Reach Your Metabolic Health Goals Faster by Activating Your Metabolic ‘Master Switch’

Recent data reveals that only 12% of Americans meet the criteria for metabolic health. That means nearly nine out of 10 individuals are metabolically unhealthy, or inflexible.

What about you? What’s the state of your metabolic health?

Do you have concerns about...

• Achieving and maintaining your ideal weight?
• Stubborn fat around your midsection that won’t budge?
• Rising blood sugar levels?
• Feeling tired or experiencing energy slumps and crashes?
• Cravings for carbs and sweets?
• Occasional gastrointestinal (GI) discomfort?
• Increased blood lipid levels and your heart?
• More frequent daytime or nighttime bathroom urges?
• Mood swings or cognitive issues?
• Hormonal imbalances?

While any one of these signs by itself may be concerning, if you have three or more, you likely are metabolically unhealthy.

However, don’t let a normal body weight mislead you into thinking all is well...

Even if you are not overweight, you can still be metabolically inflexible with elevated blood lipid and glucose levels. It’s estimated that 40% of normal weight individuals – and 80% of obese individuals – are metabolically unfit.

One Sure Way to Know Your Level of Metabolic Fitness

A simple – and reliable – way to find out your level of metabolic fitness is to compute your waist-to-hip ratio.

To determine your ratio, take two measurements: your waist at its smallest point and your hips at the widest part of your backside. Be sure to take two readings at each point to ensure accuracy. Then, divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement.

The chart below shows the “ideal” measurement for metabolic fitness. If this is where you fall, congratulations. Maintaining this optimal ratio into the future may help you avoid an increased risk of potentially serious metabolic issues.

If your waist-to-hip ratio is above ideal, your risk for future issues may be elevated, depending on if it is low, moderate or high.

If you are at an increased risk, I encourage you to read on to find out more about what you can do to improve your metabolic flexibility.

The Problem With Metabolic Inflexibility

Metabolic issues, such as high blood sugar levels, can affect your long-term health in multiple ways. Failing to optimize your blood sugar can lead to damaged blood vessels and nerves, and raise your risk for cardiovascular and other issues.

Even your cells can become damaged by high levels of glucose, and that can affect your immune health.

High blood sugar levels can damage proteins in your body in a process called glycation. This speeds up body aging and can affect how you look and feel. Fatigue, joint discomfort, poor circulation, vision problems, brain fog and cognition issues are all signs that glycation may be occurring in your body.

Your pancreas produces insulin, the hormone that allows your cells to use sugar to create energy. If the cells in your fat tissue, muscles and liver stop responding and become resistant to the action of insulin, they can no longer use glucose for energy. In response, your pancreas pumps out more insulin and your blood sugar levels rise.

Excess insulin in your body can affect your other hormones, too, potentially leading to a hormone imbalance and for women, negatively impact ovulation and fertility.

A hallmark sign of metabolic inflexibility is the appearance of visceral fat, or as it’s commonly called – belly fat.

The higher your waist-to-hip ratio (as we measured above), the more likely you have an accumulation of this type of fat around your abdominal organs.

And this is something you clearly don’t want... Unlike subcutaneous fat, which lies just beneath your skin, visceral fat can put your health at risk. Belly fat is what can make a normal weight individual metabolically unfit.

Visceral fat wraps around your internal organs and deposits itself deep down in the spaces of your abdominal cavity. These fat cells in your abdomen are different from other fat cells in your body – they are biologically active and produce their own hormones and other substances as if they were their own organ.

This type of fat can release potentially harmful free fatty acids. And because visceral fat is typically located near your portal vein, these fatty acids can travel to your liver and adversely affect your body’s blood lipids.

What Can Make You Metabolically Unfit?

