When you’ve been coping with excessive blood sugar or a situation like sort 2 diabetes—or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), then you definitely most likely have heard of metformin. It is a quite common medicine that docs use to assist sufferers decrease blood glucose ranges and enhance insulin sensitivity. However it does have frequent unwanted side effects like abdomen upset and diarrhea, which make it exhausting to keep it up. Are there options? Sure. How about berberine? It’s a bitter, yellow compound from vegetation like Barberry and Goldenseal.
Berberine has been utilized in Chinese language and Ayurvedic drugs for hundreds of years to deal with infections and digestive points and to assist with blood glucose. The Chinese language have used it for diabetes for so long as there’s been diabetes in China. In some circles it’s known as “pure metformin” as a result of it appears to work in comparable methods. It helps to regulate blood sugar, makes insulin work higher, improves ldl cholesterol, and even helps weight administration. However is it actually nearly as good? And whether it is that good, why is not everybody switching to it?
We’ll check out two key research that evaluate berberine head-to-head with metformin. Then I will clarify why berberine’s low absorption generally is a drawback. And we’ll check out outcomes from one of many new variations—second technology berberine formulation that make it gentler in your physique.
Berberine as a Pure Metformin: 2008 Examine
The oldest examine that I discovered with a comparability of berberine and metformin is from 2008. The journal Metabolism printed a examine from researchers in China. They examined berberine in a head-to-head competitors with metformin in a examine with 84 adults that had sort 2 diabetes.
They break up the volunteers into three teams:
– A few of the newly identified individuals obtained berberine or metformin alone.
– For the individuals who already had diabetes however had been poorly managed, they merely added berberine to the same old medicines like insulin or different tablets.
Everybody took 500 mg of the therapy 3 times a day with their meals for 3 months. And the outcomes? Nicely, they had been spectacular for berberine! Within the new diabetes group, berberine dropped common blood sugar, as measured by HbA1c, from 9.5% to 7.5%. It is about the identical as what you noticed with metformin, which went from 9.2% to 7.7%.
Fasting blood sugar additionally fell within the berberine group from 10.6 mmol/L to six.9 mmol/L. That was about the identical as what was seen with metformin. You’ll be able to check out the graph beneath and see that it does not look a lot completely different for berberine or metformin.
After-meal sugar spikes additionally improved quite a bit in each instances with berberine and metformin, exhibiting that insulin sensitivity was improved and pancreatic operate was significantly better.
So blood sugar outcomes had been very comparable with berberine and metformin, however there’s extra. Berberine additionally beat metformin in serving to with different threat elements for heart problems. Triglycerides had been down by 21% with berberine in comparison with nearly no change with metformin.
Berberine additionally dropped complete ldl cholesterol by 13%, with LDL ldl cholesterol going decrease too. Within the group that added berberine to their different medicine, insulin resistance improved by almost 45%, utilizing a rating known as HOMA-IR, and waist dimension shrunk with out large weight reduction. This exhibits that berberine was serving to battle stomach fats, which is an enormous threat for coronary heart illness.
And the unwanted side effects? About 35% of the individuals had delicate GI troubles like gasoline or free stools, however these light after a couple of weeks and nobody had liver or kidney issues. The researchers known as berberine a “potent oral hypoglycemic agent“—so berberine is perhaps an awesome different for many who are taking metformin, they usually’re more likely to get even higher outcomes.
Berberine for PCOS: 2022 Examine
I do not know what occurred in all of the years between 2008 and 2022, however lastly there’s an awesome examine with ladies who’ve polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). It is a situation that impacts as much as 1 in 10 ladies of childbirth age. It causes irregular durations, extra hair, pimples, and fertility points, all because of hormone imbalances and insulin resistance.
So in 2022, this trial from India in contrast berberine, metformin, and myoinositol, which is a helper-like vitamin for insulin. The trial included 129 ladies aged 15 to 40. Every group obtained their therapy twice a day for 3 months—500 mg twice a day for berberine, or 500 mg twice a day for metformin, or 1000 mg twice a day of myoinositol. There was no really useful change in food regimen or train to restrict the outcomes to only what was being examined.
Nicely, it seems that the researchers picked three winners: berberine, metformin, and myoinositol—all of them labored. However for some elements berberine really labored higher. Physique weight dropped about 4 kilograms within the berberine and metformin teams, and a pair of kilograms with Myoinositol. BMI, or the Physique Mass Index, improved in all teams.
Higher Weight Administration with Berberine
However for waist dimension, berberine gained large, shrinking it by 4 cm versus 2 cm for the others. And the waist-to-hip ratio, which is one other marker for coronary heart well being, improved probably the most with berberine too. Blood sugar and insulin improved in all of the teams. However for simply pure insulin sensitivity enhancements, myoinositol labored greatest, falling 46% versus 22% for berberine.
