Berberine shrinks Arterial Plaque, Study Shows 

Two years ago, a 2D echocardiogram revealed coronary calcification, which was preventing one heart valve from closing. My doctor indicated that no surgery was immediately warranted, and the issue would be monitored. I sought some way to address the calcification, and eventually learned about Berberine possibly being able to dissolve the calcification. I started taking Berberine as a daily supplement about a year ago. Last month, a follow up ultrasound of my heart found all valves to be functioning normally, and there were no signs of coronary calcification! I am so relieved and glad that it worked. Meanwhile, my cardiologist asked for the second time, "What's Berberine?" Go figure.

Just to be safe, I'm taking some chocolate cake along with my berberine.

My dad took both Metformin and Berberine. Metformin affected his kidneys negatively and his blood markers for cholesterol and liver were not great . With Berberine his cholesterol levels went down and his liver markers improved and his kidneys too

As a hamster, I feel really left out for no reason! 🐹

It’s easy to see the correlation. Berberine lowers glucose and insulin, high blood glucose increases inflammation in arteries which causes plaque.

My A1C was 6.8 / 8 months ago. I looked for ways other than low carb /exercise which I have been doing already for years to try and help lower my A1C. Came across some good info on Berberine. So immediately found a respected brand and began taking 500 mg a day. After 8 months and no change in diet/exercise from normal routine my A1C came back at 5.1 on Friday. I was pretty hyped about that. Having any cardiovascular benefits on top would be a bonus.

My opinions are as follows... Bernerine is usually taken twice a day before meals, similar to Metformin, at doses of 400 to 500 mg. Prohealth Longevity and Swanson sell it online. Swanson berberine is about half the price of Pro-health Longevity berberine. Bernerine has a very distinctive taste, and it tastes incredibly bad so you want to get it in capsules. Consumer Labs tests a lot of supplements and Swanson is often highly rated. For some reason they don't test Prohealth Longevity as of yet.

What was the dose of berberine taken in the study. Kind of an important piece of information.

For type 2 diabetics , the use of berberine along with K2 +D3 supplements, healthy eating and exercise is very helpful at removing arterial plaque . Just make sure you don't go overboard on dosage and eat consistently healthy.

Been subscribed for 7 years or so. You're getting a lot more deserved views. Congrats!

