berberine Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Plant-Based Compound Helps Fight Fatty Liver Disease, Type 2 Diabetes & Obesity

The AHA! Team — Mon, 12 May 2025 05:24:07 +0000

Lori Alton via NaturalHealth365 – Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common form of bacterial infection, triggering emergency room visits for roughly a million Americans annually. Scientists warn that nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the presence of excess fat in the livers of people with no history of alcohol abuse, currently affects close to 30 percent of the world’s adult population, with rates climbing steadily. While NAFLD is often mild, in some cases, it can progress to devastating outcomes such as cirrhosis, liver cancer, liver failure, and death. Clearly, there’s an urgent need for safe, effective therapies to prevent, alleviate, and reverse this potentially dangerous condition. A natural compound known as berberine might help fill the bill. Berberine has been a staple of Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. A new systematic review in the Journal of Translational Medicine reveals that berberine can help normalize blood sugar, promote weight loss, and prevent the accumulation of fat – a winning “trifecta” of health benefits that may help put NAFLD on the run. Researchers say berberine “shows promise as an adjunct therapy for NAFLD” Berberine – a bright yellow alkaloid derived from barberry plants – has long been advised in traditional Chinese medicine as a natural intervention to balance blood sugar. To explore its effects on NAFLD, researchers evaluated randomized, controlled studies performed between 2010 and 2022 involving over 800 NAFLD patients. They concluded that berberine can “safely and effectively” improve lipid profiles, lower liver enzymes, lower body weight, and increase insulin sensitivity in patients with NAFLD, leading them to acknowledge its “significant therapeutic potential for NAFLD.” While more research is needed, these encouraging results suggest that berberine may be used to address not only NAFLD but also obesity and type 2 diabetes. Berberine is a potent lipid-lowering compound Berberine works through multiple pathways to promote health and combat disease. Research has shown that it alleviates the oxidative stress and inflammation that contribute to fatty liver disease while also helping to activate AMPK, an enzyme that regulates metabolism. In addition, it enhances mitochondrial function, decreases insulin resistance, and helps the body break down sugars more quickly and easily. The authors of the new review pointed out that berberine significantly lowers blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes – in some studies, by as much as 20 percent. But that isn’t all. This versatile compound also benefits the cardiovascular system by helping to prevent the development of cholesterol-laden plaque in arteries. Support heart and gut health In an earlier review published in Phytomedicine, researchers found that berberine can improve cholesterol by lowering LDL cholesterol and increasing HDL cholesterol. They cited a study in which berberine lowered triglycerides (fats in the blood) by an eye-popping 23 percent – and dropped total cholesterol by 12.2 percent. As if that weren’t impressive enough, berberine has been shown to reduce levels of C-reactive protein and apolipoprotein B, which are believed to be risk factors for heart disease. Last but not least, berberine supports a healthy gut microbiome by enhancing populations of beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Is berberine really “nature’s Ozempic?” Some fans of berberine have likened its effects to that of Ozempic, the popular weight loss drug. Ozempic, or semaglutide, belongs to a class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists. It stimulates the release of insulin and is normally prescribed for improving blood sugar and lowering the risk of heart disease in people with type 2 diabetes. Although semaglutide is not approved by the FDA for weight loss, millions of people use it for this purpose. However, side effects of this medication can include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Incidentally, studies have linked these weight loss drugs to thyroid tumors. And the cost can be prohibitive. According to a recent review conducted by the Cleveland Clinic, weight loss from Ozempic depends on the dosage and the length of time the patients took the drug, with obese patients losing an average of 3.7 percent of their body weight after one year. So, how does berberine stack up against Ozempic? Studies have supported this natural compound’s ability to enhance the oxidation of liver fat and interfere with the growth of fat cells. Multiple clinical trials have shown it can cause small but significant weight loss. For example, one older 12-week study showed that 500 mg of berberine three times a day caused about 5 pounds of weight loss while lowering the percent of body fat – including deposits of harmful abdominal fat. Offering an excellent safety profile – and an entire menu of health benefits – berberine appears to have remarkable potential for supporting balanced blood sugar, easing NAFLD, promoting healthy weight, and enhancing overall well-being. Sources for this article include: Biomedcentral.com Verywellfit.com Healthline.com Sciencedirect.com Verywellhealth.com Healthline.com JAMAnetwork.com To read the original article click here.

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Fat Can Make You Thin?

