Serious Help for Diabetes

Diabetic nephropathy is the leading cause of end-stage kidney failure in the

world. High blood sugar leads to oxidative stress, which plays a key role in

nephropathy. One natural antioxidant can really help.

In this new study, 100 people with type 1 diabetes added either nothing or 300mg

a day of alpha-lipoic acid to their conventional medication for 3 months.

The study found that people with type 1 diabetes have significantly higher levels

of oxidative stress and significantly lower total antioxidant capacity. That’s a bad

combination. It also found that diabetics with diabetic nephropathy have higher

levels of oxidative stress and lower levels of total antioxidant capacity than

diabetics without, suggesting that oxidative stress plays a significant role in

diabetic neuropathy.

That suggests that antioxidants could help prevent and treat diabetic

nephropathy. And, at the end of the 3 month study, people who took alpha-lipoic

acid had significant improvements in HbA1c, which is the most important marker

of long term blood sugar and diabetes control. They also had significant

improvement in urinary albumin excretion rate, a key indicator of kidney health,

as well as oxidative stress and total antioxidant capacity.

This study suggests that supplementing alpha-lipoic acid can potentially help

protect kidney tissue from diabetes-induced oxidative damage.

Journal of Diabetes and its Complications. January 2026;40(1):109201.