Although French lillies sound like a great medicinal source, it's my understanding that recent studies found that metformin exacerbates neuropathy, and this effect is multiplied further by gabapentin. My first exposure to gabapentin was due to a bout with shingles that I had in December 2015. One year later, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. The medicine I was prescribed for high blood pressure was subsequently found to cause coronary calcification. So for my shingles I was given gabapentin, which likely caused neuropathy and inflammation, which caused high blood pressure. The blood pressure medication caused calcification in my circulatory system, which likely triggered my type 2 diabetes. I was prescribed a. Increasing amount of metformin for the diabetes. Within a year of metformin exposure, I began having neuropathy in my feet. I was prescribed an increasing amount of gabapentin to deal with the neuropathy. It took less than six months of metformin and gabapentin to lose nerve sensitivity in my feet. Along with the lost nerve sensations in my feet, I also began developing skin ulcers on my ankle that don't heal. For example, in the last week of December 2021, an ulcer wound formed on my right ankle, which persisted until the second week of October 2022. I was taking metformin and gabapentin during that time. The wound care doctor that was treating the wound got upset with me because the wound was not healing. He told me that he was going to have me fitted for a prosthetic foot because amputation was warranted if the wound continued in its static state of being. His point was valid, because I could have contracted gangrene at any time. Faced with the prognosis of an impending amputation, I decided to research antiseptics. More specifically, I was interested in what antiseptics would be used in the context of an amputation procedure. To my surprise, the answer was Acetone. My ankle got to the point where the agony was all consuming. I had a can of Acetone, and a machete. I had to do something. The machete was out of the question. There's just no way I would give up my foot unless it definitely had gangrene. So that left me with the Acetone. I soaked a cotton cloth with Acetone and applied it all around the wound. It hurt pretty bad, but not more than the wound. So I decided I needed to drown the wound in Acetone. I filled the wound, and experienced a burning sensation that almost rendered me unconcious. The burning actually went away pretty quick. I filled the wound again, and kept adding drops of acetone as it evaporated and absorbed. Within a minute, some bubbles came up from the bottom of the wound. I applied pressure, put bandages on, and within ten days, the wound was completely healed. Since then, any time I have a mosquito bite, or any skin abrasion, I soak a cotton ball with acetone, hold it on the wound or bite, and by the next day the wound or bite will have completely healed. I am not a doctor, so please dont take my personal testimony as medical advice. The issue relates to all of these secrets that the medical industry holds as a matter of protecting their income. Acetone should be the go to antiseptic solution in our drug stores. We shouldn't be going to the paint section of a home improvement store to get the best antiseptic for treating minor skin wounds. Acetone has a danger aspect I hadn't known until I was researching it. Acetone is the most addictive liquid to drink in the world. It took desperation for me to pour acetone on a wound, but I still have my right foot. I don't know what possesses one to drink Acetone, but apparently just one taste of it results in a fatal addiction lasting less than three months. It wasn't until this year that i was finally allowed to stop metformin, as Gardiance was available as a generic, so it was covered by insurance. I had quite the gabapentin in 2021. It was also in 2021 that the coronary calcification was found to be preventing a valve in the left atrium from closing. The condition was an inoperable time bomb. That's when I researched ways to treat coronary calcification and found out about Berberine through the video this thread links to. My heart was checked via uktrasound in August of this year. There were no signs of any coronary calcification. I have been off of metformin for four months now. Very slowly, I am noticing a return of sensation to the skin on my feet. I also notice that neuropathy ebbs and flows with sugar levels. No spikes in sugar , no spikes in pain. The spikes can go in either direction to the same effect. Therefore the focus is on learning where the balance is for our bodies, and helping our body maintain that balance. Part of doing that is not having to chronically take medications like metformin, gabapentin, and hypertension medications which may make some numbers on a report look better, but ultimately prove to be cures that create more disease. It's all about making money to feed the illustrious hospital profit machine. For those who just became unglued from what I wrote in that last sentence, I never signed an NDA. The truth is the truth, and our medical industry needs to stop their practice of keeping secrets as a means of protecting revenue. Cancer was cured in 2016. Yet last year my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer, and received traditional surgery and chemotherapy. In the same month she was diagnosed, I had a routine physical which found at least 13 skin cancer lesions spanning from the top of my head to my lower extremeties. I treated myself for the skin cancer by taking a course of Fenbendazol, one pill per day for four days, three days no pill, repeat for 90 days. The skin cancer diagnosis was made in October 2022. My first appointment with a skin cancer specialist was in the last week of January 2023. The shock and disbelief on the face of the specialist was priceless, as every lesion had been photographically documented, and none of the lesions were found active. Instead, I have white spots now where the cancer had started. My sister refused to even consider the treatment I took because she trusted her doctor. She didn't lose her spouse to cancer. I did. Because she didn't, and still won't avail herself of the cure (because Im the little brother, so what do I know,.right). Sadly this means that at some point the cancer she had will metastasize, or the chemo they administered to her will cause a new form of treatment resistant cancer. She's essentially on an assembly line for the medical industry's income, when she could have taken the course of Fenben for less than $100, and she would be cancer free. I do apologize for going on such a long tangent here, which really wasnt warranted by the simple question. But I saw the word metformin, and that got me going to where I had to spill these beans. There's so much to say about all of this, I am planning to start a youtube channel to help spread the word and hopefully make a difference in this world for all the people that are needlessly suffering, simply because they trust their doctor to do what's best for them. The doctors do what is best for their practice, so they can support themselves. Patients are just the inventory doctors use to make their money. It's really that simple. I believe that there is always a need for doctors, even if a lot of their hidden tricks of the trade are common knowledge, doctors will always have plenty of work, and they deserve a handsome reward for the differences they do make in many lives. But please, stop taking metformin and insist on a replacement med like gardiance. Cheers

I started taking berberine…made me nauseous a couple of hours later, but nausea didn’t last more than 15 minutes or so. More concerning is that it made me feel very lightheaded & faint, & that didn’t last very long either. However, those side effects were uncomfortable enough that I quit taking it.

