In every cell in your body is a little part known as the mitochondria, sometimes known as ‘power plants’. Interestingly, these are responsible for producing the energy that keeps you going during the day. It might sound odd, but your mitochondria work in a way similar to nuclear power, extracting the power of sunlight from plant foods using a process known as electron transfer.
As time passes, the functioning of your mitochondria decreases steadily, as the process of energy extraction causes damage, just like it would to an ageing nuclear power plant. Around 90 percent of all free radicals in your body are generated at the point at which this energy release occurs, inside the mitochondrion. As the outer membrane deteriorates, more free radicals escape and cause damage.
In people aged over 60 years, the mitochondria lose about 50 percent of their efficiency due to this damage. This uncontrolled damage can cause inflammation, and this is especially bad for your brain. The free radicals that escape from this process can also damage your DNA, which is another cause of accelerated aging.
This means that anything you can do to protect your mitochondria is going to help to slow down or even prevent the ageing process in the brain. We know there are antioxidants that work within the mitochondria, and it helps protect them from damage. One of these antioxidants is alpha lipoic acid, but it is important for us to get it in the right form. In nature lipoic acid exists in the form of R+.
The R+ isomer is a particular shaped aspect that fits in with other chemicals in your body. The S- isomer does not. Unfortunately, most commercial supplements of alpha lipoic acid contain about 50 percent R+ and 50 percent S-. The problem with this is that the S- isomer can interfere with the R+ isomer and render it ineffective.
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