 Burberry, does it really help with weight loss? Well, you probably heard the news that two of the major weight loss companies, Weight Watchers, and Noom, have decided to market those miracle weight loss prescription drugs as part of their program. Well, that's big news. And I'm not going to mention the names of those drugs, the names that will not be spoken here. But let's get this clear. Those weight loss drugs work by suppressing your appetite, by stopping gastric emptying so that you always feel full, and oh, by the way, at least 40 to 45% of the weight loss those drugs make no mistake, they do produce weight loss, is from muscle loss, muscle mass reduction. And if you follow anything about aging, you want to keep your muscles. In fact, keeping your muscles is one of the hallmarks of successful aging. So, yeah, great. I'm glad everybody loses weight on the drugs that will not be named. But weight loss as a goal should not include the loss of nearly 50% of your muscle mass. Okay, so enter berberine. And berberine has gotten a lot of interest as maybe the poor man's natural alternative to these weight loss drugs. And there is some evidence that berberine can act as a GLP-1 inhibitor, which is what these drugs do. But berberine is much more than that. In fact, I am a huge fan of berberine, so much so that berberine is an ingredient in many of my products here at Gundry MD. So I'm a big fan, and I know a lot about how berberine works. And it's so much more than just a natural alternative to these prescription drugs. First of all, berberine is a compound in several plants. Oregon grape root, which is totally different than grape seed extract. It's present in barberry, it's present in several compounds. It is a polyphenol, son of a gun. And berberine is actually one of the most potent mitochondrial uncouplers that's ever been discovered. Now, if you've read the energy paradox, if you've read unlocking the keto code, if you read the upcoming gut check, you'll know that uncoupling mitochondria is one of the long-term keys to long-term health. Number two, you know that uncoupling mitochondria is doing a caloric bypass on energy metabolism. It makes your mitochondria waste fuel, waste calories. And if you're wasting calories, you will lose weight. So let's get this straight. Berberine first and foremost, and you won't see this on the internet, is a potent mitochondrial uncoupler. And that's why I really like it. What else does it do? Well, berberine is known to activate an enzyme called AMPK. Now, AMPK is one of the major regulators of metabolism and energy expenditure in the body. By stimulating AMPK, berberine can actually enhance fat burning and increase calorie expenditure, regardless of the fact that it's a mitochondrial uncoupler. That means you are more efficient at metabolism and will support your weight loss efforts. It also has been shown to reduce blood sugar. It controls blood sugar and it also reduces insulin levels. Now, let's back up to insulin. Insulin is the hormone that literally handles the sugars and the proteins that you ingest. And simplistically, insulin is a salesperson that sells sugar and protein to your muscles. And if your muscles are hungry, then insulin has a really easy job of selling the sugar and protein you ate to your muscles. They basically go, yeah, yeah, yeah, I love what you're selling. I want to buy it. On the other hand, most Americans, even 50% of normal weight Americans are insulin resistant. 88% of overweight Americans are insulin resistant. 99.5% will obese Americans are insulin resistant. That means that they do not listen to the sales pitch that insulin is making and they are resistant to the sales pitch. That means that you make more insulin and more insulin to try to convince your muscles to take the sugar and protein out of your blood. And unfortunately, that doesn't happen. And that's why your blood sugar goes up. That's why your hemoglobin A1C goes up. That's why your fasting insulin goes up. That's why you are insulin resistant. So what? Insulin is also a fat storage hormone. And the higher your insulin goes, the easier it is for you to make fat out of the sugar and protein that you eat. And that's the catch 22. The more of the stuff you eat, the more insulin you make, the more fat you deposit, and the more insulin you need to keep things happening. And that's what's so bad about our current diet. So, berberine drops insulin levels and drops blood sugar. It's a great way to start. In addition, what berberine does is it lowers insulin, which then lowers the enzymes involved in fat synthesis and that can eliminate, or at least lessen, the accumulation of fat and fat cells. Now, it can also reduce the expression of genes involved in fat production and can also increase the expression of genes involved in fat breakdown, which can promote weight loss. So, berberine has got like a three-mode approach in producing the weight loss that you're looking for in these prescription drugs that are now so wildly popular that two weight loss programs are going to use them. And that goes counter to everything that we want to do for long-term good health. Now, drug companies know this. Drug companies want you to be a consumer for life. They're not peddling quick fix solutions. If a quick fix solution was useful, I can assure you drug companies would not be interested in this. They want you, these companies that are going to use this drug, to be a customer for life. And that's the last thing any of us want for good health. We want good health for life without the aid of pharmaceuticals. And that's what I've devoted the last 25 years of my practice and my research to giving you other options. And that's why berberine is a part of my armamentarium in a number of my products, because it's going to give you the benefits from a natural compound without the drawbacks of being addicted to a pharmaceutical for life. More amazing episodes just like this one. Watch now. Supplements are great for you as long as you know what the dose you really need to have an effective.