Do not order R+ ALA in the summer by ground delivery.

[ulter]

R+ ALA does not withstand the summer heat inside a delivery truck traveling cross country. It will lose potency dramatically by the time you get it if it's exposed to 3-4 days of heat.

If your going to order R+ALA choose "air delivery" if your store doesn't already upgrade R+ALA orders.

[zimzum]

in case anyone cares ive used humax with great results!

from hu-max.com

What you need to know when buying R-Lipoic Acid..."the sticky truth"


R-Lipoic Acid (RLA) is one of the most important and exciting new nutraceutical compounds to hit the market. It is a powerful antioxidant, a critical co-factor in ATP production and has been shown to be more effective by a factor of 10 over the commercially available Alpha Lipoic Acid in several bio-tests. This implies that S-LA found in Alpha Lipoic Acid is interfering with the body's utilization of the natural R form. To learn more about what exactly is the difference between SLA and RLA click HERE

R-Lipoic Acid naturally polymerizes into a glue-like substance.

RLA is a highly unstable compound that easily breaks down into a sticky rubber or glue-like substance if it is not prepared, stored and processed correctly. Even under the best conditions, regular RLA is extremely unstable. Exposure to air, light, moisture and temperatures slightly above ambient drastically reduces shelf life and increases the formation of this unwanted bi-product that may impair its intended benefit.

When you buy regular RLA:

* Opened and refrigerated bottles of finished regular RLA capsules maintain their potency for 6 months before the polymer content begins to grow.
* Around 30 days in un-refrigerated capsules and powder
* One hour in a hot car can cause 100% degraded RLA.
Depending on how long the competitors RLA has been in the store shelf you may be buying useless degraded RLA

When you buy HUMAX R-Lipoic Acid
Specifications for HUMAX R-Lipoic Acid:
Only RLA of the highest purity is utilized, after independent analysis confirms the RLA/SLA ratio. Our typical RLA content >99.4%, SLA=0.2-0.6% with a total ALA content of > 99.8%. The polymer content of the starting material is typically between 0.2-0.4%.

* Our special process of making Potassium R-Lipoate instead of regular RLA means that our products have a minimum shelf life of 3 years without the need for refrigeration.
* The material is non hygroscopic and does not require any special handling. So you can be confident that you are buying the purest RLA available.


THE DEVELOPING RLA MARKET

Now that the differences between racemic alpha lipoic acid (bubble: A mixture of 50%SLA and 50% RLA) and pure RLA are becoming known, many new companies are attempting to manufacture and introduce RLA products into the market. Several of these companies have not been able to consistently produce a quality product with high RLA only purity. There are wide variations in the R/S ratios and total polymer contents of raw material and finished products.

Other companies have not passed on information concerning RLA instability because their products have not been analyzed with state-of-the-art tests (Bubble the test is called Enantioselective HPLC and shows how much SLA and RLA content is in a mixture)to identify RLA only purity. Frequently other supplement companies or on line stores are relying solely on the manufacturer's Certificate of Analysis or are sending samples to analytical labs whose analysts have limited experience with chirality testing (to learn more about chirality click HERE ), which reveals the RLA and SLA ratios and total polymer content.

We keep hearing from customers that several otherwise reputable analytical labs claim that it is impossible to test the R/S ratio by HPLC. There are several peer reviewed articles utilizing three different enantioselective tests for quantifying both RLA and SLA in the literature.

Few supplement companies and even fewer on-line vendors have experience with RLA and are unaware of the myriad problems associated with its encapsulation and stability. The heat of friction and exposure to air during normal blending and encapsulation processes are sufficient to initiate the HYPERLINK "http://www.geronova.com/polymers-of-lipoic-acid.PDF" polymerization of both RLA and ALA (although the heat stability is slightly higher for the racemic mixture).

Since the beginning of 2003, dozens of new companies have introduced RLA in finished products with widely varying prices and quality. Learn more HERE link

Not all R-lipoic acids are created equal


HUMAX tests it’s RLA at every step of the manufacturing process to ensure that we provide our customers with only the highest quality and highest purity R-Lipoic Acid available.

