Mitochondrial Support?

[KyleW]

I'm learning the biology I ignored in HS :-) Seems like mitochondria are important little buggers. I met with the Naturopathic doc at The Spa yesterday and asked her about alpha lipoic acid. She said it was good, but only did part of the job. If I wanted to talk about mitochondrial support I needed to look at additional supplementation. Oddly enough she had a formula in mind! It's called Neurochondria. Here's what's in it.

Three Capsules Contains:

Vitamin B12 (as Methylcobalamin) 1,500 mcg.
Folate (as 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate) 300 mcg.
Acetyl-L-Carnitine (as Acetyl-L-Carnitine Chloride) 300 mg.
Benfotiamine* 250 mg
Coenzyme Q10 150 mg.
Glutathione (Reduced) 150 mg.
Phosphatidylserine 150 mg.
R-Lipoic Acid** (as Sodium R-Lipoic Acid) 120 mg.
*Benfotiamine is the active form of Thiamin.
Other Ingredients: Hypromellose (derived from cellulose) capsule, MagnesiumCitrateLaurate, Leucine, Silicon Dioxide.

**This product uses GeroNova Research's Bio-Enhanced® R-Lipoic Acid. Bio-Enhanced is a registered trademark of GeroNova Research, Inc.

The goal here is to improve the energy output/efficiency of mitochondria.

Does anyone else take something similar?

Kyle

[Sequoia]

Dr. Weil offers a mitochondrial support product too. It's called Juvenon and the ingredients are Acetyl L-Carntine 1000 mg., Alpha Lipoic Acid 400 mg., and Biotin 300 mcg.

We have several members who take the first two ingredients for fatigue.

You might also be interested in reading Terry Wahls, M.D.'s book, [U]Minding[/U] [U]My[/U] [U]Mitochondria[/U].

[LisaL77]

I take a cocktail of supplements that include a lot of what you listed. My eye doctor was VERY impressed when he saw my list I printed out of all my supplements.

My BIL's wife has MS and he had done a lot of homework on supplements when she was Dx. So when I was Dx, he gave me the list and I began the same vitamin therapy.

A.M Cognitex with Neuroprotection Complex, vegetarian 3 Tabs Brain Function
A.M Gabapentin 300 mg 1 Tab Nerve Pain Control
A.M GNC Flax Seed Oil 1000 mg 1 Tab Cardiovascular System, Joint Flexibility & Mobility
A.M Super R-Lipoic Acid, 300 mg vegetarian 1 Tab Energy
A.M Wegmans One Daily Women's Health Formula with Calcium, Iron & Zinc 1 Tab General Health
As Needed Ventolin 2 Sprays Fast Act Asthma Control
Dinner Gabapentin 300 mg 1 Tab Nerve Pain Control
Dinner GNC Flax Seed Oil 1000 mg 1 Tab Cardiovascular System, Joint Flexibility & Mobility
Dinner Super Bio-Curcumin, 400 mg vegetarian 1 Tab Inflammation
Dinner Super Ubiquinol CoQ10 with Enhanced Mitochondrial Support, 50 mg 1 Tab Energy
Noon Gabapentin 300 mg 1 Tab Nerve Pain Control
Noon Glucosamine 1000 mg 1 Tab Joint Flexibility & Mobility
Noon GNC Vitamin B-6 200 1 Tab Nervous System & Metabolism
Noon N-acetyl-L-Cysteine, 60 mg 1 Tab Energy
P.M. 5-LOX Inhibitor with ApresFlex, 100 mg, vegetarian 1 Tab Inflammation
P.M. Camila .035 28 day 1 Tab Birth Control
P.M. Copaxone - Glatiramer Acetate Injection 1 syringe Multiple Sclerosis progression control
P.M. Flunisolide .025 1 Spray each Allergy Control
P.M. Gabapentin 300 mg 2 Tab Nerve Pain Control
P.M. GNC Calcimate 1000 with D-3 1000 mg 2 Tabs Reduce Osteoperosis, D-3 Deficient
P.M. Neuro-Mag Magnesium L-Threonate, vegetarian 1 Tab Brain Function
P.M. Sertraline 50 mg 1 Tab Depression/Anxiety
P.M. Symbicort 80-4.5 2 Sprays Asthma Control
P.M. Vitamin D3, 7,000 IU 1 Tab Brain Function

[Sequoia]

Thank you for the list, [B]LisaL77[/B]!