There are many things that can affect your healthy metabolism and speed up metabolic inflexibility. Here are just a few:

1. Eating the wrong foods

   When you consume carbs, your body produces insulin, which works with cortisol – your “fight or flight” steroid – to help regulate your blood sugar levels. Eating fewer carbohydrates will reduce your insulin secretion and accumulation of visceral belly fat. I recommend time-restricted eating (ideally, eat all meals and snacks within an eight-hour window) and a pulsed ketogenic or a low-carb diet for optimal metabolic health.

2. Late bedtime and poor sleep

   A recent study shows going to sleep after midnight and disrupted sleep are two factors that affect your metabolism – specifically your blood glucose (sugar) response – the next day. Sleep-deprived study participants cleared glucose out of their bloodstream 40% slower than when well-rested.

3. Excessive stress

   Unresolved, on-going stress can cause your adrenals to secrete more cortisol, which can increase fat distribution to your abdominal area. Getting enough vitamin C may help protect your body against the effects of stress and support healthy blood sugar levels, which affects the release of cortisol.*

4. Dehydration

   Failing to drink enough clear, pure water can affect your body’s release of cortisol and alter your metabolism.

5. Loss of muscle mass

   Strength training increases metabolic rate and muscle mass, which favors calorie burning. Declining muscle strength and reduced physical activity contribute to metabolic dysfunction. The best strategy I know of to increase muscle size and preserve your metabolic rate as you age is a strategy called blood flow restriction training, or BFR.

6. Aging

   Your metabolic rate slows as you grow older, due to a loss of muscle tissue, changes to your hormones and the natural aging of your metabolic and neurological processes. This makes it easier to add extra pounds – and more difficult to lose them. Finding ways to stay active and engaging in regular exercise can help prevent your metabolic health from declining.

So what else can you do to help keep yourself metabolically fit?

Activate Your Metabolic Switch with Berberine

For more than 3,000 years, the roots, stems and bark of plants containing a yellow-colored alkaloid compound known as berberine has been used in Asia to support different aspects of health, including metabolic health.*

Originally isolated from traditional Chinese herbs, berberine from the root of Berberis aristata is the official species of Indian Ayurvedic tradition.

So how can berberine potentially benefit your metabolic health?

Inside every cell in your body is an enzyme called adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, or AMPK. Because of its positive effects on your metabolism, it’s called the “metabolic master switch.”

This “switch” tells your cells when to store fat and when to burn fat stores for energy.

When AMPK is activated, fat burning turns on in the mitochondria – your cells’ power centers – and fat accumulation stops. However, as you grow older, AMPK activation in your cells decreases, making it more difficult for you to maintain a healthy weight.

Berberine is one of the few known substances that can activate AMPK. Through its powerful action, berberine can help support your metabolic health.*

The activation of AMPK supports many different functions, including:

• Promoting normal balances of energy, lipids, glucose and insulin.*
• Helping to clear fats and sugar from your blood.*
• Increasing production of mitochondria.*
• Promoting an already normal inflammatory response.*
• Aiding your body’s response to stressors.*
• Maintaining healthy cells and cellular repair.*

And here’s something else unique about berberine... Studies show mitochondria selectively seek out and store berberine – a clue that it provides valuable benefits to cells.*

How Berberine Helps Fat Cells Burn Energy Instead of Storing it

In addition to activating AMPK, berberine inhibits what’s known as PTP1B activity. This action provides important support for healthy normal blood sugar levels by mimicking the action of insulin.*

Berberine also plays an important role in promoting brown fat activity, as it boosts fat burning in your mitochondria.

Most of the fat in your body is white fat, which stores extra energy. Brown fat, on the other hand, is loaded with mitochondria and breaks down blood sugar, or glucose, and fat molecules to create heat.

By promoting brown fat activity, berberine can help you burn energy instead of storing it, making it ideal for improving metabolism – and tackling stubborn fat deposits.*

While I don’t recommend using berberine in place of eating a healthy diet or exercising, research does show it also holds value for supporting:

• The release of free fatty acids to help prevent fat deposits.*
• Healthy lipid metabolism.*
• Insulin, leptin and adiponectin function for a healthy metabolism.*
• Blood sugar levels already in the normal range.*
• Healthy insulin sensitivity.*
• The release of nitric oxide for healthy blood flow.*
• A healthy gut microbiome.*

Introducing Berberine Phytosome Complex – Even Better Than Pure Berberine

As wonderful as berberine appears to be, it has one serious drawback...

