What is better R-Lipoic Acid Doctor's alpha-lipoic acid stabilized? It is a sulfur-containing fatty acid, which performs vitamin-like functions in the body but since the body produces lipoic acid itself, it is not classified as a true vitamin. It functions as a co-enzyme in carbohydrate metabolism and is necessary for the synthesis of acetyl CoA, a key metabolite in the cellular process that converts glucose (blood sugar) into energy.
Stabilized R-Lipoic Acid contains BioEnhanced Na-RLA, the sodium salt of R-Lipoic Acid. Pure R-lipoic acid is a very unstable molecule that has a tendency to polymerize upon exposure to heat, light and moisture. BioEnhanced Na-RLA is a stabilized form of R-lipoic acid that will not degrade at high temperatures.How does it work? Lipoic acid is a key factor in the cellular process that metabolizes glucose for energy production. Aging is accompanied by a decrease in the liver's ability to recycle ascorbic acid after oxidative stress.
R-lipoic acid, after two weeks of supplementation to aged rats, has been shown to reverse the age-related deterioration of ascorbic acid recycling and concentration in liver cells. Aging is also associated with oxidative stress in the brain. High metabolism rate and long-lived neurons make the brain particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress.
Since lipoic acid disrupts cellular oxidative processes, in both its oxidized and reduced forms, it plays a modulating role in the brain and nervous system.Why should you take Doctor's Best stabilized R-lipoic acid? An ideal antioxidant would have the ability to quench a wide variety of free radicals, to support the functioning of other antioxidants, to bind or "chelate" metal ions that can generate free radicals, to function in aqueous and fatty environments, and to be present in a variety of tissues, cells, and extracellular spaces.
Lipoic acid meets all of these criteria and is often referred to as "the universal antioxidant." As we age, our ability to synthesize alpha-lipoic acid decreases. Age also brings an accumulation of oxidized proteins that interfere with mitochondrial efficiency and alpha-lipoic acid addresses this situation. Alpha lipoic acid comes in two forms, designated as "R-lipoic acid" and "S-lipoic acid." R- and S-lipoic acid are enantiomeric isomers – molecules that appear as mirror images of each other. R-lipoic is synthesized naturally by humans, animals and plants.