If You Have Diabetes, You Must Include Alpha Lipoic Acid in Your Diet – Here’s Why

Four weeks ago, I was visiting my 84-year-old dad four week ago, who had just come out of the hospital for intestinal bleeding. In going over his tests, I discovered that he had pre-diabetes. At the same time, he started telling me that he was unable to walk very far because his feet hurt; he was having to get a ride-on cart in the store, and when he went to the fair, he was unable to keep up with everyone else. He also has swelling of his feet, and constant pain, like burning and pins-and-needles at night, which keeps him up. His wife told me that his driving “scares her” and his memory is declining.

Most doctors find it to be an enigma that people who don’t yet have diabetes can already manifest the complications usually seen in patients with longstanding disease. This is because the current theory supposes that high blood sugar causes the complications of diabetes, namely:

• Neuropathy (numbness, tingling, and pain in the feet)
• Dementia
• Blindness
• Heart disease
• Kidney disease

However, the real cause of these problems is insulin resistance. Those with longstanding diabetes are more likely to have worse insulin resistance, and thus will have worsening complications. My father, however, left the hospital with tests that showed pre-diabetes, neuropathy and kidney disease. Plus, the doctors never even told him about it!  If I had not reviewed his tests, his painful feet might still be a mystery.

Now What?

Doctors are schooled that the complications of diabetes are progressive and cannot be reversed. What that means is that there is no drug or surgery that can solve this problem. There is, however, research to show at least partial reversal of these problems. The best way to stop them from getting worse is to reverse the diabetes. But improving nerves requires some high-dose nutrients.

ALA to the rescue!

There are many nutrients that are not vitamins or minerals. One of these is Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA). Plants, animals and humans make lipoic acid, but the amount we make declines over time. While there is some in some food, it has such small quantities that our body stores are not measurably increased. Supplements, on the other hand, have been shown to increase ALA in the body.[1]

ALA is an amazing molecule that has multiple properties because it is soluble in both water, like the blood or inside cells, and in fat, like the membranes. It can cross membranes where other antioxidants, like vitamin C, don’t. It has the unique ability to fix multiple problems. Some of its properties include:

ALA regenerates other antioxidants [2]

• Vitamin C
• Co-Q10
• Vitamin E
• Glutathione

ALA chelates heavy metals and metal ions

• Protects the brain from excess iron.[3]
• Protects the liver from excess copper.[4]
• Along with glutathione, it was shown to be an effective chelator of mercury.[5]

ALA increases glutathione levels.[6]

ALA improves heart function in aging rats.[7]

Much of the benefits we see in diabetes come from the ability of ALA to improve insulin function. Just by taking a supplement of ALA, people were able to lose weight and improve diabetes.[8]

ALA and Nerve function

Neuropathy is a huge problem in diabetes. Most amputations of lower extremities are caused by diabetic neuropathy. The primary problem is that when the nerves aren’t working, people don’t feel pain, and they don’t seek treatment for infections of the feet. The infections get into the bones, causing osteomyelitis, and since people with diabetes have poor circulation, it’s hard to get antibiotics to heal the infection. Eventually, the overwhelming infection requires amputation to save the life of the patient. This is not a small number – there are over 185,000 amputations every year, and the number is increasing![9]

Prevention of the large majority of these amputations is possible with proper treatment of diabetes. Since Type 2 Diabetes is reversible, this would be a good place to start. However, reversing the neuropathy is a different issue.

In Germany, the treatment for diabetic neuropathy is ALA.[10] A dose of 600mg twice per day is given to repair the nerves and restore feeling to the feet.

