What is Lactic Acid? Chance are you have heard of it from runners, specifically long-distance runners or those who run marathons. Lactic acid is the chemical responsible for the ‘burn’ that is felt when muscles are strained for a long time, such as is running for long distances.
Many people confuse Lactic acid and Lactose… one hint, LACTIC ACID is not the sugar found in milk… that is Lactose. But lactic acid was first isolated from milk… As its name implies.
What does Lactic acid have to do with Autism? You will need to read our next post about M is for Mitochondria to get the full story but elevated Lactic Acid can be a red flag for mitochondrial dysfunction or disease which IS intimately connected with autism and autistic-like behaviors.
So how do you know if your child has a high or low Lactic Acid?
There’s a test for that!
Lactic Acid Test ( also known as Lactate or L-lactate) is:
A test that measures the amount of lactate in the blood. Lactate is a product of cell metabolism. Depending on pH, it is sometimes present in the form of lactic acid. However, with the neutral pH of the body, most of it will be present in the form of lactate.
Normally, the level of lactate in blood is low. It is produced in excess by muscle cells, red blood cells, brain, and other tissues when there is insufficient oxygen at the cellular level or when the primary way of producing energy in the cells is disrupted.
The principal means of producing energy within cells occurs in the mitochondria, tiny power stations inside most cells of the body. The mitochondria use glucose and oxygen to produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the body’s primary source of energy. This is called aerobic energy production.
Whenever cellular oxygen levels decrease and/or the mitochondria are not functioning properly, the body must turn to less efficient energy production (anaerobic energy production) to metabolize glucose and produce ATP. The primary byproduct of this anaerobic process is lactic acid. Lactic acid can accumulate when it is produced faster than the liver can break it down.
When lactic acid levels increase significantly in the blood, the affected person is said to have hyperlactatemia, which can progress to lactic acidosis as more lactic acid accumulates. The body can often compensate for the effects of hyperlactatemia, but lactic acidosis can be severe enough to disrupt a person’s acid/base (pH) balance and cause symptoms such as muscular weakness, rapid breathing, nausea, vomiting, sweating, and even coma. (source)
Measuring lactic acid is not as simple and straightforward as it sounds… Here are some of the things I have learned about this sometimes troublesome biochemical ( especially in regards to mitochondrial disease)…
- Different labs measure lactic acid in different units, making it difficult to compare one draw to the next ESP if done at different labs. Here is a handy
lactic acid units converter . That converts from mg/dL to mmol/L and vice versa, so you can compare apples to apples. - The way in which a lactic acid sample is drawn and processed is very important and can affect the value of the sample.
- Crying, struggling or fighting ( for instance a toddler that hates getting their blood drawn or an iv) can elevate a lactate acid reading.
What can you do about Lactic Acid?
This post shares about one method to discuss with your medical team if you find an abnormally high Lactic Acid for your loved one. Hint: it is a vitamin!
To learn more about other resources that can help you help your child, please check out our Empowered Library, here.