Berberine activates the AMPK pathway to support blood lipids, weight loss, and sugar balance.

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Berberine can turn on the metabolic master switch and burn fat for energy.

Berberine is a plant alkaloid that is isolated from the roots and bark of Goldenseal, Barberry, Oregon grape, Chinese Goldthread, and tree turmeric, aka Indian barberry (Berberis aristata). It has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine for a variety of disorders. Studies have recently shown that Berberine helps maintain healthy blood glucose and cholesterol levels and supports weight loss.

Berberine:

  • Supports healthy blood lipid levels 1, 2
  • Supports healthy blood pressure 3
  • Promotes cardiovascular health 3,6
  • Helps limit weight gain by inhibiting fat accumulation 3-9
  • Increases thermogenesis (fat burning) 9
  • It helps support healthy blood glucose levels 10-18

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How does Berberine work?
Berberine activates an enzyme called AMPK (adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase), which is inside muscles cells and cells in the brain, kidneys, heart, liver. Called a “Metabolic master switch,” AMPK controls how our body uses glucose, burns fat for energy, and regulates energy imbalances. When AMPK-regulated pathways are turned off, metabolic syndrome develops. Berberine and resveratrol are two of the very few substances that are known to activate AMPK. 15

What is Metabolic Syndrome?
Over the past several decades, researchers have discovered that insulin levels rise with age, and as they do, the risk of major diseases increases. Thus, insulin plays a significant role in aging, chronic disease, middle-age spread, and insulin resistance.

The good news is that weight gain, aging, and illness caused by rising insulin levels are not inevitable. However, we can stop insulin resistance in its tracks, put a brake on our tendency to gain weight (especially where we don't want it), lose those extra pounds, and slow down the aging process. 

Insulin resistance develops over time, mainly from a diet high in refined carbohydrates such as bread, starches, and sweets. These foods trigger a rapid increase in blood sugar levels, and the body responds by raising insulin levels. This process accelerates the conversion of calories to fat. The more carbohydrates we eat, the more our body pumps out insulin to deal with all the extra blood sugar. Eventually, our bodies become overwhelmed by the amount of insulin, sluggish in response to it—and you’ve developed insulin resistance. This outcome, in turn, alters blood-fat ratios, raises blood pressure, and increases fat storage, leading to heart disease risk factors known as metabolic syndrome. High levels of cell-damaging free radicals are also generated, which results in premature aging.

Supports healthy blood lipid levels
Numerous studies have shown that Berberine reduces cholesterol and triglycerides. A study that involved scientists in Beijing, China, tested Berberine on 32 patients with high cholesterol. After three months of taking 500 mg of Berberine twice a day, the participants reduced their total cholesterol by 29%, triglycerides by 35%, and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol by 25%.1

A 2021 meta-analysis of 18 clinical trials came to the same general conclusion. Berberine can improve obesity and hyperlipidemia by reducing triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low-density cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and increasing high-density cholesterol (good cholesterol), as well as reducing insulin resistance. 2

Promotes healthy weight loss
Adipose (fat) tissue is considered a vast energy reserve organ. The proliferation of fat cells can lead to excessive fat accumulation in adipose tissue, resulting in obesity. In one study, after three months of treatment, patients with metabolic syndrome showed a decrease in their BMI ((body mass index) from 31.5 to 27.4. They lost belly fat, and their fasting insulin, fasting glucose, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels all dropped. The encouraging results suggest that Berberine improves insulin sensitivity by inhibiting fat storage and improving metabolic syndrome symptoms.3

In another three-month study, obese individuals took 500 mg of Berberine three times a day and lost about 5 pounds. The participants also lost 3.6% of their body fat. 4

Promotes glucose balance
Berberine helps our body respond better to insulin and reduces blood glucose levels by:

  • decreasing sugar production in the liver
  • increasing our body’s ability to break down sugars inside of cells
  • slowing down the breakdown of carbohydrates in our gut
  • and increasing beneficial bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. 18

Berberine helps reduce our risk of developing metabolic syndrome while activating AMPK, the enzyme that controls how our body processes carbohydrates and regulates metabolism imbalances.

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We have the power to take charge of our health by making Berberine part of our daily regimen. We can take ownership of our body’s metabolism of carbohydrates and glucose. Millions of people fall victim to metabolic syndrome — and this does not have to be you.

Precautions

Pregnant and lactating mothers should avoid the use of Berberine. Individuals undergoing dialysis should avoid Berberine.

