Because the number of individuals living with heart problems, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cancer and other health scourges increases, so does the necessity for protected and effective treatments. People don’t need to simply pop pills that mask the symptoms and make it possible to “live” with the disease. And while we all know that dietary and lifestyle changes – reducing sedentary lifestyle, getting more sleep, reducing stress – are needed to make an actual, widespread impact on public health, implementing them is an enormous challenge. Within the meantime, people need remedies that get to the basis causes of their chronic health problems – ideally and not using a long list of possible unwanted side effects.
Enter berberine, an alkaloid compound present in various plants. It is a textbook example of recent science proving ancient wisdom. Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine have treasured berberine-containing plants similar to barberry, goldenseal, and turmeric for tons of of years, using them to treat every part from gout to indigestion, hemorrhoids, skin infections, and cancer. Now research is discovering exactly how berberine works – and it seems to be a reasonably remarkable little substance.
To date, there is pretty good evidence that berberine is useful for 2 uses particularly, and there are indications that it might serve other purposes as well. Let’s dive in.
Probable Advantages of Berberine
For managing blood sugar, insulin and type 2 diabetes
In patients with type 2 diabetes, berberine appears to lower fasting blood sugar and fasting insulin, lower HbA1c (three-month average blood glucose), and improve insulin sensitivity.
Some studies even suggest that berberine could also be as effective as drugs which can be now considered standard drugs, especially metformin. There is also an additional benefit: administering metformin with berberine appears to be simpler than metformin alone. Nevertheless, because the authors of 1 review identified, studies comparing the 2 methods are likely to be of lower than perfect quality. The shocking thing is that pharmaceutical corporations should not racing to fund research to see if the herb can replace one in all their lucrative products.
Nevertheless, it is an enormous deal. Insulin resistance, hyperglycemia and the resulting inflammation are common threads linking many chronic diseases. It is possible, even likely, that berberine could possibly be used as a primary or adjunct therapy for most of the diseases which can be raging today. Let’s take PCOS for instance. Insulin resistance is an indicator of PCOS, and metformin is often prescribed to alleviate symptoms and stimulate ovulation. In a single study, 150 women got berberine, metformin, or a placebo before undergoing IVF. Women in each treatment groups showed similar improvements in metabolic health (lower BMI, lower insulin resistance, lower fasting glucose and insulin levels), but 18 of those taking berberine had a successful pregnancy, compared with 14 within the metformin group and 7 within the metformin group. within the placebo group.
For blood lipids
Studies in rodents and humans with high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes have pretty consistently backed this up Berberine lowers LDL-C and triglycerides, often while increasing HDL. It can also lower ApoB. ApoB is a lipoprotein that many cardiovascular experts now recognize as a more accurate indicator of atherosclerosis risk than LDL or total cholesterol. In animal studies, berberine has been shown to cut back the severity of atherosclerotic plaques.
Putting aside questions on LDL reduction values in all areas, berberine could also be a viable option for people who find themselves unwilling or unable to take statins. For instance, researchers conducted a study on type 2 diabetics with high cholesterol who were “statin intolerant,” meaning they experienced dangerous unwanted side effects when taking statins. Participants either continued to take a low-dose statin, one other non-statin drug used to lower LDL, or nothing. All of them took around 500 mg of berberine a day – alone or along with a drug they were already taking – together with silymarin (often called milk thistle), which increases the bioavailability of berberine. After one 12 months, all three groups had lower levels of LDL and total cholesterol, with nonsignificant changes in HDL and triglycerides. Additionally they had lower fasting glucose and HbA1c. Notably, berberine alone was as effective as berberine plus one in all the drugs. The group receiving berberine alone also experienced fewer unwanted side effects.
For people who find themselves already taking statins, adding berberine may increase the consequences of lipid-lowering drugs. Anecdotally, some people use berberine to get off statins altogether.
Other Possible Advantages of Berberine
As is often the case with more area of interest supplements, the available research on berberine tends to be somewhat limited in quantity and quality, especially when talking about human studies. Given what we currently know, the next apps are noteworthy, but removed from definitive:
Cancer. A lot of in vitro (cellular) studies have shown that berberine has anticancer properties, but this has yet to be demonstrated in actual cancer patients.
