Dr. Joseph Mercola
Physician and author
Posted: March 26, 2010 08:38 AM
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I first became aware of the alpha lipoic regimen by Dr. Burt Berkson in the late 90's. Early on in his career, while an internist, he was given several patients who were expected to die from hepatitis C. His job was more or less to simply baby sit them in the ICU and watch them die.
But Dr. Berkson was a rebel at heart and he simply couldn't do that. Instead he called an associate at the National Institutes of Health and found out how he could treat them. He learned that alpha lipoic acid had some impressive experimental support. Remarkably, although these patients were expected to die within a few weeks, they all completely recovered!
However not all went well for Dr. Berkson. As he made his superiors look foolish, they simply could not tolerate that so rather than embrace his findings, they actively suppressed the results and made his life miserable for showing them up.
This was a pivotal moment in Dr. Berskson's career and caused him to make choices that eventually led to where he is at now. Since then, Dr. Berkson has lectured all over the world on this topic, and published a study on the use of antioxidants for the treatment of hepatitis C.
His first book, The Alpha-Lipoic Acid Breakthrough was published in 1998.
As many of you already know, I am not fond of recommending many supplements, but I do believe that antioxidants make sense for many of us.
Why You Need Antioxidants
Your entire body, including your DNA, is under endless, daily assault from a variety of sources, from poor diets to pollution. Think of your cells, including your brain cells, each getting hit by free-radicals thousands of times a day. This violent process is called "oxidation," which damages your cells.
Enter antioxidants. They include vitamins and other nutrients that target free radicals.
Food, particularly fruits and vegetables, is a powerful source of these valiant protectors, and your body produces some itself. Their role is to limit the damage to your cells, which can slow down disease and signs of aging.
In the case of alpha lipoic acid, your body does produce it in minute quantities, but most of it comes from your diet. Some of the best natural sources include grass-fed red meat and organ meats.
The Benefits of Alpha Lipoic Acid
Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) has many functions, but it's one of the most effective free radical scavengers, and the only one known to easily get into your brain.
It also has the ability to regenerate other antioxidants such as vitamins C, E, and glutathione. So, when your body has used up these antioxidants, if there's ALA around, it helps regenerate them.
You may not know this, but glutathione is another very important antioxidant. You can get it from supplements, but the only form that works effectively is the reduced form, which is difficult to absorb when taken orally. It is much more cost effective to supplement with precursors, or items like alpha lipoic acid that regenerates glutathione.
Alpha lipoic acid also recycles coenzyme Q10 and NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide).
But, if that wasn't enough, this powerful antioxidant is also:
* A great modifier of gene expression to reduce inflammation
* A very potent heavy metal chelator
* An enhancer of insulin sensitivity
The benefits of ALA can appear near miraculous. For example, according to Dr. Berkson, Russia has successfully used ALA intravenously to reverse ischemia reperfusion injuries by injecting it right after a heart attack or a stroke.
And people with diabetes or metabolic syndrome tend to do much better when taking lipoic acid, as it enhances insulin sensitivity.
There's even been quite a bit of research showing it can restore T cell function. T cells are a type of white blood cells that are of key importance to your immune system, and are at the core of adaptive immunity, the system that tailors your body's immune response to specific pathogens.
What Health Conditions Can be Treated With Alpha Lipoic Acid?
Clinically, alpha lipoic acid seems to be a useful supplement in treating hepatitis C. It can also be used for painful nerve conditions in diabetes, and may help slow down the aging process itself through its reduction in free radicals.
Dr. Berkson uses ALA along with low dose naltrexone (LDN) for the reversal of a number of more serious health conditions such as:
* Lupus
* Rheumatoid arthritis
* Dermatomyositis (an inflammatory muscle disease)
* Autoimmune diseases
Most of his patients normalize in about one month on this combination of ALA and LDN.
What is Low Dose Naltrexone?
Naltrexone (generic name) is a pharmacologically active opioid antagonist, conventionally used to treat drug and alcohol addiction -- normally at doses of 50mg to 300mg. As such, it's been an FDA approved drug for over two decades.
