Type 2 diabetes is preventable and if you are living with Type 2 diabetes, know that it is reversible. Today we explore both the use of Metformin which is the number one drug for diabetes and Berberine; this wonder herb with its many benefits.

Insulin: Where does it come from and how does it work?

The pancreas is an organ which sits on the upper part of your abdomen. This organ has cells called beta cells which make and secrete a hormone called insulin.

Type 2 diabetes starts with insulin resistance, where the hormone insulin which is released every time we eat to remove sugar from our blood cannot cope with our excess dietary sugars. Eventually cells in the pancreas that make insulin can’t make anymore hormone and start to fail, next think you know you are now dependent on an very expensive external source of manmade insulin.

This is also what happens with Type 1 diabetes. This is not however diet related. In Type 1 diabetes, failure of the cells that make insulin is due to an autoimmune disease and is often diagnosed really young. One of my friend was diagnosed at the age of nine and has been living with it ever since injecting herself daily with insulin.

With Type 2 diabetes, we want to prevent those beta cells from failing. We want to catch your symptoms early enough so you don’t live the lives of so many, whose body, early on, failed them at the tender age of 9 or 10. Let’s prevent and further reverse type 2 diabetes.

How do we diagnose type 2 diabetes?

A full medical examination and a fasting blood test is needed to assess your levels. For some people its constant fatigue they can’t explain, others is that they are peeing so often and are not drinking that much water. It can be changes in vision, weight gain, wounds that don’t heal well, erectile dysfunction, etc…That can happen very late into the course of the disease.

We also get a fasting blood test early on and look at fasting blood sugar and HbA1C. The HbA1c, looks at your blood sugar over the course of 3 months!! 3 months, so you can’t say “O well I ate too much the last 2 weeks and that’s why the levels are like that”. No, this is a 3 month value of what’s been happening to your blood sugar. Guess what we can also find diabetes in your pee!! Yes you pee sugar on the daily when it’s not reabsorbed! Not good, bad for your kidneys and hello yeast infections!

Metformin vs Berberine: How do they actually work, and are they really that different?

METFORMIN	BERBERINE
Metformin decrease our liver’s production of glucose (sugar) and stimulate glucose uptake from our muscle and fat cells to help decrease hyperglycemia (aka high blood sugar), decreases hyperlipidemia (high fat) and it also helps decrease non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). As well, it increases insulin sensitivity and protect the very fragile beta cells. It works through activating the AMPK mechanism. Fun fact: Metformin was discovered in the 17th century! Timely. Thinking of the diet back then, maybe not so different to ours now.	Berberine just like Metformin also works through the activation of the AMPK mechanism. Berberine can increase glucose uptake in the muscles, liver and fat cells. It blocks our livers ability to make more glucose, a process called gluconeogenesis. So clearly to this point Metformin and Berberine are not that different. However, Berberine is more effective compared to Metformin at decreasing total cholesterol. LDL and serum triglycerides (bad fats).

Benefits of using berberine

• Anti-lipids
• Anti-tumor
• Anti-diabetic
• Anti-Obesity
• Anti-inflammatory
• Cardiovascular protective
• Less gut disruption then metformin

Why is managing your blood sugar so important?

Everyone thinks about those awful side effects of uncontrolled diabetes where they see they’ve seen their grandparents lose a toe or go blind. That happens when blood sugar is mismanaged for yes, a long time.

On a shorter time, improper blood sugar impacts your energy throughout the day, your memory where you don’t feel super sharp and on top of work. In men, it impacts the small vessels of the penis where now you struggle with proper erection and ejaculation because those tiny vessels are clogged with sugar.

How much berberine should I take and for how long to improve my diabetes number?

Metformin comes in doses similar to how metformin is prescribed, 500 mg per tablet. In studies where patients with HbA1c over 7% were prescribed 1500 mg of metformin taken in divided dose, their HbA1c decreased by 2% over the course of the 13-week study. Fasting blood glucose, post-prandial glucose (after meals blood sugar), triglycerides and total cholesterol also decreased in the patients. For information, HbA1C is assessed every 3 months in the management of diabetes until we get normal levels. Thus this study gives us an adequate representation of the time its takes to see changes in your numbers. Of course, adding adequate exercise, clean eating habits are all key to getting your numbers down.

One of the most common side effects of metformin medication is gut upset, often diarrhea. With berberine none of the patients who took the herb struggled with diarrhea.

What to consider with an integrative approach to your diabetes?

If your doctor, nurse, physician assistant or any healthcare provider you work with does not address your diet, talk about your stress and address your lifestyle then you should find a new provider.

• Diet is key! You won’t manage your diabetes with medication alone! It is very much key that you supplement your diet with healthy amount of proteins, and go wild on vegetables. It is key to remember that not all carbs and fruits are bad for you. Fruits provide a healthy amount of antioxidants. Your brain thrives on sugar, but the right kind of fibers are key to maintaining a healthy weight and balance your blood sugar.
• Exercise is primordial: Exercise is key for heart health. But in type 2 diabetics, exercise, especially weight training or resistance training which helps build muscles helps remove the sugar hanging in your vessels and put it in your muscles to be better processed. Exercise and increased muscle mass decreases your risk of getting diabetes by 32%, according to the Mayo Clinic. 2-3 sessions of weight training 30 min weekly is a great place to start!
• Sleep/Stress management are non-negotiable: adequate sleep is important to manage your stress. An increase in stress, means an increase in the hormone cortisol. Simply enough this stress hormone often triggers one to eat more, often foods that are high in fats and sugars.
• Supplements can help: berberine, chromium, alpha-lipoic-acid, cinnamon, Gymnema Sylvestre, CoQ10, fish oil are a few of the key supplements one needs to support their blood sugar and their inflammation. Because yes, diabetes is an inflammatory disease and should be addressed as such.

Are you looking for a holistic or integrative approach to your health?

Ask your doctor to check your A1c! Also consider booking with a doctor, expert in natural medicine. With years of experience and knowledge in the field of herbal medicine, nutrition and lifestyle management you can finally regain the health you so desire with decreasing your medication intake and regaining control of your life. You can click here to know more about the we can help you.