Everything we eat, including food and medications, must be broken down. Normal metabolism produces toxic molecules called free radicals; until neutralized by antioxidants they rip holes in cellular structures and DNA, as do the unnatural compounds produced from decomposing drugs, herbicides, pesticides, etc. Damage from these free radicals and toxins causes aging. Were it not for lipoic acid — a potent antioxidant and detoxifier — we’d die in childhood of old age. Supplementing cleans up the body and has many benefits; when paired with acetyl-L-carnitine, lipoic acid actually rejuvenates geriatric animals!

As Dr. Bruce Ames, a well-respected researcher at the University of California, noted: “With the two supplements together, these old rats got up and did the Macarena. The brain looks better, they are full of energy — everything we looked at looks more like a young animal.” (Our acetyl-L-carnitine flyer has the details.) The basic idea is simple: improving metabolic efficiency and removing toxic by-products reduces damage to the body, slowing or reversing the aging process. That’s why you need lipoic acid.

But there are benefits beyond just slowing down or reversing aging. Lipoic acid improves insulin’s effectiveness — in diabetics and the healthy — inhibiting the damage sugar inflicts on the circulatory system, nerves, kidneys, and eyes. (Our benfotiamine flyer explains more.) Dr. Lester Packer — Dr. Ames’s colleague — explained why lipoic acid can help in neurological disorders like MS, ALS, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease, and stroke: “It’s the only antioxidant that can easily get into the brain.” It goes everywhere else, too!

Migrating into the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, lipoic acid helps shield the body against cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, and protects and regenerates hearing, smell, and taste. Lipoic acid seems to work against viruses like HIV by activating and protecting helpful compounds, including those believed to kill cancer cells.

It protects against hepatitis by shielding the liver and its enzymes from toxins formed by breaking down common prescription and over-the-counter medications, and the chemicals in our food. By binding to arsenic, lead, and mercury, lipoic acid removes them from the body. Reducing the by-products of ionizing radiation, it minimizes the side-effects of diagnostic x-rays and cancer treatment; radiation doses lethal for most subjects kill only a fraction of those supplemented with lipoic acid. It really is a universal detoxifier.

Lipoic acid comes in two forms: the R-alpha made by the body and the S-alpha synthetic. Manufacturing the ultra-effective R is difficult, so it costs more than the S; LifeLink offers both. Whichever one you choose, lipoic acid will protect and detoxify your body, rolling back the aging clock. Remember, the longer you wait to start, the older you’ll be.