Allicin found in garlic also lowers TMAO.

It's really cool that the youtube analytics show the percent of hamsters viewing along with all the other info.

I am my own guinea pig. I didn't think I needed statins as the doctor did. I got a CAC scan (coronary artery calcium). My score was 107. For two years I took statins and then got another CAC scan. It had gone up to 193 even with 117 cholesterol. I stopped the statins and just kept with my 50 year vegetarian diet and added K2, D3, magnesium. In two years it went down to 164 even with cholesterol around 235. But the doctors wanted to see low cholesterol. I found that lecithin would reduce cholesterol. So I took it for two more years and my cholesterol was about 199. But the arterial plaque score went UP to 293! Why? Lecithin has choline which increases your TMAO. I'm one year beyond that into only K2, D3, magnesium. I'll see if it goes down again as it had before. Seems like when I personally lower cholesterol, the plaque in my arteries increases. (I have no physical symptoms of heart problems. I think people with 1,500 and 2,000 CAC scores are getting the bypass surgery.)

Best look into Nattokinase, Lumbrokinase and Serrapeptase if certain unmentionable health challenges have you in a fit.

How are professional researchers still not able to produce robust, high quality studies? Boggles my mind.

Very informative, concise and helpful! I appreciate your style, thank you!

Great stuff as always. I've been taking Berberine for about a year and it seems to help me keep my weight down and blood sugar in check. I've had some stents in the past so if this helps in that area all the better. I would think just keeping sugar in check and weight down helps with the heart in itself.

I love those diagrams! It's so much easier than reading words that describe those actions.

Best supplements for blood clots, plaque buildup and remove calcium from the arteries and yes all true from CT scan, stress test, bloodwork and echocardiogram. Berberine, K2 & D3, nattokinase and kyolic garlic with lecithin

I started taking berberine about a year ago to help improve blood sugar management and gut health and it has definitely helped with both. My A1C dropped from 5.8 to 5.5 and my gut is functioning much better. I've never had my arterial calcium score tested, but my vascular health (BP, lipid profile, etc) are excellent so I'm not too concerned about plaque. In any case, I do recommend 500mg berberine daily for prevention, but be sure to choose a reputable brand that is 3rd party lab tested for potency and purity.

My understanding is as follows: It is mainly the soft plaque that may lead to a heart attack (when it erupts into the bloodstream causing a clot), the "hard" plaque which is illustrated in the diagram as plaque (I assume it are the calcium deposits in the artery that lightens up on the diagram and give an indication of the amount of hard plaque) is stable and does nearly not lead to a hart attack. Further my understanding is that statins have a mechanism to convert soft plaque into hard plaque. In other words, when using a statin the amount of (hard) plaque as measured via the calcium deposits may even increase and the amount of soft plaque will decrease, i.e. the risk of a heart attack will also decrease. So only measuring hard plaque does not tell us a lot about the risk of getting a heart attack...... Something to consider???

I would be curious about the relative effects of Berberine versus Metformin since they are comparable in many ways. If there was some plaque removal effect of Metformin it is surprising that such studies have not been undertaken.

Leaf Blowers at 8am on a weekend morning = rage inducing 🤣

The “TMAO causes CVD” hypothesis needs to address the fact that fish consumption. (Which is VERY high in TMAO) is associated with lower risk of CVD

Great video as always! Love the editing as well. Good job!

I take it, for blood sugar lowering. I had 8,5 a1C and now, for more than 4 months, 5,5 .....for heart, I take also krill oil, good quality fish oil, and garlic oil. I had no previous heart problems, but these measures (plus daily gym) ensurem my last cardio exams were 100% OK

Excellent video; love your humor! 💠

Just had a coronary calcium scan of the heart, and a carotid ultrasound of my neck. The calcium score for both my wife and I was zero. We eat a mostly Japanese diet. My A1c is 5.2 and my wife's is 5.3. I am 69, and the wife is 62.

