I’m very grateful to all the companies who choose to stand alongside me and the work I am doing with my “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” projects by becoming an official sponsor. Their support enables me to continue to bring you all the high-quality information you’ve come to expect from me about nutrition, fitness and healthy living. One of those sponsors who has been with me for a while is a company called Leaner Living run by a pair of osteopathic physician brothers named Dr. Spencer Nadolsky and Dr. Karl Nadolsky, makers of the blood sugar-lowering supplement called Glycosolve. I’ve shared about my experience taking Glycosolve made with the active ingredients berberine and banaba leaf for the past year and it’s been a critical part (along with my one-year n=1 experiment of nutritional ketosis) of normalizing my blood glucose levels. But in recent months, I’ve been getting a few e-mails of concern from several of my followers about berberine after they read Jenny Ruhl’s column warning about it. That’s why I’ve invited Dr. Spencer Nadolsky and Dr. Karl Nadolsky to respond to these concerns in a special guest blog post today.
Since we have been getting a lot of questions as a result of Jenny Ruhl’s blog post, we would like to respond to her concerns. Here are the key points of concern made in that blog post and our response:
1. Berberine has no long-term data to prove its safety
Our Response: While this is true about berberine, this is also generally true about many supplements and even pharmaceutical drugs. Part of the problem is that there is no funding supporting research into these supplements because you cannot patent them. It is very important to look at the data available and make a clinical decision with your physician. There is data to show its safety and efficacy in short-term trials. There will likely never be long-term trials for berberine or for most non-patentable supplements for that matter. This is unfortunately a universal truth.
2. Berberine activates AMP-Kinase similarly to the drug metformin. Why not just use the prescription medication metformin since it is cheap and has plenty of long-term safety and efficacy data supporting it?
Our Response: We personally use metformin on patients first line as do most physicians. We agree that metformin should be tried first, but many people don’t tolerate metformin well or they are interested in using an alternative therapy–something berberine provides. In fact, most the feedback we’ve heard from patients is that metformin could not be tolerated due to their gastrointestinal side effects. This is why we recommend using berberine on these patients who tend to see good results.
3. One of berberine’s mechanisms of action is inhibiting DPP-IV, which decreases the degradation of the body’s GLP-1 (incretin). This leads to changes in the pancreas, which might lead to pancreatic cancer and/or pancreatitis.
Our Response: As far as we can tell, there has been only one IN VITRO study showing the possibility of berberine inhibiting DPP-IV. Whether or not berberine truly has a clinical DPP-IV inhibition effect in-vivo remains to be seen. Either way, the connection between the DPP-IV inhibitors (sitigliptin, saxagliptin, linagliptin)/GLP-1 agonists (exenatide, liraglutide) and pancreatic cancer is unfounded at this point. There is a definite concern as pointed out due to the increases in beta cell mass of the pancreas, but this is also considered a benefit since diabetics have lost much of their beta cell mass. In pooled analyses of randomized control trials, there hasn’t been an increase in pancreatic cancer or pancreatitis. This was summed up nicely in the recent AACE position statement. Ironically, metformin has been shown in some studies to possibly inhibit DPP-IV and also stimulate GLP-1. But metformin is very safe as shown in multiple studies as well as discussed in Jenny Ruhl’s blog post vilifying berberine.
4. Berberine inhibits various cytochromes P450, which means it may have drug interactions.
Our Response: This is true and a good reminder why you should always consult with a physician before taking any new medications OR supplements to be aware of any interactions between them.
5. Supplements like berberine are unregulated and could be manufactured overseas increasing the likelihood that they may contain toxic metals. Also supplement companies can claim amounts of the active ingredient (i.e. berberine) on the label that aren’t true since the supplement industry is unregulated.
Our Response: She is absolutely correct. Obviously we created the supplement Glycosolve with berberine in it. We went to great lengths to make sure it was the purest source with the best manufacturing practices. We wouldn’t mind if anyone wanted to test it as we stand by it 100%. If it didn’t pass the test, then we would immediately sue our manufacturer who always passes GMP certifications.
We hope this helps clear up any confusion and lingering concerns people may have about our Glycosolve product. It should go without saying, but please talk with your doctor first before starting any new supplement.
Spencer Nadolsky, D.O.
Karl Nadolsky, D.O.
http://youtu.be/5sEsqDEoxhE
