The dynamic duo of supplements

[Q.]

In my post in General Health, they mention two supplements that I don't think I've ever heard of. Anybody familiar with these???

2. Take the dynamic duo of supplements
They're what Bruce N. Ames, PhD, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of California, Berkeley, swears by: his daily 800 mg of alpha-lipoic acid and 2,000 mg of acetyl-L-carnitine. In these amounts, he says, the chemicals boost the energy output of mitochondria, which power our cells. "I think mitochondrial decay is a major factor in aging," Ames says—it's been linked to diseases such as Alzheimer's and diabetes.

In his studies, elderly rats plied with the supplements had more energy and ran mazes better. "If you're an old rat, you can be enthusiastic," Ames says. "As people, we can't be sure until clinical trials are done." (They're under way.) But the compounds look very safe—the worst side effect documented in humans is a rash, Ames says—and "the data in animals looks really convincing," says S. Mitchell Harman, MD, PhD, president of the Kronos Longevity Research Institute in Phoenix.

[Ian Kay]

Alpha-Lipoic Acid is often sold as an "antioxidant", and it's not too cheap.

Acetyl-L-Carnitine is just a certain form of an amino-acid, and has been talked about a lot in terms of fatloss... often appearing in "fatburner" pills.

People with heart-conditions sometimes show up at the store asking for ALA or Co-Q10. Apparently some doctors have heard of it and recommend it.

[mikex1337]

Never tried fatburner pills. But Acetyl-L-Carnitine is safe, right? I've been hearing negative feedback on fatburning anything.

[raymond3]

Originally Posted by mikex1337

Never tried fatburner pills. But Acetyl-L-Carnitine is safe, right? I've been hearing negative feedback on fatburning anything.

Ironically, I actually just ordered ALCAR by Nutraplanet. Not for fat-loss, but because of other health benefits. Ive been reading posts stating that it has a very positive effect on mood, and some say it even helps out with alcoholism, etc. Its not too expensive, and to get a good boost throughout the day from something that has pretty good health benefits, I figured why not.

[Ian Kay]

Originally Posted by raymond3

Ironically, I actually just ordered ALCAR by Nutraplanet. Not for fat-loss, but because of other health benefits. Ive been reading posts stating that it has a very positive effect on mood, and some say it even helps out with alcoholism, etc. Its not too expensive, and to get a good boost throughout the day from something that has pretty good health benefits, I figured why not.

Keep us updated on how that goes. I've seen lots of people buy it, but never heard about the results.

[raymond3]

Originally Posted by Ian Kay

Keep us updated on how that goes. I've seen lots of people buy it, but never heard about the results.

Yeah I will for sure. You guys know me well enough where I will give you honest feedback.

[Q.]

I did a Google search first and the Mayo Clinic came up. They had an interesting search engine for supplements... but neither one of these showed up...???

[andrew_plamondon]

ALA (more specifically the active part of it, R-ALA) has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity in insulin resistant and people with type II diabetes. I saw nothing about it in regards to its use in a normal population. There was also a study comparing its effects with the effects of exercise on insulin sensitivity in rats though. These effects were additive in insulin resistant rats but not in normal rats.

Interactions of exercise training and lipoic acid on skeletal muscle glucose transport in obese Zucker rats.
Saengsirisuwan V, Kinnick TR, Schmit MB, Henriksen EJ.

Muscle Metabolism Laboratory, Department of Physiology, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0093, USA.

Exercise training (ET) or the antioxidant R(+)-alpha-lipoic acid (R-ALA) individually increases insulin action in the insulin-resistant obese Zucker rat. The purpose of the present study was to determine the interactions of ET and R-ALA on insulin action and oxidative stress in skeletal muscle of the obese Zucker rat. Animals either remained sedentary, received R-ALA (30 mg x kg body wt(-1) x day(-1)), performed ET (treadmill running), or underwent both R-ALA treatment and ET for 6 wk. During an oral glucose tolerance test, ET alone or in combination with R-ALA resulted in a significant lowering of the glucose (26-32%) and insulin (29-30%) responses compared with sedentary controls. R-ALA alone decreased (19%) the glucose-insulin index (indicative of increased insulin sensitivity), and this parameter was reduced (48-52%) to the greatest extent in the ET and combined treatment groups. ET or R-ALA individually increased insulin-mediated glucose transport activity in isolated epitrochlearis (44-48%) and soleus (37-57%) muscles. The greatest increases in insulin action in these muscles (80 and 99%, respectively) were observed in the combined treatment group. Whereas the improvement in insulin-mediated glucose transport in soleus due to R-ALA was associated with decreased protein carbonyl levels (an index of oxidative stress), improvement because of ET was associated with decreased protein carbonyls as well as enhanced GLUT-4 protein. However, there was no interactive effect of ET and R-ALA on GLUT-4 protein or protein carbonyl levels. These results indicate that ET and R-ALA interact in an additive fashion to improve insulin action in insulin-resistant skeletal muscle. Because the further improvement in muscle glucose transport in the combined group was not associated with additional upregulation of GLUT-4 protein or a further reduction in oxidative stress, the mechanism for this interaction must be due to additional, as yet unidentified, factors.