Buy HUMAX R-Lipoic Acid

[Alpine]

No Doubt Hu-Max probably makes the best r-ala caps on the market but they are so god damn expensive. Everyone should check out their site. www.hu-max.com - good info there. They have some tests too, too bad they cant show the real company names. r-ala is a very shady area in supps right now. Most sellers know their stuff is getting ruined in summer heat during delivery. A lot of crap is also being sold. I wouldnt buy r-ala unless you have seen independent lab tests done on it for that company. It doesnt help that legit pure r-ala is expensive - competition in r-ala is super tight. From what I hear markup for r-ala is not nearly what it is for other hot supplements.

******* has a bottle (90x100mg) for $28. Sure its probably the best but thats almost 2x the price you can get r-ala from ******* at. He's selling 90x100mg for $15.

Then you also have rizzer @ ******* and thats even cheaper. This guy is def makin some waves. He's posting prices he pays for kg's of the stuff direct from china and india. Its pissing a lot of other supplement guys off cuz they really dont want everyone to know exactly how much they are paying...

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15797

Hell i wouldnt doubt if this thread gets toasted. I noticed ****** gets censored out if you type it normal...

NO POSTING LINKS TO OUTSIDE VENDORS - READ THE RULES

[str8flexed]

the sky is falling... the sky is falling

[ulter]

As a moderator I would think Str8 would be looking out for the people on this board.
Layne, why don't you ask your buddy to call the broker he buys his R+ALA from and ask him how the material arrives to the United States. Ask him if it doesn't arrive in DRY ICE. Then have him ask them why they do that. Or email Labiochim in Italy and ask them how they ship their R+ALA. It's in DRY ICE.
Your friend 1fart 400 doesn't upgrade his shipping because he's too cheap. Instead he and people like you tell everyone there is no need to prevent R+ALA from getting hot in the summer. You help spead this lie and I would think you would find out if it's true or not first since you're supposed to put the members here first.
Glucorell R doesn't do this because they WANT to pay for free shipping upgrades on every order, it's the RIGHT THING TO DO.

[iamtheking]

??? i'm lost somewhere.

[ulter]

Every summer The AF Store tries to inform people about the neccessity of keeping R+ALA from sitting in summer heat.
Every summer the competitors tell people "don't worry about it".
It's deja vu all over again.

[str8flexed]

Originally posted by ulter
As a moderator I would think Str8 would be looking out for the people on this board.
Layne, why don't you ask your buddy to call the broker he buys his R+ALA from and ask him how the material arrives to the United States. Ask him if it doesn't arrive in DRY ICE. Then have him ask them why they do that. Or email Labiochim in Italy and ask them how they ship their R+ALA. It's in DRY ICE.
Your friend 1fart 400 doesn't upgrade his shipping because he's too cheap. Instead he and people like you tell everyone there is no need to prevent R+ALA from getting hot in the summer. You help spead this lie and I would think you would find out if it's true or not first since you're supposed to put the members here first.
Glucorell R doesn't do this because they WANT to pay for free shipping upgrades on every order, it's the RIGHT THING TO DO.

oh come off of it. In all the time that i've used ala i've never had a problem with polymerization, and that is with delivery to florida

[Harland]

Originally posted by str8flexed
oh come off of it. In all the time that i've used ala i've never had a problem with polymerization, and that is with delivery to florida

Good because i have mine shipped to florida too

[gstlynx]

Based on my own experience and the opinion's of Paul Wakfer at sci.lifeextension, I say both racemic and R-ALA polymerize and R-ALA more so.

I buy mine from b-a-c and at the bottom of the bottle, along the edge, there is a hard, glue like form of R-ALA stuck to the bottle and stuck together, like varnish. Same with racemic, only less.

