benfotiamine&R-lipoic Acid
 

I've been taking 300mg of benfotiamine and 100mg of r lipoic acid for roughly about a year. Can someone let me know if this is safe to take. Im a little worried about taking too much of one vitamin and causing a deficiency in another.
thanks Andrew

Your dosages are relatively low, so there's nothing to worry about.
If it is helping your neurological problems, continue with it.

There's are a number of studies on high dose thiamine and benfotiamine
stimulating cancer cell proliferation, *admin edit*, but I personally think
it has been blown out of proportion.
*admin edit*


It's analogous to studies on methionine stimulating cancer, but then again
you will find methionine in many foods, so taking say 500 mg of it daily isn't
going to give cancer to you.


Life extension and degenerative disease prevention is basically a trade-off.
The end goal is to improve your quality of life within a reasonable lifespan.

I'm sure you know about the double-edged sword effect of telomerase in
this respect - extending lifespan, but at the potential risk of promoting cancer.

Well, the deciding factor should be whether you notice any improvements at all in your situation, that led you to try these two.

If you see nothing, after a year, well, it seems to me you probably don't need them.

The benfotiamine really should be tapered off a bit if you decide to stop. Go to 150mg for a week or two then quit.

Taking a single vitamin in higher than dietary amounts, can lead to a vitamin dependency situation. This is where the body adjusts to that high intake, and when removed, will react as if there is a deficiency. This happens with Vit C which some people take in high doses, and when they suddenly quit, they may show temporary symptoms of scurvy.

Search on Google, vitamin dependency...for more explanations. Dependency is not the same as deficiency.

What are you trying to fix, Andrew? That should be a factor in your decision. If you see nothing in the way of improvements, I'd just quit both supplements.

Benfotiamine is helpful for neuropathy patients, or those who drink alcohol or consume lots of carbs. Some people have a genetic weakness in thiamine chemistry, and it might help those people too. The other stuff about longevity etc, is still all very speculative, IMO.