Your doctor might talk to you about including dihydroberberine in your routine to help achieve your health goals. Dihydroberberine is a big word and can sound intimidating. In this article, we’ll break it down and explain what it is and how it can be beneficial to you.
Dihydroberberine is derived from berberine, a naturally occurring plant compound found in Indian barberry (Berberis aristata).
Berberine has a rich history of use in Chinese and Ayurvedic traditional medicine. It is also known as Indian barberry or tree turmeric and can be found in the temperate and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and America.
Modern science builds on this ancient wisdom with a growing body of research investigating a wide range of potential therapeutic benefits, including a role in glucose balance, lipid metabolism, vascular health, and healthy skin aging.
Now, the highly absorbable form of dihydroberberine helps take the health benefits of berberine to a new level.
Here are 5 things to know about dihydroberberine:
1. More bioavailable than berberine. Dihydroberberine is more bioavailable than berberine. Certain gut bacteria are needed to convert berberine to its more absorbable form of dihydroberberine. Some people may not have this gut bacteria, therefore, they absorb berberine poorly. Once absorbed, dihydroberberine easily reverts to berberine to be used by the body.
2. Help maintain a healthy heart. Berberine’s ability to activate a key metabolic pathway (the AMPK pathway) also increases fatty acid oxidation (burning) and decreases fatty acid synthesis. These actions suggest that berberine may promote healthy cholesterol and lipid metabolism in humans.
3. May help promote glucose balance. By activating the AMPK pathway, berberine also plays a major role in glucose balance by helping to move glucose into peripheral tissues, which may help maintain healthy blood glucose levels already in the normal range.
4. Supports vascular health. Berberine induces nitric oxide properties, known to help maintain healthy blood vessel function.
The findings of a 2013 study indicate that berberine therapy promotes healthy endothelial function in healthy adults, in part, by its antioxidant ability to reduce oxidative stress in the cells that line blood vessels (endothelium).
5. May help support healthy skin aging. In a cell culture study to test the effects of berberine on the skin aging process, researchers found berberine exerts beneficial effects on skin cells. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) are known to play a role in skin inflammation and the skin aging process when “turned on” by ultraviolet light. After the addition of berberine, the skin cells expressed less of these inflammatory compounds.
Now you’re better prepared to talk to your doctor about dihydroberberine. If you’d like to include dihydroberberine in your daily routine, it can now be purchased on our website.
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