References

  1. Kong W, Wei J, Abidi P, Lin M, Inaba S, Li C, Wang Y, Wang Z, Si S, Pan H, Wang S, Wu J, Wang Y, Li Z, Liu J, Jiang JD. Berberine is a novel cholesterol-lowering drug working through a unique mechanism distinct from statins. Nat Med. 2004 Dec;10(12):1344-51. doi: 10.1038/nm1135. Epub 2004 Nov 7. PMID: 15531889.
  2. YeYu, Liu Xiufen, Wu Ninghua, Han Yanqi, Wang Jiawen, Yu Yuandong, Chen Qingjie. “Efficacy and Safety of Berberine Alone for Several Metabolic Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.” Frontiers in Pharmacology, Volc 12, 2021, pgs 885. DOI=10.3389/fphar.2021.653887  
  3. Jing Yang, Jinhua Yin, Hongfei Gao, Linxin Xu, Yan Wang, Lu Xu, and Ming Li. “Berberine Improves Insulin Sensitivity by Inhibiting Fat Store and Adjusting Adipokines Profile in Human Preadipocytes and Metabolic Syndrome Patients.” Copyright © 2012 Jing Yang et al.
  4. Ilyas Z, Perna S, Al-Thawadi S, Alalwan TA, Riva A, Petrangolini G, Gasparri C, Infantino V, Peroni G, Rondanelli M. The effect of Berberine on weight loss in order to prevent obesity: A systematic review. Biomed Pharmacother. 2020 Jul;127:110137. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2020.110137. Epub 2020 Apr 27. PMID: 32353823.
  5. D. A. K. Roncari, “Abnormalities of adipose cells in massive obesity,” International Journal of Obesity, vol. 14, supplement 3, pp. 187–192, 1990.
  6. E. E. Kershaw and J. S. Flier, “Adipose tissue as an endocrine organ,” Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, vol. 89, no. 6, pp. 2548–2556, 2004. [12] S. A. Ritchie and J. M. C. Connell, “The link between abdominal obesity, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease,” Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 319–326, 2007.
  7. Ilyas Z, Perna S, Al-Thawadi S, Alalwan TA, Riva A, Petrangolini G, Gasparri C, Infantino V, Peroni G, Rondanelli M. The effect of Berberine on weight loss in order to prevent obesity: A systematic review. Biomed Pharmacother. 2020 Jul;127:110137. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2020.110137. Epub 2020 Apr 27. PMID: 32353823.
  8. D. A. K. Roncari, “Abnormalities of adipose cells in massive obesity,” International Journal of Obesity, vol. 14, supplement 3, pp. 187–192, 1990.
  9. Zhang, Z., Zhang, H., Li, B. et al. Berberine activates thermogenesis in white and brown adipose tissue. Nat Commun 5, 5493 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6493
  10. Zhang H, Wei J, Xue R, Wu JD, Zhao W, Wang ZZ, Wang SK, Zhou ZX, Song DQ, Wang YM, Pan HN, Kong WJ, Jiang JD. Berberine lowers blood glucose in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients through increasing insulin receptor expression. Metabolism. 2010 Feb;59(2):285-92. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2009.07.029. Epub 2009 Oct 1. PMID: 19800084.
  11. Yin J, Xing H, Ye J. Efficacy of Berberine in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Metabolism. 2008 May;57(5):712-7. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2008.01.013. PMID: 18442638; PMCID: PMC2410097.
  12. Yaping Liang, Xiaojia Xu, Mingjuan Yin, Yan Zhang, Lingfeng Huang, Ruoling Chen, Jindong Ni. Effects of Berberine on blood glucose in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic literature review and a meta-analysis. Endocrine Journal. 2019 Volume 66 Issue, pgs 51-63.
  13. J. Yin, H. Xing, and J. Ye, “Efficacy of Berberine in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus,” Metabolism, vol. 57, no. 5, pp. 712–717, 2008.
  14. T. McLaughlin, A. Sherman, P. Tsao et al., “Enhanced proportion of small adipose cells in insulin-resistant vs insulin-sensitive obese individuals implicates impaired adipogenesis,” Diabetologia, vol. 50, no. 8, pp. 1707–1715, 2007.
  15. Skrobuk P, von Kraemer S, Semenova MM, Zitting A, Koistinen HA. Acute exposure to resveratrol inhibits AMPK activity in human skeletal muscle cells. Diabetologia. 2012;55(11):3051-3060.
  16. Hardie DG, Ross FA, Hawley SA. AMP-activated protein kinase: a target for drugs both ancient and modern. Chem Biol. 2012;19(10):1222-1236.
  17. Winder WW, Hardie DG. AMP-activated protein kinase, a metabolic master switch: possible roles in type 2 diabetes. Am J Physiol. 1999 Jul;277(1):E1-10. doi: 10.1152/ajpendo.1999.277.1.E1. PMID: 10409121.
  18. Pang B, Zhao LH, Zhou Q, Zhao TY, Wang H, Gu CJ, Tong XL. Application of Berberine on treating type 2 diabetes mellitus. Int J Endocrinol. 2015;2015:905749. doi: 10.1155/2015/905749. Epub 2015 Mar 11. PMID: 25861268; PMCID: PMC4377488.

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