Vol 42–The Benefits of Berberine: Uncovering Its Role in Regulating Blood Sugar and Metabolic Health

Quick Look 👀

1 oz of water to garden your health

1 Budding Tweet

2 Weeds to avoid

2 Websites to cultivate your garden

Random Musings

Reading Time: 6 minutes and 44 seconds

Action to water your health

I haven’t written a newsletter in several Sundays. Life has a way of doing that. I plan on restarting the regularly scheduled programming.

I’ve changed the name to Sunday Brain Boost, otherwise, the newsletter will be the same action-packed, actionable, evidence-backed tidbits to boost your week.

Let’s get back to it…

This week’s newsletter is brought to you by Berberine, a supplement I’ve seen all over social media.

Let’s dive into the science behind it, its benefits, drawbacks, and who should even consider taking it.

What is Berberine?

Berberine is a natural alkaloid (naturally occurring organic compound that often contains nitrogen and has a bitter taste and pharmacologically active properties).

It is extracted from various plants, including barberry, Oregon grape, and tree turmeric. It has been traditionally used in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine for its antimicrobial, antiprotozoal, and antidiarrheal properties.

Research on humans has focused on its effects on markers of glycemic control, liver function, anthropometric parameters, and blood lipids, particularly among individuals with metabolic disorders.

Benefits

• ↓ Blood sugar levels to a similar extent as some anti-diabetic drugs

• ➕ Positive effects on blood lipids and liver enzymes

• ↓ body weight and fat mass in individuals with metabolic disorders

• Mechanism of action has anticancer pathways [1].

• It helps regulate the gut microbiota and can aid in improving gut health and mitigating various diseases [2].

There is no panacea pill that exists.

There is no panacea pill that exists.

There is no panacea pill that exists.

These benefits that we’ll discuss have varying degrees of effects on individuals (genetics, diet, lifestyles, etc.) and most clinical trials on the results of berberine are of poor methodological quality.

Side Effects

• Diarrhea: If you’re using it for this reason please stop. This can be harmful long-term.

• Constipation: Wait, you can have diarrhea and constipation? Yes.

• Stomach pain

• Flatulence

• Interacting with several drugs

How does it work?

Highly complex and this answer varies depending on what benefit you’re talking about.

Berberines have beneficial effects on various metabolic processes by regulating the metabolic responses in cells like intestinal cells, liver cells, and adipocytes through the involvement of multiple signaling pathways and networks.

Berberine stimulates the enzyme adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which regulates glucose, lipid, and protein metabolism.

Other signaling pathways such as PI3K/AKT/mTOR, Wnt/β-catenin, and iPLA2β/CL/Opa1 pathways play essential roles in cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, autophagy, and signal transduction.

This paper [3] details the pathophysiology and breaks it down nicely into sections.

Ok, let’s talk about its two main benefits.

Reduces Blood Sugar

This study [4] found that Berberine is an effective oral hypoglycemic agent that regulates glucose and lipid metabolism.

It showed similar hypoglycemic effects to Metformin in clinical trials. Berberine reduced hemoglobin A1c, fasting blood glucose, postprandial blood glucose, and plasma triglycerides.

Takeaway. In diabetic patients, Berberine at 0.5-1.5g daily for an average period of 12 weeks was associated with minor to moderate improvements in all measured glucose and lipid parameters; rivaling oral hypoglycemics in potency [4].

This meta-analysis [5] included 37 studies involving 3,048 patients with type 2 diabetes, and the results showed that Berberine reduced fasting plasma glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, and 2-hour plasma blood glucose.

The glucose-lowering effect of Berberine was associated with the baseline mean fasting plasma glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin levels of patients.

This article [6] reviewed 46 randomized controlled trials (RCT) and comprehensively showed the efficacy and safety of Berberine for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

The results showed that Berberine positively regulated glucose metabolism and lipids, improving insulin resistance and inflammation in patients with T2DM.

Improve Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic Syndrome. Is a cluster of conditions that occur together and increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

It is diagnosed when a person has three or more of the following conditions: abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high fasting blood sugar, high triglycerides, and low HDL cholesterol.

This study [7] found that Berberine can inhibit the differentiation of human preadipocytes and improve glycemic control and dyslipidemia in patients with metabolic syndrome.