I’m so grateful that I found this channel

3.2% is in some studies a margin of error. I'm not sold. If it helps other items such as A1C I'd stick to that vs. relying on it reacting to a biome component that could wildly vary in people.

Exercise, grounding, and avoiding sugar and excess carbs can prevent and even reduce plaque size. Its all about reducing and preventing inflammation

Love Berberine and Myo and D-Chiro Inositol for metabolic balance!

Thanks for the info, but I truly love your sense of humor.

New to your channel but noticing lots of supplements that have a massive positive effect on overall health. Is there a list of 'must have' supplements you'd recommend?

Thank you sir. Could you mention other effects of Berberine more deeply...including dosage etc. Cheers

Molly is a good source of reducing many illnesses. It makes me dance all night long, which is a very effective aerobic exercise. 😊

I’ve heard this once before and kinda blew it off but hearing again from you is shocking (in a good way).

Thank you.

Does the study address whether this is impacting soft plaque, hard plaque, or both?

Great info as usual. Thanks a lot. It helps. You're good, man. ❤

Look at amla studies. Carotid imaging showed a small plaque. I started taking Amla in liquid form and the next year that plaque was gone.

Thank you for posting this - fascinating and enlightening.

Interested in knowing how the plaque buildup was lessened. Was it dissolved or dislodged?

Awesome breakdown! Thanks

I had a bad reaction to berberine, vomiting for 2 days, couldn’t keep food or water down. I’ve never spewed so much in my life.

Maybe the reduction in insulin resistance plays a part as well. >>Multiple studies have demonstrated that insulin resistance is a strong predictor of atherosclerotic cardiovascular (CV) disease (ASCVD) (1-11) and have been summarized in a recent meta-analysis by Gast et al. (12).

💓 great information !

Highly interesting facts served with a dose of chuckles - thank you

Can you do one on nattokinaise ? Also, does fasting shrink the plaque ?

Best treatment for atherosclerosis: Vitamin C Why do only coronary arteries clog with cholesterol and not veins or small capillaries? If "high cholesterol" is the cause of clogging your arteries, why doesn't it clog the arteries in your finger, your nose, and the smallest capillaries in your toe? Scurvy = No vitamin C in your diet. Symptom: Your blood vessels break and you bleed to death. Think of the sailor of the past. Scurvy of the heart = Just enough vitamin C from food. Symptom: Arteries around the heart are not strong enough to resist high blood pressure. Damage is repaired with cholesterol LP(a) to prevent worse. After years of repair, your arteries become clogged. A guinea pig can also not synthesize vitamin C by themself, just like humans, and needs supplementing 50 mg vitamin C every day and weighs only 1 kilo. 1 orange = 50 mg vitamin C. Do you really think that 75 mg vitamin C for humans is enough? What is your weight? Enough vitamin C supplement of at least 3000 mg. per day gives strong and flexible arteries. Cholesterol is not needed as a repair agent. Cholesterol in your coronary arteries is broken down and burned in your liver. Source RU-vid: - Cardiovascular disease and vitamin C (Dr. Rath Foundation) - Ending the Cardiovascular Epidemic by Natural Means - Dr. Matthias Rath

Thanks so much for your balanced information.

i would like to know about the BAD side effects of berberine. all of these supplements, many of which i have stopped, have several off-setting side effects that you should list so the class can determine what risks should be acceptable when taking these supplements. and again. although i got scolded from a poster the last time i mentioned this....statins. they are NOT all the same. they work differently in the body, especially the brain. so i really wish when you discuss statins you would not group them as one. Lipophilic vs. hydrophilic...big difference, for one thing.

Whey protein powders contain about 1% lecithin, which gets converted into choline, and subsequently TMAO. Does this mean that whey protein powders are a risk for atherosclerosis and CVD???

Choline. Choline. Choline, cho-liiiiiiine. Please don't transform to TMA just because you can.

Are there any studies done combining Berberine, Nattokinase, and K2 for plaque?

Love the diagram? This was interesting. Thank you!

Dr. James Robert’s did three two hour lectures on RU-vid just on Berberine and it’s effect on human systems.

