By David Liu, PHD

Sunday April 21, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), a dietary supplement available over the Internet, helps improve insulin sensitivity in patients with type 2 diabetes melitus, according to a placebo-controlled pilot trial reported in 1999 in Free Radical Biology and Medicine.

S. Jacob from Hypertension and Diabetes Research Unit, Max Grundig Clinic, Bühl and City Hospital in Baden-Baden, Germany and colleagues conducted the trial and confirmed previous observations that insulin sensitivity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus was improved after acute and short term oral administration of α-lipoic acid.

α-lipoic acid (ALA), a naturally occurring antioxidant can scanvenge harmful free radicals generated from lipid oxidation and is known to enhance glucose transport and utilization in different experimental and animal models, indicating that this dietary supplement may help type 2 diabetics.  Indeed, the authors reported that "Clinical studies described an increase of insulin sensitivity after acute and short-term (10 d) parenteral administration of ALA." 

The current pilot trial was intended to evaluate the efficacy of a 4-week oral treatment with α-lipoic acid in improving insulin sensitivity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

For the trial, 74 patients with type-2 diabetes were randomized to four groups, each given either placebo or 600 mg of ALA once daily or 1200 mg twice daily or 1800 mg thrice daily of α-lipoic acid.  An isoglycemic glucose-clamp was performed on day 0 without treatment and day 29 to determine insulin sensitivity.  All four groups had similar degrees of hyperglycemia and insulin sensitivity at the start of the trial.

All patients treated with ALA had an increase in insulin stimulated glucose disposal (MCR).  All treated patients combined in one group were found to increase MCR by 27% compared with the controls.  The effect was independent of the dose size.

The researchers concluded "This placebo-controlled explorative study confirms previous observations of an increase of insulin sensitivity in type-2 diabetes after acute and chronic intravenous administration of ALA. The results suggest that oral administration of α-lipoic acid can improve insulin sensitivity in patients with type-2 diabetes."

Type 2 diabetes can be prevented in most cases.  ALA can also be used as a preventative against type 2 diabetes mellitus.   High doses of cinnamon and curcumin can also help prevent the disease, according to previous studies.   High intake of fat, particularly saturated fat and trans fat can increase the risk for the disease, so a low fat diet may also help prevent the disease.