After three months of treatment, metabolic syndrome patients showed a decrease in BMI and leptin levels, as well as leptin/adiponectin ratio and HOMA-IR, suggesting that Berberine can improve insulin sensitivity by inhibiting fat stores and adjusting adipokine profile in human preadipocytes and metabolic syndrome patients.

Berberine has been found to suppress the expression of Gal-3 in adipocytes, indicating that it has the potential as a therapeutic agent for obesity and related metabolic disorders [8].

*Gal-3 protein has been linked to obesity in several ways. Adipose tissue is known to produce Gal-3, and its expression increases with obesity. Gal-3 has also been shown to promote adipocyte differentiation, which leads to the accumulation of fat deposits and obesity.

Dose & Bioavailablity

Ok, so what dose should I take? Most studies used 1,000-1,500mg of Berberine for their research which showed to be effective.

What is the bioavailability when taken orally? (aka how well is it absorbed). Absorption is 0.68%. So if you consume 1g of berberine you really have absorbed 6.8mg of berberine [9].

You can increase the absorption percentage when taken with Silymarin from Milk Thistle or sodium caprate (found in coconut oil).

Dihydroberberine. Has higher bioavailability, and has similar effects to berberine but with lower doses (thus, higher potency). Less studied compared to berberine.

TL;DR

• ~10-40% of people taking berberine will have some kind of gastrointestinal problems. This is due to the high dose required to achieve the required absorption rate.

• Berberine has been around for over 3000 years! There is sufficient evidence on how it regulates blood glucose and helps with metabolic syndrome.

• This is NOT a panacea. It will not magically improve your lipid levels and cure diabetes. As with any drug, it is meant to work alongside diet and exercise.

• The FDA does not regulate supplements. I know you know this already. So please make sure you get what you pay for.

• WOW! There are an insane amount of companies selling berberine right now. I was hoping to find some reputable brands but got overwhelmed. If you decide to get Berberine make sure it’s from a trusted and reputable company with transparent practices and quality control metrics.

Budding Tweet

This study [10] used mice as the animal model to investigate the antidepressant-like effect of Berberine.

The results showed that berberine exerted an antidepressant-like effect by modulating brain biogenic amines (norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine) and may be useful as a treatment for depression.

The researchers achieved their results by administering Berberine at different doses (5, 10, and 20 mg/kg, i.p.) to mice and evaluated its effect in different behavioral paradigms of despair, such as forced swim test, tail-suspension test, and reserpine-induced behavioral despair.

Weeds to avoid

1️⃣ Reminder to clean your cell phone, and shower head, and throw away that old kitchen sponge. Those things are swarming with harmful bacteria and viruses waiting to wreck you.

2️⃣ Some days suck AND that’s ok. There is always tomorrow. Don’t let the opportunity to grow slip. Reflect on the day. Even if it’s one minute, keep a journal.

Websites to cultivate your garden

Lungy: Breathing can help by reducing stress and anxiety, improving concentration and focus, strengthening the immune system, and increasing energy levels. Sounds exaggerated but try it!

Tired Banker: Earnings Reports for S&P 500 Companies, Summarized. I’m no expert in earning reports but this website has great information.

Random Musings

1. Make sure you stretch at least once a week. Some of those weird injuries you get are from tight muscles.

2. I always forget how much something as simple as getting sunshine can change my entire mood. Something like 40% of people in the US are deficient in Vitamin D.

3. It is best to wait at least one hour after waking up before drinking coffee. This is because the body's production of cortisol is at its peak during the first hour after waking up. Drinking coffee during this time may interfere with the production of cortisol, which could affect the body's hormone balance and regulation. So wait!

4. Hi, how are you? please stop saying this and other mundane phrases that are insincere. We are at the point where people say things and don’t wait for the other person to respond and just start talking. What’s the point?

5. I usually get sleepy when drinking beer, am I the only one?

You're an awesome human

Martin, CEO of Sunday Brain Boost

Stuff I Use

Toms Perfect 10: Granola, I’ve tried and made dozens of different types. If you want crazy, flavorful granola try this.

EarthFedMuscle: It’s no exaggeration to say I’ve tried hundreds of protein powders. This is one of the most flavorful proteins with clean ingredients.

Tana: My go to notetaking app. I can explain why but try it yourself.

Stuff I created, that you might find helpful.