If you could extend your healthy lifespan by up to 12 years by taking an herbal supplement, you’d want to know about it — according to Dr. Terry Shintani, MD, board-certified in preventive medicine.
The research
In an eye-opening study, researchers found that this ancient herbal remedy extended lifespan and health span across various species. Mice treated with the herbal extract lived about 16.4% longer than expected — a figure that, translated into human years, would represent a life extension of over 12 years.
A long history of use
This supplement has been used in Chinese, Ayurvedic, and Native American medicine for millennia. The supplement is berberine, which comes from barberry and goldenseal.
What the research shows so far
Whether berberine will have the same lifespan-extending effect in humans is still under active research. That said, berberine has already shown real promise in other areas:
- Blood sugar control: Several human trials have found berberine comparably effective to metformin for lowering blood glucose, though the trials to date have been of mixed quality, and more rigorous studies are still needed.
- Cholesterol: Berberine has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides while raising HDL, with one study showing effects comparable to or better than the cholesterol drug ezetimibe.
- Cell health: Early research — mostly in cell and animal studies — suggests berberine may support healthy cell function and has shown some protective effects in laboratory models, though this is preliminary and not yet established in human cancer outcomes.
Dosage and precautions
A typical dosage for blood sugar support is 500mg, one to three times per day — but check with your doctor before using it, and it should not be used during pregnancy.
For more tips on longevity, get Dr. Shintani’s free eBook, Health Secrets, at peacediet.org.
Sources: Berberine and mouse lifespan extension, PMC6974710; Berberine research overview — FoundMyFitness; NLM Native Voices