how to tell if r-ALA works?

[Worrow9187badass]

If someone were to ask you how you can tell that r-ALA "works" for you.. how would you explain it? How can you really tell that it is doing anything?

[Ceebs]

I suspect it would be hard to tell if it was "working" for someone who naturally had good insulin sensitivity, but for me, it's like night and day.

If I eat a meal containing a fair amount of high-glycemic carbs without r-ALA, I feel sluggish, sick, and just plain terrible for a few hours afterwards. Whereas if I swallow a few caps of r-ALA with that same meal, I'm energetic and don't have anything near a carb hangover after the meal. I also retain less fluid when I take r-ALA regularly, and have fewer food cravings - both a result of lowered plasma insulin. That's how I know it "works".

[MS]

Technically you can't tell without measuring changes in both blood glucose AND insulin. When I measure blood glucose, r-ALA doesn't usually do much at all, but it definitely dries me out. I suspect it's a lot like ceebs said....depends on your current insulin sensitivity how dramatic the results are. One thing to be aware of though is the possibilty that r-ALA might inhibit glycogen synthesis in the muscles. Personally, for this reason, I would avoid it post workout at least. I know, that goes against current trends with bodybuilders, but I always say why be a sheep?

[The Skunk]

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