However, researchers have found that at very low dosages (3 to 4.5 mg), naltrexone has immunomodulating properties that may be able to successfully treat cancer malignancies and a wide range of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's, fibromyalgia, and Crohn's disease, just to name a few.
As explained on the informative website www.lowdosenaltrexone.org, when you take LDN at bedtime -- which blocks your opioid receptors for a few hours in the middle of the night -- it is believed to up-regulate vital elements of your immune system by increasing your body's production of metenkephalin and endorphins (your natural opioids), hence improving immune function.
Can Alpha Lipoic Acid Help Your Workout?
Alpha lipoic acid can be a potent aid when you exercise vigorously.
In my interview, Dr. Berkson gives an anecdotal story about a friend - an international weight lifting champion -- who regularly uses ALA prior to meets.
Unfortunately, there are no set guidelines on dosage and timing. It can be highly individual, and is something that requires a little bit of trial and error in order to get it just right.
But if you suffer from any of the conditions listed above or diabetes it would certainly seem like a useful supplement to consider.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Spring is here, at last
After a particularly harsh winter, spring has arrived here in Arizona. We had a very wet winter in which we received our annual amount of rain in two months. Snow Bowl, the ski area north of Flagstaff reportedly received 25 FEET of snow this winter. The Salt river is running rapidly through downtown Phoenix, for the first time which I remember.
But now the weather has turned springlike. Temperatures hover around 80 degrees and nights are in the mid fifties. I can wear shorts during the day and go barefoot.It is time to welcome back life as the desert plants put forth their new green leaves, the jojoba has their small berries on them, the bougainvillea is in bloom. The mountains behind our house are covered in green, in contrast to the red and brown rock of winter.
Coyotes are singing again at night, most likely to attract mates, rabbits run to and fro as if they are on some important mission, the chipmunks run ahead of me as I walk down the driveway. Many of the birds which I had not heard since last summer are back, singing their various songs as if welcoming back to the area. Baby birds are flying from the nests. In fact we have had two cactus wrens get into our front porch by crawling into a small hole in the rafters thinking it was the hole into their Saguaro home. Hummingbirds are at the feeder sipping the sugary water we provide. At sunrise, in our Ficus tree, the birds erupt into a cacophony of various songs as they awaken from their slumber and welcome the rising sun.
The Brittle-bush is ablaze in yellow blossoms which attract honey bees by the hundreds. In some areas of Phoenix people have been attacked by swarms of the "killer" honey bees. Welcome to spring. Spring training baseball is happening across the valley as players get into shape for the long season ahead, and the fans turn out to sit in the sun and cheer their favorite team on.
The various types of doves that live here each have their own songs; there are the mourning doves with their sad , mournful song, the Inca doves with a brighter song, another unidentified dove which sings a song like "Secretary of state" over and over. The Gambel quail run in pairs or as a family and are quite comical to watch as confusion seems to be their guide, especially as they try to keep the babies from running hither and fro.
So spring is here. It is time to welcome nature back into your life and enjoy the very show that is put on if you simply watch. I love spring and enjoy watching. You can learn so much by simply being and watching.
But now the weather has turned springlike. Temperatures hover around 80 degrees and nights are in the mid fifties. I can wear shorts during the day and go barefoot.It is time to welcome back life as the desert plants put forth their new green leaves, the jojoba has their small berries on them, the bougainvillea is in bloom. The mountains behind our house are covered in green, in contrast to the red and brown rock of winter.
Coyotes are singing again at night, most likely to attract mates, rabbits run to and fro as if they are on some important mission, the chipmunks run ahead of me as I walk down the driveway. Many of the birds which I had not heard since last summer are back, singing their various songs as if welcoming back to the area. Baby birds are flying from the nests. In fact we have had two cactus wrens get into our front porch by crawling into a small hole in the rafters thinking it was the hole into their Saguaro home. Hummingbirds are at the feeder sipping the sugary water we provide. At sunrise, in our Ficus tree, the birds erupt into a cacophony of various songs as they awaken from their slumber and welcome the rising sun.
