For those of you who followed the last post on glucose readings with ALA, I have an update. The test was: 800mg ALA 20 min. pre-workout. I then drank my usual 1 scoop surge + 20g malto, +20g dextrose + 1L water during the workout. After the workout I took another 400mg ALA, then had another surge cocktail. 30min Glucose reading showed 116mg/dl>>>this is down from 160+ without the ALA. 60 min. reading showed 86mg/dl>>>this is down from 150+ without ALA. I didn’t test 90 and 120min, as the test wouldn’t have been accurate due to some strenuous activity after the 60min mark, and since glucose was low enough, I had my 2nd post workout shake at the 90min mark. I also had a bit of caffeine in my system, took about 100mg a few hours earlier. To me these results are impressive, I plan to tweak the dosages of ALA and do more tests, hopefully I can find a lower effective dose.
this post is helpful, im tring to figure out how much ala i should take in per day.
i was thinkning 500mg’s pre, post, and for my next 2 high carb meals
I’ve been reading your posts and find them quite interesting. Why such high doses of ALA? Have you tried lower doses? What happened? I’ve only used it on low carb diets on the cheat days. It’s starting to look good for a gaining phase.Thanks for all of the info.
thanks for posting your results dude. pretty impressive - surely thats got to result in performance/ physique improvements over time.
is there any reason to take ALA on non workout days? and if so…how much?
I would advise taking ALA on non-workout days to aid with glucose disposal for recovery based glycogen resynthesis. I am using 400mg, 15min before my PC (3) meals consisting of about 105g C, and 64g P. I believe it is also worth keeping in the arsenal for it’s potent anti-oxidant effects which will not only help prevent illness but speed up recovery by removing free radicals. I’m still running more tests…I have a bottle of fenugreek that is calling my name, so I will run more tests on that at higher dosages and see if it helps the way EAS is claiming it will per their “Insuload BS”. My bottle isn’t standardized for 4hydroxyisolucine content though, so I just have to guess. Anybody interested in these findings?
Try using r-ala as opposed to the racemix version containing s-ala. It makes an incredible difference and you only need 1/3 of the amount as the r-ala is much more effective than the mix. I will admit I don’t understand all of the science behind it but I know it works from using it.
Marc, pretty interesting stuff. I also have a bottle of fenugreek extract sitting in my cupboard, and I think I have some ALA somewhere. I’ve used 30 drops of fenugreek extract with my post-workout shake before; it “felt” like it was working, but I don’t have a glucometer so I’d be interested in seeing what your results are.
Have you considered trying r-ALA (ALA standardized for r-enantiomer content) or momordica chorantia (bitter melon)?
To Big Dave and KB, I’ll have to admit, I don’t know much about r-ALA. I’ve read a few things about it, but havent done enough research to feel comfortable discussing it. So far all I’ve read has been good, so I am willing to give it a whirl…anyone know a reliable cheap place to buy bulk powder? The bitter melon is new to me, never heard of it…I’ll check into it, but tell me what you know. I’ll post some fenugreek results soon.
Here’s an update. 800mg ALA 30min preworkout, during workout consumed a surge cocktail. The drink was different this time, as I am on a lower volume higher intensity phase, so I use a 3:1 ratio of C:P instead of my usual 4:1. This time I cut out the postworkout 400mg ALA. Results: 30min> 111mg/dl 60min>> 88mg/dl 90min>> 112mg/dl 120min>> 81mg/dl.
Anybody know why I would get a zig-zag effect with blood glucose like this?
The only place I know to get r-ala is the Anabolic Fitness online store.
how much ALA, at what times have shown your optimal blood glucose levels?
was it when u dint take any post workout?
Since I wasn’t able to test 90 and 120 markers on my first test, I don’t know which was more effective (addition of post workout ala or not). I will test this this week and post results. I plan to buy some r-ALA as soon as I run out of what I have, which will be fairly soon…and I will post my optimal dosages for that.
ok, im gonna start out with what i posted above… 500mgs pre, post and with my next 2 high carbs meals
It would be cool to see if there’s actually a difference between r-ALA and regular ALA. I spoke with the guy at Anabolic Fitness and he seems fairly legit.
Marc, I don’t have any studies handy on bitter melon for you (had some info on my hard disk a while ago but I can’t find it now - ugh!), but from what I’ve read it’s fairly potent stuff. Here’s some info on bitter melon from an article Cy Wilson wrote on insulin:
Momordica Charantia
This fruit, otherwise known as bitter melon, contains a mixture of sterols that possess super potent hypoglycemic properties. In fact, it's more potent than the oral hypoglycemic drug, Tolbutamide.(49) In one study, after two hours of an oral glucose load of 75 grams, 86% of patients given the extract showed a hypoglycemic effect.(50) It was also shown to increase the rate of glycogen formation by 4-5 times. This was attributed to an increase in glucose utilization.(51, 52, 53) If you want to use it, take 1-3 150 mg capsules per day.