The eyes can also benefit from ALA supplementation. One study in people with and without diabetes showed ALA prevented progression of vision loss for those with diabetes, and even improved vision for those who did not have diabetes.[11]

Benfotiamine Benefits

One form of vitamin B1 (thiamin) that can cross through membranes because it is fat soluble is benfotiamine. People with diabetes often have a deficiency of thiamin which is related to the vascular complications previously mentioned, including neuropathy.[12]

People with vitamin B1 deficiency get nervous system problems due to poor circulation. If the nerves aren’t getting enough nutrients from the blood, they will stop functioning and die. There are two other tissues that require constant circulation – the heart and kidneys. These are all exquisitely sensitive to blood flow. Thus, people with diabetes who have decreased blood flow from a deficiency of vitamin B1 are likely to get complications. Remember part of the reason amputations become necessary is due to a lack of circulation – which is from a lack of thiamin. Thiamin supplementation is the only treatment shown to reverse kidney dysfunction in diabetes.[13]

Benfotiamine is a form of thiamin that is much more effective because it can get into membranes. It is well-studied to improve nerve function in people with diabetes, as well as those who have neuropathy for other reasons, such as excessive alcohol consumption.

Back to my dad

Even though he doesn’t actually have diabetes, I started my dad on the Barton Publishing Diabetes Solution Kit diet and gave him benfotiamine and ALA (Nervala) to be taken with meals. I would like to say he’s all better, but it’s only been a few weeks. I have had many other patients report improvement after four to six weeks of treatment with the same regimen. This is the best I can offer him.

Don’t wait until you have diabetes because it may be too late to fix the neuropathy and kidneys. If you start on the diet now to reverse diabetes and take Nervala, you can avoid, or reverse, all the possible complications of diabetes. Together we can prevent most amputations and dialysis, as well as dementia and heart disease. This is a real benefit to all.

SIMPLE PLAN to Reverse Nerve Pain

Start the Diabetes Solution Kit as soon as possible – before you get diabetes – especially if you have pre-diabetes.

Nervala – take one twice per day for 90 days, then take four (together) weekly with food.

 

 

 

Sources:
[1] https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/dietary-factors/lipoic-acid#reference29
[2] https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/dietary-factors/lipoic-acid#reference29
[3] Suh JH, Moreau R, Heath SH, Hagen TM. Dietary supplementation with (R)-alpha-lipoic acid reverses the age-related accumulation of iron and depletion of antioxidants in the rat cerebral cortex. Redox Rep. 2005;10(1):52-60.  (PubMed)
[4] Yamamoto H, Watanabe T, Mizuno H, et al. The antioxidant effect of DL-alpha-lipoic acid on copper-induced acute hepatitis in Long-Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rats. Free Radic Res. 2001;34(1):69-80.  (PubMed)
[5] Altern Med Rev. 2002 Dec;7(6):456-71. Mercury toxicity and antioxidants: Part 1: role of glutathione and alpha-lipoic acid in the treatment of mercury toxicity. Patrick L.
[6] Busse E, Zimmer G, Schopohl B, Kornhuber B. Influence of alpha-lipoic acid on intracellular glutathione in vitro and in vivo. Arzneimittelforschung. 1992;42(6):829-831.  (PubMed)
[7] Pharmacol Res. 2011 Jan;63(1):23-9. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2010.09.007. Epub 2010 Oct 8.
(R)-α-Lipoic acid treatment restores ceramide balance in aging rat cardiac mitochondria.
Monette JS1, Gómez LA, Moreau RF, Dunn KC, Butler JA, Finlay LA, Michels AJ, Shay KP, Smith EJ, Hagen TM.
[8] Kucukgoncu S, Zhou E, Lucas KB, Tek C. Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) as a supplementation for weight loss: results from a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Obes Rev. 2017;18(5):594-601.
[9] https://www.amputee-coalition.org/resources/limb-loss-statistics/
[10] Kramer K, Packer L. R-alpha-lipoic acid. In: Kramer K, Hoppe P, Packer L, eds. Nutraceuticals in Health and Disease Prevention. New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc.; 2001:129-164.
[11] Gebka A, Serkies-Minuth E, Raczynska D. Effect of the administration of alpha-lipoic acid on contrast sensitivity in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Mediators Inflamm. 2014;2014:131538.
[12] https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vitamins/thiamin#diabetes-vascular-complications-prevention
[13] Rabbani N, Alam SS, Riaz S, et al. High-dose thiamine therapy for patients with type 2 diabetes and microalbuminuria: a randomised, double-blind placebo-controlled pilot study. Diabetologia. 2009;52(2):208-212.