It is nearly impossible for your body to absorb and utilize the raw extract. In fact, the absolute bioavailability of pure berberine is less than 1% due to its limited ability to cross your gut wall.

In addition to poor absorption in your gut, berberine is rapidly metabolized and converted to an ineffective ionic form, making it not very useful. So regular berberine must typically be taken in very high doses; however, it can cause unwanted GI side effects.

Biothin^® Berberine with Chromium provides berberine in a special form that overcomes these limitations.

By utilizing a phytosome delivery system specially designed according to the properties of berberine, we’ve been able to increase the amount of berberine released into the GI tract and optimize berberine’s bioavailability tenfold.

Our Berberine Phytosome Complex is a next-generation, custom formulation, offering these advantages:

• Sourced from the roots of Berberis aristata, the raw extract is more soluble in gastrointestinal (GI) fluids than pure berberine.
• Water-extracted grape seed extract, a powerful natural antioxidant with high levels of polyphenols, helps protect your intestinal mucosa against traditional berberine’s adverse GI effects, making it more suitable for long-term use.*
• Pea proteins act as carriers within the phytosome matrix to help optimize berberine bioabsorption in your intestines and plasma.
• Lecithin from sunflower acts as a natural emulsifier to aid in utilization.
• The complex is standardized to provide 28% berberine.

Here’s what’s so unique about this Berberine Phytosome Complex... It works with something you already have in your body: phospholipids.

Because it recognizes phospholipids as its own, your body allows the phytosomes to carry ingredients through your cell membranes, optimizing absorption.

One of the advantages of this special Phytosome Complex is that it uses only food-grade dietary ingredients and contains no adjuvants. Plus, it’s free of potentially harmful nanoparticles and is supported by strict scientific tests.

Berberine Phytosome Complex Helps Balance Your Metabolism, Naturally*

Best of all, the Berberine Phytosome Complex in our Biothin^® Berberine with Chromium is supported by scientific research.

Studies show it supports metabolic well-being in multiple ways:

• Helps maintain already healthy blood sugar levels through its positive effects on blood glucose and insulin*
• Supports healthy blood lipid levels*
• Promotes a healthy gut microbiome*
• Supports a healthy body composition by its effects on the redistribution of adipose tissue*
• Positively supports hormonal balance and women’s health*
• Promotes an already healthy inflammatory response*

In one study, the Berberine Phytosome Complex helped optimize insulin resistance within 30 days, achieving a remarkable -49% at the end of the study.*

Our Berberine Complex works through what’s been described as its “Cloud Effect,” which means it supports your metabolic health two ways. The first way is through the root cause with its positive effects on inflammatory response, oxidative stress and your gut microbiome.*

The second way is through its visible effects, such as your insulin response, AMPK activation, insulin receptors, and on the cellular level through your mitochondria and key metabolic enzymes.*

However, because we know you both want and need serious support for your metabolic health, we took Biothin^® Berberine with Chromium to the next level by adding another crucial ingredient to help you take control of your metabolic health...

Why Your Healthy Body Needs Chromium

Chromium, a metal, was discovered in France in the late 18th century, but it wasn’t recognized as a nutrient until the 1960s. While it’s considered an essential trace element for health, your body only requires a very small amount.

As you age, you are more likely to become deficient in chromium. A chromium deficiency is linked to poor metabolic health, and can affect the way your body uses and stores sugar and insulin.

Signs you may be chromium deficient include fatigue, dizziness and cravings for sugar and carbs.

So what can chromium potentially do for your health?