Some of those you listed are prescription medications, however, rather than "natural/herbal supplements" (see above), such as Copaxone, Camila and Sertraline, and some are proprietary blends such as Cognitex that would benefit by having the ingredients listed.

You're the only person (other than me) I've met who is taking R-Lipoic Acid rather than the less-potent Alpha Lipoic Acid!

[Shashi]

Originally Posted by Sequoia

Thank you for the list, LisaL77!


You're the only person (other than me) I've met who is taking R-Lipoic Acid rather than the less-potent Alpha Lipoic Acid!

Sequoia, where you do you get the R-Lipoic Acid? The ALA seems to be doing the job for me, but if there's something better...

And how are you after your stroke? (It was a stroke, wasn't it? My memory isn't so good these days.)

[LisaL77]

Sequoia, you are right, I just copied/pasted the whole smash in there, didn't I?

I love my medications/supplements, and I tried to put the purpose of why I take each of them to the right.

I have reviewed the ingredients, and IT'S NOT VEGETARIAN. My BIL is a goofball.

Supplement Facts
Serving Size 3 softgels

Servings Per Container 30

Amount Per Serving
Alpha-Glyceryl Phosphoryl Choline (A-GPC)
600 mg

Phosphatidylserine [Sharp-PS® GOLD Conjugated Phosphatidylserine-DHA]
100 mg

Vinpocetine
20 mg

Leucoselect® Phytosome™ [containing 50 mg grape seed (Vitis vinifera) procyanidin extract complexed with soy (Glycine max) phospholipids (bean)]
150 mg

BlueActiv™ Wild Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) Anthocyanins extract (fruit)
150 mg

Sensoril® Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract (root and leaves) [standardized to 8% withanolide glycoside conjugates (10 mg)]
125 mg

Uridine-5'-Monophosphate (disodium)
50 mg

Proprietary NeuroProtection Complex Blend
125 mg

Perluxan® Hops (Humulus lupulus) Standardized extract (cones),

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) Standardized extract (rhizome),

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) Standardized extract (leaves)

Other ingredients: rice bran oil, gelatin, glycerin, purified water, soy lecithin, sorbitol, silica, maltodextrin, carob color, modified food starch.

Contains fish (wild herring, blue whiting) and soybeans.

[Sequoia]

Originally Posted by Shashi

Sequoia, where you do you get the R-Lipoic Acid? The ALA seems to be doing the job for me, but if there's something better...

And how are you after your stroke? (It was a stroke, wasn't it? My memory isn't so good these days.)

R-Lipoic Acid is widely available. I get mine from iHerb online (Doctor's Best brand), but I've noticed that Amazon also has good prices, and other places probably do too.

The experts are divided on just [U]how[/U] much more potent RLA is...anywhere from 2 times to 10 times. RLA seems to have been more widely used in testing in Europe, ALA in the United States.

Here are a few sources of information:

[URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipoic_acid[/URL]

[URL]http://www.raysahelian.com/lipoic.html[/URL]

[URL]http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/othernuts/la/[/URL]

As for my stroke, I'm recovering slowly...off to OT right now, as a matter of fact!

[KyleW]

My Naturopathic doc says the alpha lipoic acid is about 50% inert. The 50% that is beneficial is basically r-lipoic acid. That's why the supplement she gave me contains r-lipoic acid.

[Shashi]

Sequoia, what is the recommended dosage strength for R-lipoic acid? I see 100 mg, 300 mg, etc. I'm currently taking 200 mg of alpha lipoic acid for fatigue.

Thanks,

Lisa

[Sequoia]

Originally Posted by Shashi

Sequoia, what is the recommended dosage strength for R-lipoic acid? I see 100 mg, 300 mg, etc. I'm currently taking 200 mg of alpha lipoic acid for fatigue.

Thanks,

Lisa

There [U]is[/U] no recommended dosage. There's no agreement among the "experts" so I go by the Linus Pauling Institute's recommendation of 200-400 mg/day "for healthy individuals."

If anyone has a more credible recommendation, I'd be happy to hear it!

[Shashi]

Thanks. I'll probably stick with 200 mg then, since that dosage of alpha lipoic acid is working pretty well for me. Of course, I'll have to wait until I finish up the bottles of ALA that I have before I start on R-lipoic acid.

[Tapdancer]

I buy R-Alpha Lipoic Acid directly from NutraBulk. It is generally cheaper through them than Amazon. You have to buy a ton though.