Unlocking the Health Benefits of Berberine:
Natural Support for Blood Sugar, Heart Health, Weight Management, and More!

Berberine, a compound extracted from Goldenseal and Barberry plants, supports metabolic and microbiome health. Berberine is not new — it has been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years for GI health and other conditions. 

Today berberine is a hot topic because scientists are studying it for its support in many chronic conditions like overweight, uncontrolled blood sugar, high cholesterol and triglycerides, and blood pressure management.

Berberine supports healthy blood sugar levels which can reduce sugar cravings, making it easier to stay away from sugary, empty calorie foods.

Berberine also benefits the gut microbiome by enhancing populations of beneficial species. This too can affect blood sugar control, potentially influencing weight and fat accumulation. 

Some doctors use berberine as an alternative to Metformin to achieve a healthy HbA1c.

Berberine’s beneficial effects are reflected in health biomarkers like BMI, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Most Individuals Today Are Using Berberine As a Support for Metabolic Syndrome

What is Metabolic Syndrome? Metabolic syndrome is a condition of having at least three of these health risk factors:

• Extra Belly Fat Around the Waistline
• High Blood Pressure
• High Blood Sugar
• High Triglycerides
• Low HDL (“good”) cholesterol

Having metabolic syndrome makes it more likely to develop serious health issues like heart disease, diabetes, or have a stroke.

Metabolic syndrome often occurs because of unhealthy lifestyle habits like poor diet, being inactive and being overweight.

The good news is that you can manage metabolic syndrome with a healthy lifestyle, by eating healthy foods, being physically active and losing extra pounds.

How Berberine Helps at a Celluar Level

Berberine helps your body by working with a special enzyme in each cell called AMPK (adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase).

AMPK is activated in response to things like low blood sugar, heavy exertion, extreme hot or cold temperatures.

Berberine activates AMPK which then switches “on” cellular metabolism, regulating metabolism and energy expenditure. It’s the body’s way of responding to low energy levels. The effects are systemic throughout the body. 

(The AMPK pathway also explains how intermittent fasting may help with weight loss.)

When AMPK is switched “on” it in turn influences healthy levels of HDL cholesterol vs LDL cholesterol, and reduces triglycerides, blood pressure, blood sugar, insulin resistance and visceral obesity (“belly fat”).

But in order for AMPK to be activated, berberine needs to be absorbed! The challenge is that standard berberine can be difficult for the body to absorb.

Berberine Ultra Absorption

It is estimated that only about five percent of any given dosage of standard berberine actually makes it into the bloodstream, so finding a way to enhance absorption is key to getting the full advantage of its benefits.

Euromedica’s Berberine Ultra Absorb meets that challenge — it is enhanced with a proven, special dual-action absorption delivery method that is both water and fat-soluble, making it a highly absorbable form of berberine, enabling much higher levels to reach the bloodstream.

Enhanced absorption berberine also means optimal results at lower dosages.

Berberine in the News

There’s a lot of media hype about using berberine specifically for weight loss, calling it “nature’s Ozempic.” 

My view is that berberine is a wonderful time-tested science-backed herbal supplement for overall metabolic support, including supporting healthy blood sugar levels and lipid metabolism.

Often there is a modest weight loss as a result (which my clients are very happy about), but berberine is not a “miracle” weight loss supplement.

As for many supplements, berberine is not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women or for children. Since berberine can lower blood sugar levels, patients taking Metformin (or other blood sugar lowering medications) should consult with their doctor before adding berberine.

Interested in learning more about berberine? Book a consultation.

In Summary — See My Instagram Reel about the Berberine Buzz!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Janet Zarowitz, Westchester,NY (@janet_zarowitz_rd)

Support a Healthy Microbiome for a Healthy Gut

You may have heard by now, a healthy microbiome protects integrity of gut lining barrier. The gut barrier is designed to keep bad things out of our bodies, like toxins out of bloodstream. When things get into our bloodstream that don’t belong there, it sets off an immune response.

Microbial diversity and large populations are necessary to provide resilience as well as an abundance of species that produce butyrate and those that support the mucus lining.

A healthy and diverse gut microbiome does these things for us:

Maintains Thick Mucus Layer – A thick mucus layer in the gut lining is necessary to keep bad things from getting into our bloodstream from the gut. Beneficial gut bacteria support production of goblet cells in intestinal mucosa that produce the thick mucus layer.

Reduces Inflammation – A healthy gut lining should not be inflamed. Certain beneficial bacteria help us keep down inflammation by fermenting nondigestive dietary fiber from plants. They produce a byproduct of short chain fatty acids (SCFA’s) such as butyrate which is anti-inflammatory.

Maintains Tight Junctions – A metabolite of many beneficial gut bacteria, butyrate decreases low grade inflammation of the gut lining, supports maintenance and repair of tight junctions in gut lining, and has many other functions throughout body.

Fights Pathogens – A diverse microbiome competes with pathogens, keeping them at bay from wreaking havoc on our bodies.

Maintains Gut Motility – The microbiome helps us to have normal gut motility. This not only helps with proper elimination, but also accelerates healing of damaged cells post infection.

Supports Maturation of Immune System and Healthy Immune Tolerance – By keeping things balanced and calm in the gut, and by supporting gut lining integrity, foreign entities are unlikely to cross over into the bloodstream where the immune system might overreact.

We need the gut microbiome to “tend” to our gut. If your gut microbiome is not “tending” to your gut lining, you are more vulnerable to inflammation and leaky gut and even the onset of chronic diseases like Type 2 Diabetes.