• It may help promote healthy blood sugar levels.*

  Researchers reviewed 41 studies on chromium and concluded that chromium supplementation may have a beneficial impact on fasting glucose levels in certain individuals due to its effects on insulin.*

• It may be a useful tool for managing your weight.*

  Six weeks of supplemental chromium during a rat study resulted in an increase in lean body mass and a decrease in fat mass compared to rats in the control group. Human studies show higher levels of chromium may help reduce appetite and cravings for carbohydrates.*

• It can help you absorb more nutrients from the foods you eat and, at the same time, promote healthy lipid levels.*

  Chromium is required for the metabolism of fats (including dietary cholesterol), so supplemental chromium may help you maintain balanced, healthy lipid levels.* People with cardiovascular concerns were found to have lower levels of chromium in their bodies.*

• It may help promote an already normal inflammatory response.*

  Some forms of chromium may help maintain normal blood levels of por-inflammatory cytokines and help protect against oxidative stress.*

• It may help with mood.*

  Especially if you suffer with undesirable mood changes or eating challenges, chromium supplementation may be beneficial.*

Just as with most nutrients, you have a choice of different types of chromium. However, not all of them are effective. Which one should you choose?

Which Is Better – Chromium Polynicotinate or Chromium Picolinate?

While there are many different types of chromium available, two types are commonly used in supplements:

1. Chromium picolinate

   A blend of chromium and picolinic acid, some research suggests it may have negative effects on health, and potential side effects have been reported. Commonly reported side effects include headache, sleep problems and mood and cognitive changes.

   Rarer effects include problems with balance or coordination, nausea, upper stomach discomfort, loss of appetite and jaundice, or yellowing of the skin or eyes.

2. Chromium polynicotinate

   This blend of chromium and nicotinate, a form of niacin (B3), helps with the absorption of chromium in the body.

   This form of chromium – and not chromium picolinate – was found in a rodent study to promote an already normal inflammatory response. It was also shown to help maintain normal blood levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress and lipid levels.*

Compared to some other forms of chromium, chromium polynicotinate greatly excelled in its ability to promote healthy insulin sensitivity and support healthy blood pressure levels already in the normal range.*

For that reason, we’ve chosen to add chromium polynicotinate to our Biothin^® Berberine with Chromium formula – to supply both chromium and niacin in a highly usable form.

Reach Your Metabolic Goals with Our High-Quality Ensemble

Want to reach your metabolic goals even faster?

When you combine Biothin^® Berberine with Chromium along with our Biothin^® Probiotic, you exponentially improve your chances of success.

While you generally want to limit your intake of carbohydrates to improve your metabolic health, Biothin^® Probiotic with Lactobacillus gasseri, BNR17™, allows you to take a proactive approach in managing your diet and health.

With Biothin^® Probiotic, you can, once again, enjoy your favorite pasta dish – or other healthy carbohydrate on occasion – without adding to your metabolic concerns. It actually converts and escorts carbs out of your body.*

Making it the perfect companion to Biothin^® Berberine with Chromium, Biothin^® Probiotic’s active ingredient, L. gasseri, BNR17™, has been shown in studies to help:

• Promote healthy abdominal visceral fat storage and minimal white visceral fat.*
• Support healthy normal glucose sensitivity and blood glucose levels.*
• Promote a healthy body mass index and optimal body composition.*
• Maintain healthy, normal waist and hip circumference ratios.*
• Promote healthy fatty acid production and breakdown.*
• Promote intestinal comfort, optimal digestion and regularity.*

Take Control of Your Metabolic Health Today

If you’ve had enough of failed efforts and want to get your metabolic health back on track, it’s time to take decisive action.

Biothin^® Berberine with Chromium supplies your body with two important nutrients proven to support metabolic health in a powerful way – Berberine as part of our special Berberine Phytosome Complex for ten times the bioavailability, and Chromium polynicotinate, the preferred form of chromium, an essential nutrient for the proper usage and storage of sugar and insulin.*

Turn on your ‘metabolic master switch’ today with the ultimate form of berberine. Let Biothin^® Berberine with Chromium lead you to success, and order your supply today.