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ALA ORAC+ (Alpha Lipoic Acid)

Benefits of taking ALA ORAC+ (Alpha Lipoic Acid) & Acetyl-L-Carnitine

Dr. Bruce Ames and his colleagues at the University California at Berkeley have pioneered the anti-aging research of supplemental acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR) and alpha-lipoic acid (ALA). Ames describes how they began their research in an interesting Discover magazine interview.

Before briefly reviewing Ames’ research, it is important to embrace the fact that aging and age-related diseases are driven by chronic inflammation (1-4). It is likely that you have heard of the term “free radicals,” which are chemicals thought to drive chronic inflammation and aging. In the past decade, research into the aging process has dramatically accelerated.

Within each cell are structures called mitochondria, which are responsible for producing the energy for all the cell’s activities. As with power plants that create energy for electricity, there is waste that must be eliminated. The same holds true for the power plants of our cells, the mitochondria. A byproduct of cell energy production is the generation of free radicals, which have the capability to damage cell structures, including the mitochondria. One of the causes of cellular death, and thus aging and other diseases, is mitochondrial damage from free radicals.

While Ames was vacationing in Italy in the early 1990’s, the substance acetyl-L-carnitine was being sold as an energy boosting substance. Researchers at the University of Bari in Italy reported that feeding acetyl-L-carnitine to old rats improves the function of their mitochondria by helping to transport fats into the mitochondria for conversion into energy. Ames was intrigued by the research and by how the Italians had taken to the supplement, and thus, decided to pursue additional research back in the United States (5).

When Ames returned to the University of California at Berkeley, he began feeding ALCAR to aging rats and discovered that their activity and energy improved, however, they discovered that these rats were actually producing more free radicals, which long-term could be damaging. Ames decided to add alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) to the acetyl-L-carnitine. ALA is also involved in energy production and ALA is a powerful mitochondrial antioxidant. The ALA served to trap and reduce the free radicals, so that now the mitochondria could function at a higher level and free radical production was reduced. Ames’ research showed that energy improved, activity increased, and even the memory of the aging rats
improved (5).