Berberine Supplements for Diabetes: Benefits for Your Blood Sugar, Cholesterol and Triglycerides

Are berberine natural supplements useful for reversing diabetes? Initial studies on both animals and people with type 2 diabetes suggest that berberine is an excellent addition to an overall program of natural remedies for both blood sugar and blood lipid (cholesterol, triglyceride) control.

If you have type 2 diabetes, you may have problems in both the blood sugar and blood lipid aspects of your health.

Berberine is a yellow-colored substance that comes from certain natural plants such as Barberry or Oregon grape. There are several different plants that contain forms of berberine, and they may have somewhat different effects on health. If you decide to use a berberine supplement, make sure to read the ingredient list on the label to make sure you are actually getting what you want in the capsule.

Research on berberine has shown that this is a versatile natural product with a variety of potential health benefits. Studies suggest that it can help lower elevated blood sugar levels (perhaps as well as standard conventional oral medications), bring down high cholesterol and triglycerides, and even reduce appetite (though, alas, it probably does not help with weight loss per se).

The ways in which berberine works both overlap and are different from those in which conventional drugs accomplish similar goals.

One of the problems that many people with diabetes and obesity face is chronic and subtle inflammation. Natural remedies that can reduce this inflammatory tendency may be important in reducing inflammation, which in turn will cut down on the resistance to insulin effects on cells that people with type 2 diabetes can face.

Some studies even suggest that berberine might be helpful in people with type 1 diabetes, the auto-immune type of the condition, in which the body makes antibodies that attack the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

Berberine overall leads to improvements in the biochemistry of the body in ways that might help protect the blood vessels and heart from damage common in diabetes of any type. A review of research on berberine concluded that there are no serious safety concerns with this natural supplement.

As an added bonus, berberine may also suppress development of some cancers like breast cancer, help boost mood, and protect brain cells from changes that can lead to dementia. Many people with chronic conditions like diabetes have a general state of inflammation that the disease itself only worsens. This can foster many other complications.

Doses that scientists have tested range around 500-1500 mg per day, divided over the day. Each dose of berberine probably only lasts up to about 4 hours at a time. So, as with many natural supplements for diabetes, taking smaller doses each time, but multiple times per day may be the best approach.

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Berberine: A Powerful Herbal Supplement

When most of us think about treating diseases, we immediately go straight to prescription pharmaceutical drugs. The reasons behind this are plenty including efficacy, bias, an of course money. What if there were ways to treat disease other than prescription drugs? What if there were natural ways? What if there were "natural" drugs that might be even better than prescription drugs? There are!

A few years ago during medical school I was reading an endocrinology journal and came across an article called "Efficacy of berberine in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus." Figuring that this was a new drug that was coming out I decided to give the article a read. What I found is that it wasn't a drug they were studying, it was a natural plant alkaloid that has been used for decades in China for treating infections. What they found is that this plant alkaloid, berberine, was actually pretty potent at regulating blood sugar in those who have diabetes. What was interesting is that they actually compared this natural herbal supplement to metformin, which is what is considered first line treatment when you go to the doctor. What did they find? Berberine was just as good as metformin for controlling blood sugar.

Was it truly possible that a natural plant alkaloid could be just as good as a prescription drug for treating a disease that is running rampant in the world? According to this study, YES. But if this is the case, then why isn't this powerful agent not more known? I suppose we could all come up with theories on why this is the case with money probably being high on the list, but at this point what does it matter? I think the focus now should be on getting the word out there about berberine and what its potential is.

So a research trial is fine and dandy but does this stuff really work in the real world and could it work for someone that you know who is diabetic or insulin resistant - that is the question. The answer is that it can! I have personally seen patients come off of their prescription medications after starting berberine along with a good diet and exercise plan. Some do it even without good nutrition or exercise (but I never recommend one does that). The potential for this natural substance is very large considering the diabetes epidemic we have before us and the amount of people that cannot tolerate prescription medications. This gives just yet another option for those out there looking for something other than big pharma drugs.

If you do decide to look for berberine for your blood sugar problems, make sure you look for at least 97% pure. Also make sure the dosage is large enough to make a difference, which is about 500 mg two to three times a day.

Berberine Treatment For PCOS

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS, is an abnormality of young women's hormonal balances linking insulin resistance to relatively high androgens (male hormones) and menstrual irregularities plus subsequent infertility. The prevalence of PCOS has increased over recent years possibly due to the obesity epidemic and the consequence of obesity and insulin resistance. Approximately 7% of women within "reproductive age" suffer from PCOS. The syndrome has traditionally been defined by "Rotterdam Criteria", meaning two of three abnormalities including menstrual irregularities (decreased frequency or absent periods), excess androgens (or clinical evidence by facial hair, acne, etc), or polycystic ovaries found on imaging. The recent consensus, however, is that all three should be identified and actual biochemical evidence of androgens be documented instead of just clinical evidence.

Since PCOS has a strong correlation to obesity and insulin resistance, treatment has focused on weight loss via improved diet/exercise with metformin treatment to combat the "metabolic syndrome" which is common place for these women. Oral contraceptives and anti-androgens are used to control the symptoms overall. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome can be a very physically and emotionally taxing problem to many people. It is important to understand and know all methods of fighting this "disease."

Berberine has been successfully used and studied in the treatment of obesity-related insulin resistance and diabetes plus the dyslipidemia (bad cholesterol) which accompanies metabolic syndrome. What is interesting is that this potent natural plant alkaloid is revered in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, but not really anywhere else. With such a powerful potential, it is a shame more clinicians have not heard of it. In fact, its effects don't stop at blood sugar and cholesterol regulation. This potent herbal supplement has been shown to have properties that might eventually make it useful in cancer and even Alzheimers!

A new study compared the benefits of berberine treatment vs metformin treatment with placebo in eighty-nine young women with PCOS who also had evidence of insulin resistance for three months. The results showed that berberine outperformed metformin in terms of all tested cardiometabolic parameters including waist circumference, cholesterol, and sex hormone-binding globulin (related to abnormal levels of androgens vs estrogens). These findings are encouraging to those overweight or obese women who have PCOS and/or metabolic syndrome and would like naturopathic treatment as opposed to metformin treatment because berberine improves all aspects of metabolic syndrome. Further studies will need to be conducted to evaluate the effects on androgen levels and menstrual irregularities as well as physical finding of androgen excess (hair growth, etc).

As always, it is recommended to start intensive lifestyle changes first and foremost to improve diet and exercise in order lose fat and improve health. Along with berberine, focusing on a whole foods diet that emphasizes lean proteins and healthy fats plus a good structured exercise plan will go far in treating PCOS. If you feel you have symptoms of PCOS, be sure to discuss the possible diagnosis and treatment options with your physician.

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