Berberine as Effective as Metformin for Blood Glucose Control
Normally, if anyone were to suggest that a natural herbal supplement worked just as effectively (or even better) than a pharmaceutical drug designed to do the same thing, I’d assume it was some type of multi-level pyramid scheme or a supplement company gone a little too far with their over-the-top marketing. Which is why when I came across a meta-analysis (review of several studies together) showing that the natural supplement berberine works just as effectively as the most widely prescribed anti-diabetic pharmaceutical drug metformin for balancing blood sugar, my curiosity was peaked.
Sure enough, a recent independent review shows that the herbal, plant-based alkaloid berberine can lower blood glucose just as effectively as a similar dose of metformin. Researchers even went as far as to say that based on the objective findings of the fasting glucose levels, the effects of berberine were found to be superior to metformin in several ways.
Although the exact mechanisms of Berberine’s blood glucose lowering effects are not entirely clear, here are some of the purported ways researchers believe it’s working….
-Mimics the actions of insulin – helps drive glucose into cells without requiring additional insulin secretion.
-Improves the effectiveness of insulin via activation of AMPK – helps insulin do its job more efficiently so less insulin is required.
-Improves insulin resistance – this helps the cells to take up glucose more effectively.
-Helps to stimulate muscle glycolysis – the storage of glucose in muscle cells.
-Inhibits gluconeogenesis in the liver – disrupts pathways that store glucose in the liver, possibly causing a preferential storage in muscle cells.
(pretty cool stuff if you ask me!)
So what does this mean to the competitor interested in physique enhancement? Well a couple things:
The more effectively you can get the glucose into your muscle cells, the harder and tighter your physique will look through the actions of storing more glycogen (gluconeogenesis) in muscles.
When fat burning is your goal, you want to minimize periods of elevated blood sugar and insulin secretion. Anything that can help get the glucose out of your blood and into your muscle cells quicker is almost always a good thing. Max fat burning occurs when blood glucose is normal to low-ish and insulin is not present. The secretion of insulin blunts fat burning.
Improving insulin resistance means we may be able to tolerate more carbs in the diet. More carbs in the diet makes for an easier prep and almost always a harder, tighter, fuller physique.
I can also go on record to say I've been using ATP Lab Glucocontrol (key ingredient berberine) for a month now and even without adding any cardio or reducing carbs, I’ve noticed I’m leaning out and looking denser. Solid formula for the competitor for sure.
Coach Sean