Effects of exercise training and antioxidant R-ALA on glucose transport in insulin-sensitive rat skeletal muscle.
Saengsirisuwan V, Perez FR, Kinnick TR, Henriksen EJ.

Muscle Metabolism Laboratory, Department of Physiology, University of Arizona, College of Medicine, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0093, USA.

We have recently demonstrated (Saengsirisuwan V, Kinnick TR, Schmit MB, and Henriksen EJ, J Appl Physiol 91: 145-153, 2001) that exercise training (ET) and the antioxidant R-(+)-alpha-lipoic acid (R-ALA) interact in an additive fashion to improve insulin action in insulin-resistant obese Zucker (fa/fa) rats. The purpose of the present study was to assess the interactions of ET and R-ALA on insulin action and oxidative stress in a model of normal insulin sensitivity, the lean Zucker (fa/-) rat. For 6 wk, animals either remained sedentary, received R-ALA (30 mg. kg body wt(-1). day(-1)), performed ET (treadmill running), or underwent both R-ALA treatment and ET. ET alone or in combination with R-ALA significantly increased (P < 0.05) peak oxygen consumption (28-31%) and maximum run time (52-63%). During an oral glucose tolerance test, ET alone or in combination with R-ALA resulted in a significant lowering of the glucose response (17-36%) at 15 min relative to R-ALA alone and of the insulin response (19-36%) at 15 min compared with sedentary controls. Insulin-mediated glucose transport activity was increased by ET alone in isolated epitrochlearis (30%) and soleus (50%) muscles, and this was associated with increased GLUT-4 protein levels. Insulin action was not improved by R-ALA alone, and ET-associated improvements in these variables were not further enhanced with combined ET and R-ALA. Although ET and R-ALA caused reductions in soleus protein carbonyls (an index of oxidative stress), these alterations were not significantly correlated with insulin-mediated soleus glucose transport. These results indicate that the beneficial interactive effects of ET and R-ALA on skeletal muscle insulin action observed previously in insulin-resistant obese Zucker rats are not apparent in insulin-sensitive lean Zucker rats.

And in humans :

Improvement of insulin sensitivity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus after oral administration of alpha-lipoic acid.
Kamenova P.

Department of Diabetology, University Hospital of Endocrinology, Medical University, Sofia, Bulgaria. kamenovap@abv.bg

BACKGROUND: Amelioration of insulin resistance could improve both glycaemic control and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Alpha-lipoic acid has been shown to improve insulin action after parenteral administration. OBJECTIVE: the aim of the study was to assess the effect of oral administration of alpha-lipoic acid on insulin sensitivity in patients with type 2 diabetes. DESIGN: twelve patients (mean+/-sD; age 52.9+/-9.9 yrs; body mass index 33.9+/-7.4 kg/m(2)) were treated with oral alpha-lipoic acid, 600 mg twice daily over a period of 4 weeks. twelve subjects with normal glucose tolerance served as a control group in terms of insulin sensitivity (Is). Is was measured by a 2h manual hyperinsulinaemic (insulin infusion rate-40 mU/m(2 )body surface area/min) euglycaemic (blood glucose kept at 5 mmol/l) clamp technique and expressed as a glucose disposal rate (M) and insulin sensitivity index (IsI). RESULTS: At the end of the treatment period, Is of diabetic patients was significantly increased: M from 3.202+/-1.898 to 5.951+/-2.705 mg/kg/min (mean+/-sD), p<0.01; and IsI from 4.706+/-2.666 to 7.673+/-3.559 mg/kg/min per mIU/l x 100 (mean+/-sD), p<0.05. the difference was not statistically significant between the Is of diabetic patients after alpha-lipoic acid therapy and control subjects. CONCLUSION: short-term oral alpha-lipoic acid treatment increases peripheral insulin sensitivity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.