Aldose reductase (AR) is an NADPH-dependent reductase, which acts on a variety of hydrophilic as well as hydrophobic aldehydes. It is currently defined as the first enzyme in the so-called polyol pathway, in which glucose is transformed into sorbitol by AR and then to fructose by an NAD(+)-dependent dehydrogenase. An exaggerated flux of glucose through the polyol pathway (as can occur in diabetes) with the subsequent accumulation of sorbitol, was originally proposed as the basic event in the aethiology of secondary diabetic complications. For decades this has meant targeting the enzyme for a specific and strong inhibition. However, the ability of AR to reduce toxic alkenals and alkanals, which are products of oxidative stress, poses the question of whether AR might be better classified as a detoxifying enzyme, thus raising doubts as to the unequivocal advantages of inhibiting the enzyme. This paper provides evidence of the possibility for an effective intervention on AR activity through an intra-site differential inhibition. Examples of a new generation of aldose reductase "differential" inhibitors (ARDIs) are presented, which can preferentially inhibit the reduction of either hydrophilic or hydrophobic substrates. Some selected inhibitors are shown to preferentially inhibit enzyme activity on glucose or glyceraldehyde and 3-glutathionyl-4-hydroxy-nonanal, but are less effective in reducing 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal. We question the efficacy of D, L-glyceraldehyde, the substrate commonly used in in vitro inhibition AR studies, as an in vitro reference AR substrate when the aim of the investigation is to impair glucose reduction.