Discohornet's post regarding ALA
I've worked in the supplement industry since early 2000 and I have seen a number of owners/authors do a great job of spinning information in a way they see fits their ends.
R-ALA is a fantastic water-soluble AND fat-soluble anti-oxidant. It has the ability to not only squash free radicals, but to recharge vitamin c and e. Because of its unique effects, it can do some amazing things for glucose sensitivity, and it can undo the damage of eating a high carbohydrate diet. Say what you want about carbohydrates being bad or good - the bottom line is, we were never intended to consume the food-stuffs we consume, laden with tons of processed starchy and sugary carbohydrate. R-Ala, the r isomer of Alpha Lipoic Acid, helps to alleviate some of this stress and does this better than any other anti-oxidant I can think of.
So why bother with Na R-ALA? I can end the discussion right here by saying it was NOT some kind of attempt to provide CHEAP ALA. Say what you want about the findings surrounding what I am about to explain, but to argue that Na R-ALA is a cheap solution is a complete misunderstanding. No, that's not fair. Saying it is a misunderstanding is giving too much credit to anyone who would make that point.
If you know anything about Alpha Lipoic Acid, especially the pure R isomer, you know that its very nature as an anti-oxidant makes it sensitive to stuff like oxygen. Any pure anti-oxidant will undergo a transformation if left exposed to the air, and being in a gelatin capsule is not some kind of Superman Protection Crystal. Stuff in a gelatin capsule is being exposed to air quite a bit. So R-ALA is not an exception - it reacts with oxygen, donates its electron and becomes less than useful. It also becomes a gummy sticky substance that makes it pretty useless as a tool to investigate oxidation. It turns into a plastic almost.
Na R-ALA is a sodium salt of R-ALA. By combining the sodium and Alpha Lipoic Acid, you get a very stable molecule which comes apart during digestion. So in essence you have protected the ALA from polymerizing while sitting on the shelf, and once it gets into the body, the sodium is cleaved and you have active ALA.
Is it cheaper gram for gram than R-ALA? Well it is, in the sense that there is less R-ALA per gram because we now have a sodium molecule involved in the weight.
I'm not going to argue with Ulter because I don't have the level of scientific understanding it takes to go the next level up and argue some of the more advanced principles of this.
But I will simply say this. Na R-ALA is a stable form of R-ALA. An unstable R-ALA is losing its effectiveness the moment it is made and polymerization of the ALA is a very real issue.
If I had a bottle of R-ALA and a bottle of Na R-ALA and both products were freshly made, I would find probably very little difference in the results I get. But there is a very real concern over time, that the R-ALA degrades and polymerizes (turns into a plastic kind of substance). Anything that is a powerful anti-oxidant, is a powerful anti-oxidant because it reacts with molecules that are missing electrons. And when it interacts with oxygen and other molecules, it loses it's ability to be a successful anti-oxidant (unless we're talking about Methylene Blue which possesses a unique ability to switch from reduced to oxidized).
The bottom line: Is it going to make a world of difference? If Na R-ALA was three times as much as R-ALA would I buy it? Probably not. But the argument that Na R-ALA is being used only because it is cheap and therefore it is inferior, is a statement that would be pulverized by anyone with a little bit of common sense, and a better understanding of the nature of anti-oxidants in general, and ALA specifically.
I would love for him to chime in. As some of you know, Disco brings a lot to this board. Enjoy!!!!