Question. I have read mix human studies where transplant patients have used berberine. Can you do a video on transplant drugs berberine? From what i can tell berberine increases the strength of the meds.

Damn i love your humor man!

Spouse had an A1C of 6.1 and started taking berberine about six weeks before next A1C and it came down to 5.9 (listed as high normal from prediabetic at this particular reference lab). Obviously we don't know if it was the berberine but it was the main change. Could it's affect on carbs be of the plaque lowering capacity?

Nice to know. I've already ben taking Berberine to help my arrhythmia (it's pretty effective)

21 subjects is practically an anecdotal report, like almost every other "study" of berberine.

I wish I could take berberine without intense gerd as a side effect. With or without/o food doesn’t seem to help much. Seems like a great natural option.

Amazing information and the video.

Choline is essential for methylation and so good for a lot of things. Why does it turn into Tmao?😮 makes no sense

Some of this suggests L-Carnitine supplementation or anything that increases TMA / TMAO might promote arteriosclerosis? Help me out here.

What about K2 mk7 vitamin ? I heard it also helps

People should always take a K2 supplement or eat fermented foods like natto if they need a statin drug. It just doesn't make sense not to.

What were the amounts of Barberine used in the studies?

Very intriguing indeed. Thanks for the cool TMAO info!

Thanks for your informative videos

If I currently supplement with magnesium and nattokinase, would it be safe for me to also take berberine? I am not on any medications. I am just concerned that all three of these supplements can thin blood.

I didn't buy the choline to TMAO to heart disease connection. Eating fish provides way more TMAO than you get from intestinal bacteria and choline, yet virtually every study looking at fish consumption shows reduced risk of heart disease. We either have to believe that fish contains something so amazing that it counteracts the TMAO or that TMAO is not as arthrogenic as those researchers suggest it to be.

I take it for a while and I love it!

Are you saying that 1% of humans are actually HAMPSTERS!?!?

How much berberine is suggested.per day ?

I took Berberine for a few months after seeing this study. Unfortunately I think I caused an irregular heartbeat

As someone who has the APOE 4,4 gene it has been my experience that choline (and there's a few different molecules) is recommended for the health of certain brain tissues which are "deteriorating". How do I attend to both my heart and brain health?

Why would anyone expect plaque to decrease in size based on mechanism of decreased TMAO formation? Assuming TMAO is a oxidant from its description and oxidize LDL is the necessary initiator of plaque formation then expected result should be a decrease in plaque growth.

I've heard that Berberine may have a positive affect on lmfao, this has yet to be proven in human trials.

Does exercise reduce the arterial plaque ?

I tried berberine, and it made me feel like my body was on fire

Statin therapy wouldn't shrink plaque size. The intent is to lower cholesterol in the blood and so to not make things any worse.

Is there any recomended places to buy this supplement that is good quality? Or combined with other helpfull sups such as cinnamon ect?

One study is a starting point Without peer review it doesn't mean much right

“Reducing or reversing heart disease in no easy feat” it actually is trough plant based diet.

Maybe it's role is more preventative than restorative.

We know that berberine does this, but how does it do it? Same question applies for every supplement/vitamin/etc. Do we ever attempt to learn this? It seems to me that we should be sinking time into the how instead of just throwing them at hamsters and humans and seeing what happens. Is it just too far beyond us at this time?

Rather than taking Berberine, would it not be easier to reduce dietary choline to reduce TMAO in circulation?

What about vitamin K2?

Interesting. But could the results be caused by the reduced blood glucose levels that Berberine causes?

"My chocolate cake consumption doubled after I learned this intriguing fact!"

My LDL went up after a year on Berberine and it gave me anxiety and palpitations, it all went away when I stopped, I don’t have any side effects of Crestor

So, you are saying that 1% of your viewers are hamsters? Us humans are doomed!😆

Great topic as usual. ☘️☘️☘️

So reducing blood sugar levels will reduce plaque? Shocking! 😊😊

Oregon grape is a wonderful natural source of beberine

OMG my dr is having fits my CAC was 70 and TC is 277. Wants me on Statins yesterday. I'm 66 my HDL is 78. Only thing concerning me is TG too high.