metformin's main pharmacological effect is it is the most controversial drug used for diabetes as
well now recently there was a metformin recall does metformin really cause kidney damage
what are the metformin alternatives what else can i take besides metformin right metformin
was first shown to help diabetics avoid cancer in 2005 whereas early studies show that it affects a
wide range of molecular pathways that play a role in the development of almost every type of cancer
but other studies show that it works well with a wide range of other anti-cancer treatments like
your chemotherapy if you already have cancer your radiotherapy your immunotherapy etc in addition
a growing number of clinical studies show that it can help prevent cancers metformin's
main pharmacological effect is to lower high blood sugar levels as you all know that is mostly
because it improves insulin resistance in the liver which is an organ that causes a lot of sugar
production in your system and releases into your bloodstream and it also helps increase glucose
uptake in your muscles so that your blood sugar goes down and also decreases the absorption of
sugar from your intestine overall improves your insulin sensitivity it does that by activating
a cell energy sensor known as amp-activated protein kinase now that main target for this
enzyme is mtor protein which is super important for cell growth and cancer dynamics now amp
kinase stops the mtor from working which is very important in preventing cell growth and cancer
in addition glucose metabolism is in the heart of the metabolic arrangement found in cancer cells so
metformin primarily affect the glucose metabolism one of the things that metformin does is
making cd8t lymphocytes more powerful and help them recover from exhaustion cd8 t cells are one
of the most important parts of cellular immunity against tumors because these cells can attack
cancer cells metformin was able to bring back that exhausted cd8 positive t lymphocytes back to life
in the lab studies this has happened for leukemia this has happened in melanoma renal cell carcinoma
or kidney cell carcinoma non-small cell lung carcinoma gastrointestinal cancers or even breast
cancers metformin is the most commonly prescribed medication for treatment of diabetes in the world
yet it is the most controversial drug used for diabetes as well in fact up to 90 percent
of people have some sort of side effect such as diarrhea excessive gas bloating burping and so on
now rare side effects can even include chest pain and liver failure and so on now sometimes common
side effects are tolerable and sometimes they are not one of the most forgotten side effects
is b12 deficiency again metformin may prevent the absorption of b12 in the intestinal system
and ironically b12 deficiency can cause neuropathy and diabetes can cause neuropathy so you don't
want to miss b12 deficiency especially after a prolonged use of metformin now what are the
other side effects sometimes cardiovascular side effects such as palpitations chest pain can happen
flushing can happen respiratory side effects some people complain about shortness of breath
now general side effects some people will have like tiredness some people will be like weak and
they will have muscle pains you know and that they may not know what's going on because they may not
attribute those side effects to metformin but it does happen dermatological side effects such
as skin manifestations sometimes skin eruptions can happen rest can happen with with metformin
typically the most common and neurological side effects we can we can think of like a dizziness
or headaches can happen with metformin as well and since most side effects tend to disappear
in time especially the gastrointestinal side effects so the way to start this is starting
very small like 500 milligram and then another important thing is to start with your dinner
and always take it with meal if you take an empty stomach you're going to be in trouble
so take it with meal start with dinner take it for a week and see how it goes and if everything
is good you don't feel bad no side effects then maybe you can start 500 milligram twice a day
and again with meals and maybe you can start with the breakfast and dinner this time
again to summarize guys start slow start with meals start with dinner once a day only and
then advance it twice a day maybe 500 milligrams twice a day and then advance to maybe a thousand
milligrams twice a day b12 deficiency now what you do with that so basically you just have met b12
checked maybe once a year or so or every other year it's not really your b12 levels are not going
to drain very quickly because b12 is a stored vitamin so i would not uh panic about that check
your beat world if it is normal you don't have to check it for another year but b12 is very easy you
can take your b12 supplement if you're deficient if you have pernicious anemia you can take an
injection now recently there was a metformin recall now with the metformin recall i wouldn't
worry about this gmat because when there's a drug recalled they're gonna let your pharmacy know and
pharmacy will call you now metformin recall does not mean that they recalled all the metformin
in the world no that's not true some metformin brands again there's like a god knows 20 30 100
brands out there that make metformin because it's the most commonly used medication in the market
right now so uh some of the companies screwed up and if they figure that out very quickly
and they said you had to pull that drug immediately what are the metformin alternatives