The Brittle-bush is ablaze in yellow blossoms which attract honey bees by the hundreds. In some areas of Phoenix people have been attacked by swarms of the "killer" honey bees. Welcome to spring. Spring training baseball is happening across the valley as players get into shape for the long season ahead, and the fans turn out to sit in the sun and cheer their favorite team on.
The various types of doves that live here each have their own songs; there are the mourning doves with their sad , mournful song, the Inca doves with a brighter song, another unidentified dove which sings a song like "Secretary of state" over and over. The Gambel quail run in pairs or as a family and are quite comical to watch as confusion seems to be their guide, especially as they try to keep the babies from running hither and fro.
So spring is here. It is time to welcome nature back into your life and enjoy the very show that is put on if you simply watch. I love spring and enjoy watching. You can learn so much by simply being and watching.
Curcumin 'could slow liver disease'
Kayi korma curry Photo: YUKI SUGIURA
The substance - which gives the curry spice turmeric its bright yellow color - has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine - practiced on the Indian subcontinent - to treat a wide range of gastrointestinal disorders.
Previous studies also suggested it has anti-inflammatory properties and works as an antioxidant.
The latest study, published in the journal Gut, looked at damage to the liver caused by progressive inflammatory illnesses, including primary sclerosing cholangitis and primary biliary cirrhosis.
These conditions can be triggered by genetic faults or autoimmune disease, causing the liver's bile ducts to become inflamed, scarred and blocked.
The damage to the tissues can be irreversible and cause progression to liver cirrhosis, which can be fatal.
Experts from Austria and the US studied tissue and blood samples taken from mice with chronic liver inflammation.
The samples were looked at before and after adding curcumin to their diet for a period of four or eight weeks.
Being fed curcumin led to fewer blockages of the bile duct and less damage to cells in the liver and scarring, the research found. No such effects were seen in mice fed a normal diet.
There were no extra benefits if the mice were fed curcumin for eight weeks rather than four.
A separate study, by Manchester and Newcastle researchers, also published in Gut, related to research on more than 4,600 people, assessing their risk of primary biliary cirrhosis.
Smoking increased the risk by 63% while hair dye increased the risk by 37%, the experts found.
Previous bouts of urinary infection, psoriasis and shingles also increased the risk as did autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid and coeliac diseases.
People in the study were not asked how often they dyed their hair and it is unclear which part of the hair dye may be responsible for the effect, the experts said.
However, previous studies have noted a link between cirrhosis and a chemical found in cosmetics called octynoic acid, which is used in hair dye and nail polish.
The substance - which gives the curry spice turmeric its bright yellow color - has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine - practiced on the Indian subcontinent - to treat a wide range of gastrointestinal disorders.
Previous studies also suggested it has anti-inflammatory properties and works as an antioxidant.
The latest study, published in the journal Gut, looked at damage to the liver caused by progressive inflammatory illnesses, including primary sclerosing cholangitis and primary biliary cirrhosis.
These conditions can be triggered by genetic faults or autoimmune disease, causing the liver's bile ducts to become inflamed, scarred and blocked.
The damage to the tissues can be irreversible and cause progression to liver cirrhosis, which can be fatal.
Experts from Austria and the US studied tissue and blood samples taken from mice with chronic liver inflammation.
The samples were looked at before and after adding curcumin to their diet for a period of four or eight weeks.
Being fed curcumin led to fewer blockages of the bile duct and less damage to cells in the liver and scarring, the research found. No such effects were seen in mice fed a normal diet.
There were no extra benefits if the mice were fed curcumin for eight weeks rather than four.
A separate study, by Manchester and Newcastle researchers, also published in Gut, related to research on more than 4,600 people, assessing their risk of primary biliary cirrhosis.
Smoking increased the risk by 63% while hair dye increased the risk by 37%, the experts found.
Previous bouts of urinary infection, psoriasis and shingles also increased the risk as did autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid and coeliac diseases.
People in the study were not asked how often they dyed their hair and it is unclear which part of the hair dye may be responsible for the effect, the experts said.
However, previous studies have noted a link between cirrhosis and a chemical found in cosmetics called octynoic acid, which is used in hair dye and nail polish.
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