The latest research is compelling. A 12-week clinical study showed that Berberine is effective at improving blood sugar. What’s more, research shows that Berberine also supports healthy blood cholesterol levels!
Berberine, a plant alkaloid revered in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine but largely ignored elsewhere, is poised to become one of our most powerful natural therapies for preventing and treating a wide range of conditions—particularly insulin resistance, diabetes and high cholesterol.
How Does Berberine Work?
Berberine targets a very basic and ancient regulator of metabolism present in all animals and plants called AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Increased AMPK activity explains why berberine has so many diverse benefits.
For people with diabetes, AMPK activation:
• Stimulates the uptake of glucose into the cells
• Improves insulin sensitivity
• Reduces glucose production in the liver
For people with heart-related problems, AMPK activation:
• Slows the release of free fatty acids, which lowers lipid levels and prevents harmful fat deposition
• Boosts fat burning in the mitochondria
• Stimulates the release of nitric oxide (NO), a signaling molecule that relaxes the arteries, increases blood flow and lowers blood pressure, and protects against atherosclerosis
What Does the Research Say About Berberine?
• In a clinical trial published in Metabolism, people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes were randomly divided into groups and assigned to take metformin (Glucophage) or berberine. Improvements were noted the very first week, and at the study’s conclusion, the average blood sugar and hemoglobin A1c levels significantly decreased in both groups. Remarkably, berberine helped treat diabetes every bit as effectively as metformin. The researchers concluded that the two had “identical effect[s] in the regulation of glucose metabolism.”
• In a randomized, placebo-controlled trial, patients recently diagnosed with diabetes and cholesterol/ triglyceride abnormalities but hadn’t yet started on medication took either 500 mg of berberine or a placebo capsule twice a day. After three months, berberine supplementation not only significantly lowered blood sugar but also triglycerides (35.9%), LDL cholesterol (21%), and total cholesterol (18%)—compared to minimal declines in cholesterol and an increase in triglycerides in the control group. Furthermore, the group taking berberine had lower blood pressure (average drop of 7/5 mm Hg systolic/diastolic) and modest weight and abdominal fat loss.
What conditions is berberine good for?
• Anti-aging
• High cholesterol
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Immune challenges
• Intestinal infections
• Joint problems
• Low bone density
• Weight control
• PCOS
Ask for Dr. Whitaker’s Berberine and you know that you are getting a high quality supplement with ISSURA’s stamp of approval at the dosage used in the study above for support of healthy blood sugar levels and cardiovascular health.
