Marc Joseph Nutrition - Blog

If the increased risks for heart disease, cognitive decline, vision loss, kidney damage, peripheral nerve damage, and limb amputation haven’t provided enough incentive to take the nutritional and lifestyle steps to avoid developing type 2 diabetes, a recent paper published in the journal Diabetes Care may get your attention.

In the study, which included 355 men over the age of 30 with diabetes, researchers found that 42% of the men were deficient in testosterone. Specifically, 17% had low testosterone (hypogonadism), while another 25% had borderline low testosterone.

Additionally, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were negatively correlated with testosterone levels in this group of diabetic men, with the latter having the strongest association. Spare tire holders beware.

(Not So Good) Symptoms

Common symptoms of low testosterone in males include a decreased sex drive, reduced strength of erections, fatigue, reduced physical strength, inability to concentrate, and mood changes. Researchers for this study noted that the two most frequently observed symptoms were erectile dysfunction (70%) and decreased sex drive (63%).

What You Can Do

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At the recent “Diet and Optimum Health” conference sponsored by the Linus Pauling Institute (LPI) at Oregon State University, scientists presented research discussing some of the underlying mechanisms behind lipoic acid’s many beneficial effects.

“The evidence suggests that lipoic acid is actually a low-level stressor that turns on the basic cellular defenses of the body, including some of those that naturally decline with age,” said Tory Hagen, an LPI researcher and associate professor of biochemistry and biophysics at OSU. “In particular, it tends to restore levels of glutathione, a protective antioxidant and detoxification compound, to those of a young animal. It also acts as a strong anti-inflammatory agent, which is relevant to many degenerative diseases.” …

… “Our studies have shown that mice supplemented with lipoic acid have a cognitive ability, behavior, and genetic expression of almost 100 detoxification and antioxidant genes that are comparable to that of young animals,” Hagen said. “They aren’t just living longer, they are living better — and that’s the goal we’re after.”

Sound promising? Sure.

But there are a few things you should know about lipoic acid before running out and buying it. In fact, without a proper dosing protocol, some people may want to avoid supplementing with it entirely.

What is Lipoic Acid

Lipoic acid is a compound that contains two sulfur, or thiol, groups. The oxidized form is referred to as lipoic acid (LA), while the reduced form is called dihydrolipoic acid (DHPLA).

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