what else can i take besides metformin right let's start with the simplest one the lifestyle change
right well the studies have repeatedly confirmed that you can actually achieve diabetes control
especially early stages by restricting calorie and carb intake because excess fat in the liver causes
excess supply of fat in the pancreas which leads to impaired functioning of the pancreas which is
the insulin producing hormonal gland in your body now reduced intake of calories not only decreases
the production of glucose but also contributes to weight loss along with the clearance of fat
from the liver and pancreas what is your other option well excellent release metformin can be
an alternative to standard metformin as well so most of you may never heard of that or some
of you may already be taking this but it is slightly more tolerable than regular metformin
but there is no guarantee that you will be able to tolerate extended release metformin
if you have trouble to begin with metformin as well now berberine is an alternative to
metformin as well right so berberine is a great diabetes supplement that is frequently used
to treat type 2 diabetes not by the doctors but by the people berberine is a really good compound
that can improve insulin sensitivity hundreds of different studies have been conducted to determine
its effect on type 2 diabetes and cholesterol and most of them pointing to metformin-like features
it works with a cellular mechanism called amp kinase activation which is an enzyme
that works as a partial signal switch and it helps you improve your insulin resistance
by making your own body breakdown glucose better and faster as a result of that your cholesterol
also improves and your ldl the bad cholesterol also improves what else it does it also improves
the gastrointestinal flora your bacteria in the gastrointestinal system by increasing the
good bacteria and it helps to reduce the amount of carbohydrates that are absorbed or broken down by
your body both berberine and meth vermin can cause gastrointestinal distress but berberine is less
likely to do so so is there anything better than berberine right that's the question is there such
thing yes dehydroberberine is a superior form of berberine the hydrobarbarian's chemical structure
allows it to be more readily absorbable by the body and it reduces the side effects there are
other drugs such as sulfonylurea drugs some people may say alternative to metabolism but
it's no it's not the mechanism of action is totally different than metformin and the side
effects of these medications like glyphosate glyburide or glutamateride are totally different
and worse they make your pancreatic cells make insulin all the time without taking a break
causing long-term failure of your pancreatic beta cells you can still have even abdominal pain and
diarrhea but the worst problems associated with sulfonylurea class is that it is low blood sugar
and weight gain well paya guiltazone is one pioglethazon is licensed fda approved for a
long time it reduces the insulin resistance in the liver muscle and fat tissue as well and as a
result you know your body will be able to uptake the glucose a lot easier so it is in a sense we
call it an insulin sensitizer in a way similar to metformin although not exactly it does not have
the gastrointestinal side effects of metformin but it does cause weight gain water retention
or edema you can call it and a possible worsening of heart failure if you are taking that medication
with insulin and a possible increased risk of bone fractures have been reported and a slight
but questionable risk of bladder cancer does metformin really cause kidney damage
it does not directly cause kidney damage but what happens when you have a kidney failure because in
excessive doses if metformin is not clear by your body there is something called lactic acidosis
which can actually kill you now thankfully it is very very rare but i'm okay with stopping
or reducing metformin as the kidney function goes down just to protect you from the possible lactic
acidosis that happens with metformin but again you know we work with the patients you know if
you don't feel comfortable it is okay to stop it it's not like the only medication in the market
there are a lot of ways to do it and if you are dedicated to change your lifestyle and do some
exercise and dieting and change your lifestyle entirely that is probably the best thing you can
do it may or may not be enough in every case every case is different but i think you have options as
long as you know your options and you're educated and that's why you're watching this channel
i think you have the odds to your favor guys make sure you like this video share and give a thumbs
up and we'll see in the next one metformin is an old drug that has been repurposed nowadays
people who don't trust metformin manufacturers due to frequent recalls etc turn into natural
alternatives that does pretty much the same thing that the metformin does such as berberine
or the more absorbable form of berberine which is dehydroberberine now it is good to see that
overall results from clinical trials and studies have shown that both metformin and its natural
cousins dehydrobarbarian etc protect against a wide range of different types of cancer that's a
new hope great hope as of 2022 there are more than 300 clinical trials showing or trying to prove
anti-cancer benefits of these agents and most have been successful so make sure you check out our
website for super berberine and make sure you guys stay free happy and healthy i'll see you in the
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