It is the same thing that happens to a bottle of vegetable oil, albeit more slowly with vegetable oil. One the top, near the cap, if any of the oil drips on the outside, it will form varnish (polymers).

Maybe 1f400 doesn't have this problem, but I can't see how not. At this point, I think that the potassium lipoate from geronova or the hu-max is the only way around it.

[ulter]

Originally posted by str8flexed
oh come off of it. In all the time that i've used ala i've never had a problem with polymerization, and that is with delivery to florida

How would you know? Did you test it? Every manufacturer of R+ALA in the world knows it has to be kept from heat. They all ship it in DRY ICE. But the people on this board should be expected to just take your word for it that all these manufacturers are mistaken and you've got it right. That's just plain irresponsible of you. You should listen to gstlynx.

Buying HUMAX is buying Neogen (who likes to jump from state to state and change names to avoid all their lawsuits) and their material is sub 114 degree R+ALA. So it's not very good to start with. The additive is a good idea but it's still way over priced.

[gstlynx]

Lawsuits with Neogen Research, I think you mean Neogen Corp.

[str8flexed]

Originally posted by ulter
How would you know? Did you test it? Every manufacturer of R+ALA in the world knows it has to be kept from heat. They all ship it in DRY ICE. But the people on this board should be expected to just take your word for it that all these manufacturers are mistaken and you've got it right. That's just plain irresponsible of you. You should listen to gstlynx.

Buying HUMAX is buying Neogen (who likes to jump from state to state and change names to avoid all their lawsuits) and their material is sub 114 degree R+ALA. So it's not very good to start with. The additive is a good idea but it's still way over priced.

um yes I tested it using liquid column chromotography in the chem lab. I forget where the peaks eluted, but the ala i ordered had a peak at the same time as the standard

[dito]

Hi Ulter

[ulter]

You tested optical purity with HPLC? Well that's a good trick Layne. Especially since no one else on the planet can do it. Except goofy Patel with his make believe method, which I would bet you didn't even try.
Layne, stop making this stuff up for chrissakes, you're wrong ok, R+ALA is heat sensitive, get over it.

[Alpine]

Originally posted by str8flexed
um yes I tested it using liquid column chromotography in the chem lab. I forget where the peaks eluted, but the ala i ordered had a peak at the same time as the standard

lol ya....

that was good

[str8flexed]

Originally posted by ulter
You tested optical purity with HPLC? Well that's a good trick Layne. Especially since no one else on the planet can do it. Except goofy Patel with his make believe method, which I would bet you didn't even try.
Layne, stop making this stuff up for chrissakes, you're wrong ok, R+ALA is heat sensitive, get over it.

dude, you can test for content of almost anything on an HPLC, if it was impure or had polymerized the peak would have been much further downfield due to increased interaction with the column's stationary phase.

[str8flexed]

i'd also like to say i'm not saying ala won't degrade, it is quite possible it can, however, I'm stating the risk is most likely being overstated

[ulter]

Ok Layne, now tell me where you purchased a column and sample for R+ALA. And don't say Merck because they only have something "close". You know what, for get it. At least your not flat out denying it any more. Thank you for that.

Just a note here: YOU are saying ALA, I am saying R+ALA. There is a difference in sensitivity.

[str8flexed]

Originally posted by ulter
Ok Layne, now tell me where you purchased a column and sample for R+ALA. And don't say Merck because they only have something "close". You know what, for get it. At least your not flat out denying it any more. Thank you for that.

Just a note here: YOU are saying ALA, I am saying R+ALA. There is a difference in sensitivity.

I tested ala, and the column isn't mine, it belongs to Eckerd College, where I just earned my BS from as of last week in Biochemistry

The standard I used was in the lab (labeled thiotic acid but that is just another name for lipoic acid)... I'm not sure who supplied it but most of our chemicals come from aldrich so it might have been from them

-Layne

[ulter]

OK That's cool. ALA isn't sensitive to heat like R+ALA so I see now where the confusion was.

That's a nice campus. If I remember correctly they don't have a master's program there. Where are you going next?

