— Anti-Oxidant Supplements Helpful to Diabetics—

White Plains, New York — Wednesday, October 7,  2009 — Alpha-lipoic acid (also called lipoic acid) is a natural anti-oxidant that can help diabetics reduce symptoms of peripheral neuropathy and control blood sugar, among other uses. ConsumerLab.com recently purchased a range of brands of alpha-lipoic acid supplements and tested their quality. Results of the tests, now available on ConsumerLab.com, show that two brands contained less alpha-lipoic acid than promised on their labels. Similar problems have been reported by ConsumerLab.com in past years. A third supplement failed the review for making health claims that the FDA only permits on drugs. The remaining seven alpha-lipoic acid products selected for testing by ConsumerLab.com met standards for ingredient quality, as did five other products that passed ConsumerLab.com's Voluntary Certification Program.  None of the alpha-lipoic acid products exceeded contamination limits for lead. 

The Product Review of Alpha-Lipoic Acid Supplements is found at http://www.consumerlab.com/reviews/Alpha-Lipoic_Acid_Supplements/alphalipoic/. It provides findings for fifteen brands of alpha-lipoic acid. Brands included in the report are AST Sports Science, Bluebonnet, Country Life, Doctor’s Best, GNC, Healthy Origins, Julian Whitaker, M.D., Physiologics, Puritan’s Pride, Solgar, Source Naturals, Thorne Research, TwinLab, Vitamin Shoppe, and Z-Labs.

In addition to providing test results, the report also compares the amounts of alpha-lipoic acid and other ingredients in the products and discusses the differences between R-isomer alpha-lipoic acid and mixed isomer (“racemic”) alpha-lipoic acid. Reviews of other popular types of supplements are available from www.consumerlab.com.

ConsumerLab.com is a leading provider of consumer information and independent evaluations of products that affect health and nutrition. Subscription to ConsumerLab.com is available online. The company is privately held and based in Westchester, New York. It has no ownership from, or interest in, companies that manufacture, distribute, or sell consumer products.