Natural Factors - Berberine

Product Notes:

Natural Factors offers two types of berberine supplement formulations: a standard powdered (but encapsulated) type, and a liquid softgel type, which suspends the berberine particles within tiny micro-droplets of MCTs and lecithin to increase both their rate of absorption and their retention (and thus their beneficial effects). The latter appears under two sub-brand names, with identical formulations: as RegenerLife®, for the 90 softgel size, and as LipoMicel®, for 60 and 120 size bottles.

Berberine is a component of several types of plants such as barberry bushes (which these types are sourced from) that's been used in Chinese and other Asian herbal medicine traditions for over three thousand years: initially mostly for gastrointestinal issues like diarrhea (it has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties), but more recently for reducing blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.

There's been an explosion of research into berberine of late, showing it also has great promise in lowering elevated cholesterol levels (especially LDL and triglycerides) and the accompanying risks of cardiovascular disease (as well as other CV issues such as arrhythmias), and even has a modest effect in combating obesity, especially for older adults with metabolic syndrome, which all seem to be mostly (although perhaps not exclusively) attributable to its ability to activate AMPK, which some describe as the human body’s "metabolic master switch."

Berberine has also been recommended as part of a nutritional protocol for treating SIBO, and for helping with certain symptoms of PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome), and is also being investigated for its potential in helping stave off neurodegenerative diseases.

Natural Factors now has two types of Berberine formulations available here, which currently bear the names of three of their sub-brands:

1) The long-standing WellBetX line of Glucose Management products, which are designed to help maintain blood sugar and cholesterol levels already with the healthy range; others in this line include their Cinnamon and Mulberry extracts, and a Complete Diabetic Multivitamin & Mineral formulation.

This WellBetX Berberine is actually functionally equivalent to the standard formula of one of their parent company's other brands, Preferred Nutrition (which is temporarily unavailable, as of this writing).

2) The new RegenerLife line of anti-aging supplements formulated for whole-body rejuvenation and longevity, which includes a Mitochondrial Energy formulation; NMNSurge; and an Omega-3 + Vitamin D supplement.

3) It should be noted that this product initially being marketed in Canada as regenerlife Berberine is actually the same formulation as the one called Berberine LipoMicel Matrix in the USA, as well as another new one being labeled as LipoMicel Berberine in Canada (which come in bottles of either 60 or 120 softgels, rather than the 90 in the RegenerLife-badged versions)... along with their existing LipoMicel Quercetin and Glutathione formulations.

These 'lipo' products have all been specially prepared with a patent-pending delivery system to increase their bioavailability, which surrounds nano-sized particles of the active ingredient with tiny little bubbles of fat (technically, phospholipid molecules), which the body is only too happy to take in (to use as sources of energy for the cells, among other things) along with its 'passenger'.

This can enable the active ingredient to not only start taking effect much sooner but also to stay in the body much longer than when it comes in solo. For the Berberine, a recent study found it only takes two days for the LipoMicel version to produce a substantial change in glucose levels, compared to two weeks or longer for the WellBetX version or another brand's liquid capsules of the same strength, with the initial indications being that it is three or four times more bioavailable.