Diabetic neuropathy is a type of nerve damage that can happen if you have diabetes. This condition can cause pain and tingling in the hands and feet, digestion problems, and sexual problems. Advanced neuropathy in the feet can lead to:

• Loss of feeling
• Ulcers that don’t heal
• A need to remove (amputate) your toe, foot or lower leg

Eating a healthy diet is an important part of managing your diabetes, and it may help prevent diabetic neuropathy and other complications. Keeping your blood sugar under control may help slow the progression of nerve damage.

Dietary supplements may help reduce diabetic neuropathy symptoms, but more research is needed. Talk with your doctor before taking a dietary supplement. Some may interfere with certain diabetes medications, and some can increase the risk of kidney problems.

Vitamin B-12

Vitamin B-12 is present in some foods and helps with proper nerve function and red blood cell production. People who don’t get enough vitamin B-12 may have a higher risk of neuropathy and other nervous system (neurological) problems.

Taking certain drugs may be associated with lower vitamin B12 levels in the body including:

• Metformin (Glumetza, Riomet, others), a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes
• Stomach acid-reducing proton pump inhibitors (Prevacid 24 HR, Prilosec OTC, others)
• Stomach acid-reducing histamine (H-2) blockers (Tagamet HB, Pepcid AC, others)

It’s unclear whether taking vitamin B-12 supplements can help treat diabetic neuropathy. Some small studies have shown a lessening of pain and other abnormal sensations. However, for people who don’t have a vitamin B-12 deficiency, taking B-12 supplements for diabetic neuropathy hasn’t been shown to help.

A vitamin B-12 supplement is generally considered safe when taken as directed. Natural sources of vitamin B-12 that you may include in your diet are fish, lean red meat and vitamin-fortified breakfast cereals.

Alpha-lipoic acid

Alpha-lipoic acid is an antioxidant found in many foods. Antioxidants are substances that the body can use to prevent or manage a tissue-damaging process (oxidative stress). Oxidative stress is a part of the diabetic neuropathy disease process. Alpha-lipoic acid also has been shown to lower blood sugar levels.

In a few small studies, people who had diabetic neuropathy experienced less pain, improved performance on nerve function tests, and improvements in other signs and symptoms. Larger studies are needed.

Alpha-lipoic acid supplements are generally considered safe when taken as recommended. However, if you take this supplement when you have a significant thiamin (vitamin B-1) deficiency, alpha-lipoic toxicity might occur. Don’t use alpha-lipoic acid if you’re a heavy alcohol user.

Natural sources of alpha-lipoic acid include spinach, broccoli and yeast.

Acetyl-L-carnitine

Acetyl-L-carnitine is a chemical compound naturally produced in the kidneys and liver. Acetyl-L-carnitine helps to reduce oxidative stress. It’s believed to be involved in nerve cell function and regeneration.

In a few clinical trials, people who had diabetic neuropathy had reduced pain, improvements in other sensory problems and improvements in nerve function tests. Some of these studies also suggested that the treatment effect is greater when started early in the disease’s course. More studies are needed.

Acetyl-L-carnitine supplements are generally considered safe when taken as directed. Side effects may include nausea, vomiting or agitation.

Don’t use acetyl-L-carnitine if you use warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven), a blood-thinning medication, because the combination increases warfarin’s effect and potentially the bleeding risk. For people who have hypothyroidism or a history of seizures, acetyl-L-carnitine may make these conditions worse.

A Healthy Diet is Essential

Although research into the relationship between dietary supplements and diabetic neuropathy is ongoing, eating a healthy diet is widely recognized as a key part of managing your blood sugar and diabetes complications such as diabetic neuropathy.

Aim for a healthy-eating plan that’s naturally rich in nutrients and low in fat and calories. Healthy meal plans focus on:

• Vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains
• Fat-free and low-fat dairy products
• Lean meats, fish, and poultry without the skin

Physical Activity Plays Important Role

Exercise is essential to managing your blood sugar. Check with your doctor before starting a new physical activity, especially if you’re taking medications that lower your blood sugar. People who have diabetes should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity each week. For example, aim to go on a brisk walk for about 30 minutes on most days of the week.

Drink water before, during and after activity to prevent dehydration. And be sure to wear comfortable, supportive shoes.

Did you know that many scientists are finding that an imbalance of the gut microbiome is an underlying root cause for the onset of diabetes?

Here’s a simplified explanation the relationship between the gut microbiome and the onset of diabetes:

Chronic inflammation in the gut from microbial dysbiosis and lack of microbial diversity can lead to damage of the gut mucosal barrier. Eventually this inflammation leads to gaps in the intestinal lining, known as leaky gut.

Through these gaps, toxins, pathogens and dietary antigens can get through and trigger an inflammatory immune response.

Over time, this immune response may eventually develop into insulin resistance and hyperglycemia and the eventual development of Type 2 diabetes.

Leaky gut also leaves those genetically predisposed to Type 1 diabetes with a poorly educated immune system, more vulnerable to viral triggers of the disease as well as damage to pancreatic beta cells.

One of the most important jobs of the gut microbiome is to tend the gut lining. If the gut microbiome is out of balance, it poorly performs that job. We rely on our gut microbes to help us reduce intestinal inflammation and maintain the mucus barrier and tight junctions of the gut lining. The gut lining is a critical way that the body protects itself from the outside world.

I work with clients to rebalance their gut microbiota, through diet and lifestyle changes and supplements. My nutrition strategies are designed to increase microbial diversity as well as specifically increase populations of microbial species that are known to tend the gut lining.

My nutrition gut strategies are designed to support species of microbes that produce anti-inflammatory metabolites like butyrate and keep the gut mucus layer strong and the cell junctions tight.

Here’s an illustration from Microbiome Labs comparing a healthy gut lining with a leaky gut lining.
It shows that gut dysbiosis, with decreased microbial diversity and a deficiency of butyrate producing and mucin supporting bacteria, can lead to leaky gut.