Tuesday 21 July 2009

Day 211 - Lipoic Acid


“Discovered in 1951, alpha lipoic acid is an important antioxidant that performs many functions in the body.

Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) is a fatty acid that is naturally found inside every cell in the body. It is necessary to produce energy for the body’s everyday functions as it converts glucose into energy. ALA is also an antioxidant that works in both water and fat, unlike some other antioxidants.

It can also recycle antioxidants such as vitamin C and glutathione after they have been used up by the body. Glutathione is an important antioxidant and ALA increases the formation of glutathione. It also enhances the antioxidant functions of vitamins C and E.

ALA directly supports detoxification within the liver. It can prevent cell damage, regulate blood sugar levels, chelate toxic metals from the blood, and enhance mental function and muscular energy production.

Lipoic acid not only has dietary benefits, but can help people with vision issues, diabetes, chronic migraines, and many other health-related problems.”*

*http://www.ehow.com/how_2302351_benefit-from-lipoic-acid.html
http://www.naturaltherapypages.com.au/article/alpha_lipoic_acid

In the past two weeks the headache has been at its best so far. As a result, I have been feeling much happier and full of life - I can nearly bring myself to imagine what it would be like to finally not have a headache anymore.

Unfortunately though, I had a bit of a relapse over the weekend. Sunday was the worst - I tried to think back at what I had eaten or what I did differently in the past few days but once again I could not think of any contributing factors.

I went to see the kinesiologist again today. Having muscle tested me, he advised to keep on taking the same supplements, although this time he also gave me lipoic acid tablets.

He reinforced his conviction that there are problems with my gut, and this time more specifically with my small intestine. The liver as well does not seem to be functioning very well, and I am hopeful that the supplements will rectify this.

There has certainly (finally!) been a change lately - I just hope to be able to see more of it.

1 comment:

  1. I have suffered from a contant headache for about 5 years, for the first 4 years it was constant and quite bad (ranging from a 4-9 out of 10) and never went away. For about a year now I have been taking 6x200g Gabapentin and 1x tilcotil every day and this has worked a bit. My headaches are now only about a 1-3 out of 10 on a daily bases but still gets up to about 8 when something triggers it.
    If you have any questions or I can help anyone out there please get in touch. Also I'm wanting to go off these meds soon, becuase I dont like the idea of taking all these drugs but also I'm planning to have kids soon, so if anyone has any ideas for me.
    H

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