Imagine if I told you that there is a health supplement that is so good, so effective at doing exactly what it says it does, that no one wants to talk to you about it.
Why would that be?
Could it have something to do with a business model?
Do you wonder about why your metabolism is sluggish?
Are you storing more fat, worried about your blood sugar, reading up on the ‘metabolic syndrome’ and nodding along?
Has anyone mentioned Berberine to you?
What is Berberine, I hear you ask?
Essentially, Berberine is a bioactive alkaloid used for centuries in Chinese and Ayurveda medicine.
It came to prominence in the West when a vast series of controlled studies showed remarkable results pertaining to blood sugar, or blood glucose, and a reduction in LDL ‘bad fats’ and alongside an increase of HDL ‘good fats’.
But it’s greatest strength may lay in its ability to dramatically reduce insulin resistance, and this is why it is worth all the attention.
In fact, the research showed that a pharmaceutical drug, Metformin, regularly prescribed for Type 2 Diabetes, and Berberine supplements had almost identical results.
Of course, many modern medicines do come from nature, but this was a case where the claims of an ancient medical practice had modern medical grunt.
What is different between the two tablets is that, while diabetics can be prescribed either Metformin or Berberine to control their condition, anyone hoping to lower their blood sugar levels and improve their health can buy Berberine over the counter.
Those on strict Ketogenic regimes, people with chronic inflammation, PCOS sufferers, people worried about their blood pressure or their high levels of bad cholesterol can buy Berberine from any health food store or online.
No prescription required.
As a side note, in May 2020, the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended that some makers of Metformin extended release remove some of their tablets from the US market because an unacceptable level of a probable carcinogen (cancer-causing agent) was found in some extended-release metformin tablets.
Food…for thought.
So how does Berberine work?
Simplistically, Insulin is a hormone that the body uses to break down sugars/carbs in the gut and blood. When the body becomes overloaded with blood sugar, the system starts to fail. Berberine makes insulin more effective, it ‘charges up’ an enzyme, known as the ‘metabolic master switch’, and thus, the blood glucose reduces and the body’s metabolism gets switched on again.
It does this through a thing called AMPK- Activated Protein Kinase. The enzyme it reacts to is found in the cells of various organs, including the brain, muscle, kidney, heart and liver. Once it has Berberine interaction, this enzyme gets to work breaking down sugar in the cells, and generally becomes busy drawing sugar away from blood and organs making it bio-available to be used as energy, and not stored. This means less stored ‘energy’ or fat and sugar in the body. And we all want that.
A quick search on the interwebs will uncover various musclebound types waxing lyrical about the miracles of this remarkably well regarded supplement, but you don’t have to buy into all that to get the idea.
Berberine is a blood sugar lowering compound that is recognised by modern day medicine as a genuinely useful tool for anyone concerned about their overall health.
The reason it stays under the radar may simply be that it is cheap to produce and highly effective.
So, not the perfect business model for the Health Industry.