The AHA! Team — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 08:07:52 +0000

Al Sears, MD, CNS – Most mainstream doctors are horrified when they hear I teach my patients about the benefits of more fat. The patients who come to the Sears Institute for Anti-Aging Medicine tell me as much. But I’m not just talking about adding more healthy fats – like butter, lard, coconut oil, or omega-3s – to your diet. I’m also talking about a special kind of fat you already have in your body… A fat that makes you thin. Broadly speaking, there are two main types of fat in your body – white fat and brown fat. And, despite what doctors and nutritionists will tell you, the more brown fat you have, the better. Until a few years ago, scientists thought only babies had brown fat – that this was nature’s way of keeping them warm before they develop the ability to shiver. Unlike white fat – which shows up as flabby bellies, love handles, and plump thighs – brown fat burns calories rather than storing them. But studies show brown fat is very different from white fat in another important way… Brown fat contains mitochondria, which are full of iron and give this fat its brown color.1 As you may know, mitochondria are the energy-generating organelles in your cells. They are the power plants that turn fuel into energy for your body. Brown fat is also healthy. It cuts your risk of multiple conditions, including:2 Type 2 diabetes Cardiovascular disease High blood pressure Congestive heart failure Although most of your brown fat disappeared when you were a baby, your adult body retained small amounts – mainly in your neck, around the collarbone and the upper half of your spine. And even in small quantities, brown fat has the ability to burn huge amounts of calories. Although it makes up less than 5% of all your fat, it burns up a staggering 70% of your total calorie expenditure each day. By contrast, white fat burns almost no calories at all. Now astonishing new research shows you can easily transform your flabby white fat into calory-burning brown fat. The clue lies in a little-known protein called Zfp516. Animal studies conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, found that Zfp516 works to turn white fat into brown fat, and can be triggered by exposure to cold temperatures.3 The researchers found that mice with boosted Zfp516 levels had “browned” parts of their white fat, and as a result gained 30% less weight than the control mice. The good news is you don’t have to expose yourself to extreme temperatures to “brown” your own white fat. I experienced extreme below-freezing temperatures when I was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. It was a life-changing experience, but I don’t want to subject myself to cold temperature if I don’t have to! Turn Flabby White Fat Into Calorie-Burning Brown Fat Luckily, there are much more comfortable ways to brown your fat. Here are three: Supplement with berberine: This ancient herbal medicine for treating diarrhea, and now one of the most effective treatments for diabetes, also activates Zfp516 and helps turn flabby white fat into healthy, pound-shedding brown fat.4 Berberine is a plant phytonutrient extracted from a number of medicinal herbs, such as barberry and goldenseal. A dose of 1,000 mg to 1,500 mg is effective for most people, and it has been shown to have no nasty side effects. Use the power of flavanols: Recent studies conducted by scientists in Japan reveal that foods rich in these antioxidant plant compounds – also known as flavan-3-ols – have the ability to turn white fat brown.5 Flavanols have long been known to have multiple health benefits, including antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, cardioprotective, antimicrobial, antiviral, and neuroprotective properties. Foods that are rich in flavan-3-ols include apple, grapeseed, berries, legumes, citrus fruits, red wine, and green tea. But the two best sources are dark chocolate and cocoa powder. Don’t forget to PACE yourself: Studies at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Australia show that exercise is just as effective as cold exposure for “browning” white fat.6 The researchers found that an hour of moderate exercise was equivalent to 10 to 15 minutes of shivering in the cold for turning white fat brown. I recommend my PACE exercise program. It stands for Progressively Accelerating Cardiopulmonary Exertion. It uses brief but vigorous routines of increasing intensity – so, the beauty of it is that you only need to exercise for 12 minutes a day, instead of an hour. To Your Good Health, Al Sears, MD, CNS References: 1. Minwoo N and Cooper MP. “Role of energy metabolism in the brown fat gene program frontiers in endocrinology.” Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2015;6:104. 2. Cohen P and Spiegelman BM. “Brown and beige fat: molecular parts of a thermogenic machine.” Diabetes 2015;64:2346–2351 3. Depriver J, et al.” Cold-inducible Zfp516 activates UCP1 transcription to promote browning of white fat and development of brown fat.” Mol Cell. 2015 Jan 22;57(2):235-46. 4. Song, NJ, et al. ‘Induction of thermogenic adipocytes: molecular targets and thermogenic small molecules.’ Exp Mol Med 49, e353. 2017. 5. Ishii Y, et al. “Repeated oral administration of flavan-3-ols induces browning in mice adipose tissues through sympathetic nerve activation” Nutrients. 2021;13(12):4214. 6. Lee P, et al. “Irisin and FGF21 are cold-induced endocrine activators of brown fat function in humans.” 2014. Cell Metabol. 19(2):302-309 To read the original article click here.

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