[str8flexed]

Originally posted by ulter
OK That's cool. ALA isn't sensitive to heat like R+ALA so I see now where the confusion was.

That's a nice campus. If I remember correctly they don't have a master's program there. Where are you going next?

I'm pretty sure the physical properties between the two isomers doesn't change much and it could be that I just got lucky with my batch... I just think the "heat related" risk with some of these supplements is a bit overstated.

Eckerd Doesn't have a graduate program so I'll be attending the University of Illinois in the fall to pursue my MS/PhD in nutritional biochem

-Layne

[ulter]

Whoa!! From the Gulf shore to Champaign? Back to reality.

It does change Layne. Look at the test procedures for optical purity. The temperature of the solution changes the whole result. That's how "some" labs skew the results to show a higher rotation.

[str8flexed]

Originally posted by ulter
Whoa!! From the Gulf shore to Champaign? Back to reality.

It does change Layne. Look at the test procedures for optical purity. The temperature of the solution changes the whole result. That's how "some" labs skew the results to show a higher rotation.

I'll have to check it out, i've never heard of physical properties being changed to that significant of a degree just from isomer changes... usually the differences are chemical, as the degree of steric hinderance is what tends to change between isomers (at least in terms of how easy it is to polymerize something)

[1fast400]

Yawn.....................................


Just order via USPS priority mail, you'll have it in 2-3 days from just about any location you order from. Believe it or not, they don't keep the fedex/ups planes packed with dry ice so Ulters R-ala stays cold. A plane gets pretty hot as well, but Ulter uses special planes which leave a freezer at the airport, then fly at mach 1 to each customers house to drop off their product before it gets warm.

[zachattack43]

Originally posted by ********
Yawn.....................................


Just order via USPS priority mail, you'll have it in 2-3 days from just about any location you order from. Believe it or not, they don't keep the fedex/ups planes packed with dry ice so Ulters R-ala stays cold. A plane gets pretty hot as well, but Ulter uses special planes which leave a freezer at the airport, then fly at mach 1 to each customers house to drop off their product before it gets warm.

may i ask how you know they dont use dry ice??

[mimo]

Originally posted by ********
Yawn.....................................


Just order via USPS priority mail, you'll have it in 2-3 days from just about any location you order from. Believe it or not, they don't keep the fedex/ups planes packed with dry ice so Ulters R-ala stays cold. A plane gets pretty hot as well, but Ulter uses special planes which leave a freezer at the airport, then fly at mach 1 to each customers house to drop off their product before it gets warm.

LMAO

[1fast400]

may i ask how you know they dont use dry ice??

Are you serious?

[ulter]

Maybe you should call your buddy at FedEx and ask him the temperature inside the cargo hold. It's 50 deg.
FedEx picks up at night, then transfers to a plane that flies for 90 minutes to the sort. The center is air conditioned. It's then transferred to another plane, again at night, that keep it just as cool on the way to it's destination.

It's pretty sad that you would rather put on this charade that there is no need to keep R+ALA cool instead of just doing the right thing and making sure your customers get what they paid for.
You just keep taking care of your customers like that and The AF Store will keep taking care of their customers their way.

[1fast400]

Maybe you should call your buddy at FedEx and ask him the temperature inside the cargo hold. It's 50 deg.
FedEx picks up at night,at night

I guess those express trucks I see driving around during the day are just my imagination.

It's pretty sad that you would rather put on this charade that there is no need to keep R+ALA cool instead of just doing the right thing and making sure your customers get what they paid for. You just keep taking care of your customers like that and The AF Store will keep taking care of their customers their way.

Make up your mind Ulter. You have always maintained in the past that online business means nothing to you and you just use it to "test" things. You are just to easy to poke fun at Ulter, it makes me laugh. It doesn't matter if I had the pope come on here and say something, you would argue it simply because he said it on my behalf. You've constantly lied in the past about things. Why would things change now?

I still think priority mail would work just as good. Who knows.