Depression: Berberine supplementation could also be useful in relieving depression. Nevertheless, up to now this finding has only been demonstrated in rodents (yes, rats might be depressed).
Memory: Berberine may improve memory, especially by counteracting memory deficits related to diabetes and inflammation within the brain.
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver: NAFLD progression is strongly related to insulin resistance, and some studies have already shown that berberine can improve glycemic control and insulin sensitivity in individuals with NAFLD. More generally, berberine may support liver health.
Microbiome: Researchers postulate that a method that berberine may exert its many effects is by improving gut health and function by modulating the microbiome. Berberine is also utilized in treatment H. pylori infections.
Length of life: Berberine delays cellular senescence – the lack of replication capability that is one in all the things that outline the aging process – in isolated cells, fruit flies, and mice. Nevertheless, a direct anti-aging effect has yet to be demonstrated in humans, and one yeast study actually showed that it shortened lifespan.
How does Berberine do all this?
To start with, berberine prompts AMPK. You might keep in mind that AMPK is an enzyme that is critical to regulating metabolism on the cellular level. Its primary function is to offer cells with sufficient energy. AMPK has all types of health and longevity promoting effects, including activating insulin pathways, increasing glucose uptake, regulating blood lipids, inhibiting tumor growth, reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, and stimulating mitochondrial biogenesis and autophagy. Most of the behaviors we consider “healthy” – exercise, fasting, heat stress— are largely useful because they affect AMPK signaling.
Along with its effects on AMPK, researchers are finding that berberine has a wide selection of actions throughout the body. Listed below are some remarks:
- Berberine metabolites increase the expression of LDL receptors in liver cells, which helps draw LDL out of the bloodstream, accounting for among the lipid-lowering effects.
- It promotes the expression of genes that reduce lipogenesis (fat formation) and increase mitochondrial uncoupling. The latter causes cells to burn more energy for warmth, increasing the metabolic rate and possibly promoting fat loss. Mitochondrial uncoupling is the explanation why brown fat is more metabolically energetic than white fat.
- It inhibits PCSK9, a protein that binds to LDL receptors and prevents the removal of LDL from the bloodstream. Drugs that inhibit PCSK9 are sometimes prescribed for patients with high LDL, especially those with familial hypercholesterolemia.
- GLP-1 is a peptide that plays a very important role in insulin secretion. The GLP-1 response is impaired in diabetics. Berberine apparently binds to an enzyme called DPP IV, which normally breaks down GLP-1. Essentially, berberine prevents DPP IV from doing its job, allowing more GLP-1 to remain within the system.
- It may possibly cross the blood-brain barrier and affect the motion of neurotransmitters similar to norepinephrine and serotonin.
- It has antibacterial and antiprotozoal properties.
Ultimately, among the metabolic advantages might be attributed to weight reduction, as some, but not all, studies have shown that taking berberine results in a discount in waist circumference and BMI. I often see them as concomitant effects – metabolic health and body composition improve together, making a positive feedback loop.
Any cons?
There is no such thing as a free lunch, even with “natural” means. Overall, berberine has a reasonably good fame for safety, with research consistently showing that berberine is higher tolerated and results in fewer unwanted side effects than the drugs it could replace (or complement). Nevertheless, you should not take berberine if you are pregnant or breastfeeding because it is unsafe for newborns and infants. Children should not start it without medical supervision.
Since berberine affects liver metabolism, it could actually affect the breakdown and absorption of certain medications, so due care should be taken here if you are taking any prescription medications.
Berberine – yes or no?
Here’s what it’s all about now: Berberine looks pretty promising in lots of points of metabolic health, but there’s still lots of research to be done, especially in humans. If you’re already taking metformin, a PCSK9 inhibitor, or a statin, or your doctor is pressuring you to take it, it’s value looking into. To manage blood sugar, insulin sensitivity, lower triglycerides, improve TG:HDL ratio, your first line strategies should all the time be weight loss plan and lifestyle, but there is actually a must explore berberine along with these other strategies, especially when one of the best efforts still in progress should not yielding the specified results. A dose of 1000-1500 mg per day is quite standard. It is not clear if this is optimal for each use case, nevertheless it’s an energetic area of research so stay tuned.
Have you experimented with berberine? If that’s the case, why and what were the outcomes? Let me know within the comments.
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