Diabetes is a common disease that affects many Americans, and 90 to 95% of people with diabetes have Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus ("T2DM").
I will be discussing T2DM and one herbal option to help deal with it effectively based on multiple studies. Since Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is significantly less common, I will focus this discussion on Type 2 Diabetes.
T2DM occurs in 1 out of 10 in the US, while pre-diabetes occurs in 1 in 3, illustrating what a considerable health concern T2DM is. (1)
Treating T2DM effectively early in the disease process can go a long way in preventing many of the health complications seen in advanced stage T2DM, which can be very disabling.
Today, I would like to discuss the supplement Berberine and the studies that show how it can help fight against Type II Diabetes through multiple methods of action.
1. In this first study, Berberine shows somewhat similar effects as the common T2DM drug, Metformin.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29515798/
2. The following study is interesting because it shows that Berberine can also protect against Metformin-associated lactic acidosis (MALA).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5478779/
3. The next study abstract shows that Berberine lowers blood glucose in T2DM patients by increasing insulin receptor expression.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19800084/
4. In this study, Berberine is shown to be synergistic with Metformin, where both together are better than either one alone at lowering high glucose induced lipogenesis. For those who are not familiar with Metformin, it is considered a first line pharmaceutical for treating T2DM. Here is a quote from the study:
>>> The combination of Metformin and Berberine exerted synergistic lipid-lowering effects on HepG2 cells by reducing total lipid content, triglyceride level, and the expression of the genes involved in lipogenesis.<<<
5. This next abstract adds more data to the idea that Berberine and Metformin may work well together.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30428337/
6. This is an older study (2008), but it goes into significant detail of many of the ways in which Berberine may be beneficial for patients in the fight against T2DM. It also discusses the lipid and triglyceride-lowering effects of Berberine and discusses the dosing used in the study as 1,500 mg total Berberine per day in 3 divided doses of 500 mg each dose spread throughout the day.
Here is a quote from the study :
>>> In conclusion, this pilot study indicates that Berberine is a potent oral hypoglycemic agent with beneficial effects on lipid metabolism.<<<
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2410097/
7. The following Meta-Analysis determines that Berberine is able to lower hyperglycemia, lipids, hypertension and raise HDL cholesterol while exhibiting a good safety profile.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25498346/
In this article, dosing of Berberine at 1,500 mg per day divided into three equal doses of 500 mg each during the day is mentioned as a possible dosing schedule, along with an explanation of why.
There are many more studies discussing the use of Berberine as an adjunctive treatment for T2DM, but the above should give you a good idea of how helpful Berberine can be.
The above studies and information illustrate that Berberine has hypoglycemic effects, lipid-lowering effects, and synergy with the front-line T2DM pharmacological treatment, Metformin, in T2DM patients worth discussing with your doctor for pre-diabetes and T2DM.
If you search the internet, you will also find plenty of anecdotal evidence suggesting that Berberine is useful in T2DM.
As always, I am not a doctor and, as such, cannot recommend Berberine as a treatment for T2DM, nor can I offer dosing advice, but fortunately, dosing advice is given in one study and one article above! In any case, given the serious nature of T2DM, consulting your doctor or healthcare professional before starting Berberine is needed.
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Berberine can be found in most health food stores and online. The product you choose should offer capsules that are pure Berberine with no additional active products in it and each capsule should contain 500 mg each of Berberine in order to try and replicate dosing used in studies.
Here are 2 good companies on Amazon.
Thorne Research - Berberine-500 - Botanical Compound to Support Blood Sugar Metabolism - 60 Capsules
12/28/2021:
I wanted to update my above article because a new meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials just came out that adds further confirmation to the value of Berberine for diabetes.
This new meta-analysis (MA) of RCTs( December 2021) of the use of Berberine for T2DM is very enlightening and clearly illustrates that Berberine is a very good adjunctive treatment or possibly even a primary treatment option for T2DM :
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC8696197/
Here is an important quote from the full MA :
>>> ' Forty-six trials were assessed. Analysis of berberine applied alone or with standard diabetic therapies versus the control group revealed significant reductions in HbA1c (MD = −0.73; 95% CI (−0.97, −0.51)), FPG (MD = −0.86,95% CI (−1.10, −0.62)), and 2hPG (MD = −1.26,95% CI (−1.64, −0.89)). Improved insulin resistance was assessed by lowering FINS (MD = −2.05,95% CI (−2.62, −1.48)), HOMA-IR (MD = −0.71,95% CI (−1.03, −0.39)), and BMI (MD = −1.07,95% CI (−1.76, −0.37)). Lipid metabolisms were also ameliorated via the reduction of TG (MD = −0.5,95% CI (−0.61, −0.39)), TC (MD = 0.64,95% CI (−0.78, −0.49)), and LDL (MD = 0.86,95% CI (−1.06, −0.65)) and the upregulation of HDL (MD = 0.17,95% CI (0.09,0.25)). Additionally, berberine improved the inflammation factor. ' <<<
This multitude of positive health enhancements including reduction of inflammatory mediators IL-6 and Tnf-alpha as well as positive heart and kidney effects accompanied by a very good safety profile make Berberine a "must consider" option for people with diabetes. The added lipid improving effects are just the icing on the cake.
It seems likely that pulsing of Berberine dosing may prolong the effectiveness of Berberine over the longer term, helping to prevent the body from becoming resistant to its effectiveness.
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