> if ALA is in the body naturally 'every day',
> then why take it as a supplement?
The way I see it, Mother Nature has equipped the human body with detoxification mechanisms, which are sufficient for our natural habitat. The problem is, we no longer live in our species' natural habitat. We were not created to chew on mercury, lead and arsenic, or inject our babies with mercury, aluminium and formaldehyde. So while our bodies make their own chelators (such as ALA), the amount is insufficient to detox a modern individual. This is why we need to take ALA as a supplement.