Hormone Enhancements with Berberine
Nicely, what about fixing the imbalanced hormones seen in PCOS? Whole testosterone dropped equally in all teams, however berberine boosted intercourse hormone binding globulin (SHBG, which binds up free testosterone so it causes much less signs) greater than the others, resulting in the largest drop in free androgen index. So berberine has a slight edge in hormone balancing as properly.
Further Advantages of Berberine: Blood Lipid Enhancements
Whereas metformin and myoinositol helped with physique weight and blood sugar points, berberine shined when it got here to blood lipids. Berberine slashed complete ldl cholesterol by 13%, dropped triglycerides by 6%, and LDL ldl cholesterol by 17%, whereas elevating the HDL ldl cholesterol degree by 5%.
This was nice, however metformin was higher on this examine for decreasing triglycerides, scoring a couple of 33% drop. General, the examine confirmed that berberine matched metformin’s traditional advantages, but in addition had further advantages for physique form, bettering hormones, and reducing coronary heart illness dangers.
Three ladies stop metformin due to intestine points, versus none on berberine. The pure berberine therapy might be gentler for some individuals.
Berberine: 3 Causes Why Isn’t It Extra Widespread
If berberine is so good, why is not everyone taking it? Nicely, the very first thing is that there are extra salesmen pushing metformin as a pharmaceutical than berberine as a pure complement. There is not almost as a lot cash to be made with berberine, I do suppose.
Second, there are much more research with metformin than there are with berberine. There is not almost as a lot cash behind berberine as a pure complement to check it again and again in research to indicate that it has the identical impression. This makes docs extra hesitant to belief and take a look at berberine with their sufferers.
There are some good research, however there should not close to as many as you’ll discover with metformin. I personally wouldn’t have realized how properly berberine labored till I heard a remark about “pure metformin” that prompted me to take a look at the claims extra rigorously.
The third challenge is that berberine is not absorbed very well. Research present that solely 0.5% to five% will get into your bloodstream. Most of it stays in your intestinal tract—it does not attain your liver or your muscular tissues the place it may really assist with blood sugar points.
As a result of so little of it’s absorbed, you want fairly excessive doses, like 1,000 to 1,500 mg a day, to see its results. After all, you break up it up and take it with meals, which helps with unwanted side effects. However that is quite a lot of berberine left in your intestine, and that may trigger irritation, akin to bloating, cramps, and even diarrhea—which is seen in 10 to 35% of customers, particularly after they first get began.
Utilizing a decrease dose helps, however then you aren’t getting as a lot profit both.
Easy methods to Make Berberine Higher
Scientists have seemed for a method to make berberine extra absorbable. The important thing to this has been to combine it with some lipids. Scientists name this a “phytosome.” It is sort of like a liposome, however simpler to make. The result’s a strong dispersion of berberine in lecithin, pea protein, and grape seed extract. In 2021, a trial within the journal Proof-Primarily based Complementary and Different Drugs examined berberine phytosome with wholesome individuals. The results of taking the phytosome type was a 8 or 9-fold enhance in complete berberine absorption, and a 5 or 6-fold enhance in free berberine bioavailability. (See the Determine beneath.) And the doses wanted had been a lot decrease to get this enhance.
In 2023, researchers took this phytosome berberine formulation and did a examine in Pakistan with 130 ladies combating PCOS. They in contrast a placebo management with the phytosome berberine, which delivered about 360 milligrams of berberine per day, which is about what’s seen within the higher line within the graph above (similar tablets).
These ladies largely had irregular menstrual cycles, however they did not have bother with blood sugar ranges or lipids. These had been regular. The outcomes confirmed that berberine does much more than simply normalize blood sugar and lipid ranges.
Within the ladies taking the berberine, their pimples cleared up quicker. The durations had been normalized in 70% of them versus simply 16% within the management group, anatomy of their ovaries improved in 60% of the berberine group, however solely 13% of the management group, and fertility improved with berberine. Three ladies who had not been in a position to get pregnant conceived whereas taking berberine. Nice outcomes, exhibiting that berberine, when sufficient of it obtained absorbed, helped steadiness hormones in addition to blood glucose and blood lipid ranges.
Wrapping it Up
So, in case your physician is pressuring you to strive metformin, now you already know that you’ve another. Berberine, particularly the berberine phytosome, works very well. However even normal berberine has been proven to assist management blood sugar ranges and blood lipid ranges, assist normalize hormones in PCOS, and assist with weight reduction—particularly across the center. So berberine is a strong different to metformin.
After all, you possibly can reverse your diabetes with out taking berberine in any respect. You actually simply must lose about 35 kilos of physique weight and be disciplined about following a wholesome life-style. It’s the weight reduction that can finally drive down fatty liver (causes excessive fasting blood glucose) and fat-inhibited pancreatic motion. However in the meantime, in order for you somewhat assist to get higher outcomes quicker, you need to speak to your well being care supplier about utilizing berberine. It is perhaps an awesome possibility for you.
