b'Diabetes ControlHEALTH BITS & PIECES An independent meta-analysis conducted By Dan Kenner, Ph.D., LAc by researchers at Iranian and British universi-Neither Health Freedom News nor I are suggestingties found that supplementing with berberine that any such medical care or treatmentbe conducted without competent from barberry, can decrease insulin levels. Ber-medical advice and supervision.For Exercise LoversThe researchers identified two types of Researchers at the University of Pennsyl- bacteria,Eubacterium rectale and Copro-vania recently found that the motivation tococcus eutactus, which produce compounds exercise may be associated with gut health.called fatty acid amides (FAAs) that inter-They wanted to find out why some labact with endocannabinoid receptors in the mice seemed to love their exercise wheel,gut.The endocannabinoid receptors signal while others mostly ignored it.Geneticsthe brain to cut back its production of mono-seemed to have little to do with it, but dif- amine oxidase, the compound that breaks ferences in gut bacteria appeared to matterdown dopamine. It is speculated that more more. When the researchers dosed micedopamine could build up after a long run, with antibiotics to kill their gut flora, themaking the mice feel good, so that they were mice were only able to run half the distancemotivated to use the exercise wheel again.as before. When they were off the antibi- Dohnalov L, Lundgren P, Carty J,et al.,A microbi-otics, they regained their previous perfor- ome-dependent gutbrain pathway regulates motivation for exercise,Nature,2022, 612: 739-747, at https://doi.mance levels. org/10.1038/s41586-022-05525-z.berine is also found in goldenseal, Oregon grape, and treeturmeric. Moreover, ber-Swedens PandemicSwedensCOVIDInfectionsamongberine is in the Chinese herb coptis root In the U.S. during the COVID-19 pan- highest in Europe, with no sign of de- (huang lian), which has been used in demic, the Centers for Disease Controlcrease. Swedens approach emphasizedTraditional Chinese Medicine for a long and Prevention (CDC) and the Nationalthe development of natural (post-infec- timeasananti-inflammatoryagent. Institutes of Health (NIH) pushed for lock- tion) immunity in an open society. Loweringinsulinisthefirstimportant downs. All opposition to this medical andBut, over time, Swedens approach hasstep to preventing type 2 diabetes. Seven public health establishment narrative wasbeen vindicated. As James Billot reportedstudies with 452 subjects were included condemned and censored. Public debatefor UnHerd in March 2023, Swedens ex- in the review. The analysis showed that and freedom of speech were suspended.cess mortality was the lowest out of all EUbarberrysignificantlyreducesinsulin Businesses, gyms, restaurants, and night- nations, including the other Nordic coun- levels. clubs shut down. Schools shifted fromtries. While this claim is disputed, numer- Inanothermeta-analysisconduct-in-person to remote learning, which dis- ous studies have shown Swedens excessedin2012,fourresearchersfromthe rupted students lives and thwarted bothdeath rate to be among the lowest in Eu- HuazhongUniversityofScienceand their learning and social development. rope. Figures by theWorld Health Orga- TechnologyinWuhan,Chinareviewed In contrast, public health officials innization (WHO),for example, show thatdata from 14 randomized trials that in-Sweden refused strict lockdowns, kept thein 2020 and 2021, the country had an av- cluded1,068subjects.Unlikeoraldia-countrys businesses and restaurants open,erage excess death rate of 56 per 100,000,betesmedicationslikemetformin,ber-and had some of the lowest mask usagecompared to 109 in the UK, 111 in Spain,berinehadsomeeffectivenessagainst anywhere. Children under 16 continued116 in Germany, and 133 in Italy. The datadyslipidemia,theimbalanceofblood to attend school in person. According to ashow that the U.S. might have been betterlipids.Whencombinedwithlifestyle 2021 research letter published in TheNewoff with a light touch as well and thatchanges,berberineprovedmoreeffec-England Journal of Medicine, there wasntpublic health officials everywhere shouldtive in controlling blood sugar than met-a single COVID-19 death among Swedishadopt this kind of thinking in response toformin or similar drugs.children. future pandemics.Firouzi S, Malekahmadi M, Ghayour-Mobarhan M, et al., Swedens light touch, as it was re- Staff, What Sweden Got Right About COVID, ProjectBarberry in the treatment of obesity and metabolic syn-ferred to by scientists and policy makers,Censored, April 14, 2023, at https://www.projectcensored. drome: possible mechanisms of action, Diabetes, Metabolic org/what-sweden-got-right/; Ludvigsson J, Engerstrm L,Syndrome and Obesity, 2018, 11: 699-705, at https://www.was at first deemed a disaster by mostNordenhll C, et al., Open Schools, COVID-19, andtandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2147/DMSO.S181572;GuoJ, Chen H, Zhang X, et al., The Effect of Berberine on Met-establishmentnewsoutletsSwedenChild and Teacher Morbidity in Sweden, The New En- abolic Profiles in Type 2 Diabetic Patients: A Systematic Re-HasBecometheWorldsCautionarygland Journal of Medicine,18 Feb 2021, 384: 669-671, atview and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials, https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2026670. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, 2021, Article ID: Tale,notedThe New York Times and2074610, at https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/2074610.24 H ealtHF reedomN ews /s ummer2023'