The Antioxidant that Crushes Cholesterol
Do you have high cholesterol? We knew this supplement was good, but who knew it was so good for cholesterol?
Alpha-lipoic acid is an extraordinary antioxidant because it has a super power. Vitamin C is water soluble and can quench water soluble free radicals; vitamin E is fat soluble and can quench fat soluble free radicals. Alpha-lipoic acid can quench both: it can quench both water and fat soluble free radicals and can work inside and outside the cell.
Alpha-lipoic acid has another super power: it is remarkable for treating diabetic neuropathy.
Now, a new systematic review and meta-analysis has confirmed another valuable reason to take alpha-lipoic acid. It turns out, it is great for cholesterol.
The review included placebo-controlled studies up to the end of 2020. There were 12 studies with a total of 548 people.
The results show that alpha-lipoic acid significantly reduces the heart harmful LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol while non-significantly increasing the heart friendly HDL cholesterol. It also significantly reduced triglycerides.
All of those results are good news for alpha-lipoic acid and really good news for people trying to control their cholesterol.
Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2021 Oct 4.doi:10.1024/0300-9831/a000732.
