200 mg NAC, 100 mg Glutathione sublingual, 4000 mg MSM, 4000 mg Taurine, 300-400 mcg selenium and molybdenum. The reason I mention the other things is because they might have blocked any harmful effects if mercury was chelated. I just bought some ALA for my parents and now I'm kind of worried because they also have amalgams. I also read on the bottle that Alpha Lipoic Acid shouldn't be taken if you have a B-12 deficiency. I wasn't taking a high dose of B-12 and I don't think I had problems, but I really have no idea what sort of symptoms I would have experienced.

I would recommend taking R-ALA once daily in the morning, before breakfast. It likely acts as a pro-oxidant (through hormesis) and you don't want that on a perpetual basis (i.e. don't use time release formulas).

I've been wondering about R-Lipoic Acid (R-ALA). Since R-lipoic acid more powerful than regular Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) you don't need to take as much. Is a higher dose of alpha lipoic acid better for chelation than a lower dose of R-lipoic acid or is the R-form what makes Alpha Lipoic Acid a chelator? The reason I'm asking is because I still have my amalgams and I want the benefits of lipoic acid without the chelation. I've read that's bad to take alpha lipoic acid if you haven't had your amalgam fillings removed because it could chelate mercury directly from your amalgams. I'm not convinced that this is true, but I'm playing it safe until my health improves.

I don't know much about chelation. But it is only the R isomer that is active in the human body, so if there is any chelation done by lipoic acid, that's the isomer responsible for it.

You may be one step behind on the evolutionary scale, but you are right in step with my informational needs. My supplements store was out of sustained release ALA and said it was on back-order. I did not want to hit my system with a wad of ALA all at once, so I got the RLA. Now I have been wondering what to do with it. Thanks.

I'm curious about sustained/time release supplements in general. I don't want to hijack this thread, but since it was mentioned I thought I'd ask. I don't really trust them, but I have no factual evidence to support this. It seems like some supplements it would be find if the time release mechanism didn't work, but with Alpha Lipoic Acid and perhaps a few others that might be a problem if they were all released at once. I know there are time release prescription drugs that work just fine so maybe supplements are ok too (?)