What is Alpha lipoic acid?

It’s a short chain fatty acid which contains sulphur in its structure, lipoic acid is often referred to as a universal antioxidant.

Why does it matter to me?

ALA has demonstrated interesting cardiovascular, cognitive, anti-ageing, detoxifying, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and neuroprotective properties1.

"The evidence suggests that lipoic acid is actually a low-level stressor that turns on the basic cellular defences of the body, including some of those that naturally decline with age," said Tory Hagen, an LPI researcher and associate professor of biochemistry and biophysics at Oregon State University (OSU).

According to OSU researchers Lipoic acid appears to restore cell health and address the symptoms of ageing such as reduced levels of antioxidants like glutathione2.

This is an emerging area of research and we will be regularly reviewing the evidence for the health benefits of lipoic acid as it is published.

How can I get some?

Lipoic acid is present in almost all foods, but more so in kidney, heart, liver, spinach, broccoli and yeast extract. We took some fresh food analysis data from a PHD study3 which shows surprising amounts of lipoic acid in potatoes, and the rest of the data for organ meats and veg we calculated from some approximate dry weight analysis4.