Comment · Sat, August 1, 2020 · ND Owner
Can Berberine Cause Hypoglycemia?
Original post in this thread
Experienced8 · 12 points
I usually only take berberine before a carb-containing meal, however, today I took some upon waking and then ate a steak.
The whole morning I felt like I could fall asleep at any second. Brain fog. Weak muscles. Absolutely CRAVING food and sugar. Seemed like hypoglycemia.
Can this happen to someone like me who is NOT diabetic, in shape, eats clean, sleeps well?
What they were answering
akks11 · 2 points
Hmm can you briefly elaborate how ALA targets fat ?
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · ND Owner
http://europepmc.org/articles/pmc5523816?pdf=render
Cumulative results in this meta-analysis showed significant reduction of body weight and BMI with ALA treatment compared to placebo, regardless if it was used for weight loss or other purposes. Meta-regression analyses showed that shorter duration of ALA intervention achieved greater BMI reduction than longer interventions. Incidences of side effects and all-cause discontinuation was similar between ALA and placebo.
Previous studies have suggested anti-obesity properties of ALA (16-18). In animal studies, it has showed that ALA supplementation promotes the reduction of body weight and fat mass by decreasing food intake and enhancing energy expenditure, possibly by suppressing hypothalamic AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity (19-22).
Small but significant reduction of body weight with ALA intervention is in line with previous open label (17, 35) and randomized studies (16, 18, 33, 36). Although there was no indication of publication bias for all outcome measures in our analysis, significant heterogeneity across studies was detected. Possible explanations of this heterogeneity can be the diversity of study samples, as well as study aims.
In summary, findings from this meta-analysis suggest that ALA may be a useful supplementation for weight loss in overweight and obese individuals. The benefits of ALA compared to placebo appear smaller than that of available prescription weight loss medications (40-42). However, ALA can be considered in clinical practice due to its benign side-effect profile, other beneficial effects such as in diabetic neuropathy, and low cost comparing to the available weight loss medications. Further research is needed to examine the effect of different doses and the long-term benefits of ALA on weight management.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0090863
In summary, the current work demonstrates the protective effects of LA against hypercholesterolemia and hepatic fat accumulation under conditions of strong genetic and dietary predisposition toward obesity and dyslipidemia. Study results indicate that, independent of changes in feed and caloric intake, LA-supplementation reduces plasma cholesterol likely through a PCSK9-dependent mechanism and protects against hepatic fat accumulation through multiple mechanisms that may involve a shift in fat metabolism toward oxidation and enhanced VLDL export for peripheral oxidation.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11745-014-3964-x
The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway is hyperactive in liver, adipose and skeletal muscle tissues of obese rodents. Alpha-lipoic acid (αLA) has been well accepted as a weight-loss treatment, though there are limited studies on its effect on mTOR signaling in high-fat fed, obese rodents. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine mTOR signaling and oxidative protein alterations in skeletal muscle of high-fat fed, obese rats after αLA supplementation. Phosphorylation of the mTOR substrate, eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF) 4E-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1) and eIF4B were significantly reduced (p < 0.05) in muscle from αLA supplemented rats. Activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), an mTOR inhibitory kinase, was higher (p < 0.05) in the αLA group. Protein expression of markers of oxidative metabolism, acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC), cytochrome c oxidase IV (COX IV), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR), and PPAR gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) after αLA supplementation compared to non-supplemented group. Our findings show that αLA supplementation limits the negative ramifications of consuming a high fat diet on skeletal muscle markers of oxidative metabolism and mTORC1 signaling.