Mai Wei Di Huang Wan does help lower BG and I used it consistently for a while, but when I accidentally discovered the Berberine, I switched as it is more effective.

Actually, I came to an awareness last night after writing the last post in this thread. I've only been taking two doses a day and taking three a day is also safe. Being I've lost a little of my very low control since returning from China due to different eating and less walking, I'm going to start three doses today and will record my BG results in my journal.

Also, I've got complete blood work scheduled for 02/22, and I'll post my test results in my journal also...

reference site on Berberine Hydrochloride:

http://www.itmonline.org/arts/berberine.htm

Highlights from the site:

It has been used in China for treating gastrointestinal diseases with reported success; applications have included acute gastroenteritis, cholera, and bacillary dysentery. So, the first applications of isolated berberine were for treatment of these conditions.

Soon after berberine was prepared as an isolated agent for clinical use, it was noted that berberine had other potential benefits; for example, it appeared to reduce high blood pressure at doses of about 1 gram per day (3). The hypotensive action of berberine has been confirmed in several pharmacology experiments, but follow-up clinical trials have been lacking. Still, this effect of berberine fortunately led to further testing of the compound for patients with cardiovascular disease risk factors, and evidence developed to demonstrate a lowering of cholesterol (and triglycerides) and of blood sugar. These new findings are the main focus of this brief report.

I've been taking 3 doses of berberine hydrochloride, instead of 2 doses, for about 4 days now. My low's and high's are getting lower. My spikes at one hour after meals are not going over the mid 130s', sometimes staying in the low 100s'. I'm seeing some improvement by taking the extra dose, now if I could only start consistently walking again...

Hi Cajunboy,

Hoping to find out where you'd recommend buying the Berberine Hydrochloride from. Looked around for it last night but only found the berberine sulfate and I'm allergic to sulfa. So I'm just posting today so that I can receive alerts on this thread.

Thanks, Glennette

Glennette,

Necessity is the mother of invention. I am wholeheartedly looking for a wholesale supplier in China that I can work with to import pure Berberine Hydrochloride. I hope this will prove successful in the coming weeks, or perhaps a month or two.

I have tried very hard to find a source here in the USA that I could simply provide contact information in this thread, but it is proving to be very difficult to find. So, I am contacting Chinese export companies and setting up business appointments for when I return to China next month and hopefully there will be some positive outcome from all of my efforts.....

I'll keep you posted as events unfold...

Thanks, Cajunboy!!! Hope you can pull this off as I've read a lot of good things about it during my search for it.

My Doctor allowed me to try Metformin (lowest dose once a day) last month but made me promiss that I'd stop it the moment I retained any water or showed any other symtoms of lactic acidosis. I only lasted 4 days on it before I put 2.6 Ibs in less than a day and had to quit using it . The Berberine Hydrochloride sounds like it might actually be good for CHF so I can't wait to try it.

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for your the sucess of your venture.
Glennette

I found a company that manufactures pure Berberine Hydrochloride and they told me they are one of the leading herbal extractors in China and they don't have any US contracts to sell Berberine Hydrochloride. I made an appointment to visit their production plant while I'm in China. I don't know what that will lead to, but we'll see. They seemed very informative and open. I sent the information package they provided me to my fiancee (she's a Chinese Herbal Medicine Doctor) for her to take a look at it. They provided the information in English and Chinese, but my fiancee is way more capable of understanding the technical stuff and they had plenty of it. They apparently work with Hospitals and Universities and have many scientific studies for their various products, including the one in which I would like to obtain from them... I'll keep poking into it and see where it leads...

I am a herbalist and have my own organic herb company; I import organic and wildcrafted herbs from all over the world - except China; the herbs were increasingly substandard and adulterated. Although I would love to offer the herb you mention - and try it myself, I am just too scared to try it.

My customers will no longer purchase herbs origininating in china either, so I have had to remove the Chinese herbs from my site.

This is just a shame. The responsible Chinese companies are being tarred with the same brush, but China is not regulating or inspecting what it exports, so I agree with Jenny - it is not safe to indiscrimately use any herb from that country.

Such a loss.

Thanks for posting this link. I would LOVE to try this, but am really wary of any herb or herbal product coming from China (see my other post). My customers will no longer buy anything from that country, so it isn't just me.

How could people wanting to try this be assured of a quality, pure, inspected and regulated product? Is there a brand name that is know to be safe?

I'm scared to eat beef which originates in California...

I'm scared to listen to the AMA and ADA who suggest we eat a low fat diet and take medicines that don't cure a thing, but rather cause a need to take another drug and another drug till my health is completely spiralled out of control.

In all due respect to the opinions of others who share a view of it not being safe to use herbs out of China, I think there is an over-reaction and people do have a right feel that way, I suppose.

I am from the USA, a country that moves its business to other countries to make the almighty dollar. We should have everything that comes out of China in the herbal business right here in our own back yard. The climate of the entire country of China is equal to the climate in the entire country of the USA and most all herbs can be grown here, but it isn't grown here, because of profit margins being so much greater if acquired in China.

Quality control is a problem in all countries. When we hear of a product being recalled here in the USA, do we stop selling all products from the USA that are sold in our places of business, I don't think so.

Am I being realistic? Check out this sight:

http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html

Product recalls are taking place on an almost daily basis here in the USA, but aren't we still buying products made in the USA...?

I believe that we take risks with everything we ingest, but a reasonable thinking person weighs the risk and acts on reasonableness. Also, I get complete blood work every 90 days and my liver and kidney functions are included in these tests. I act prudently and I don't share in those views that we can't trust products out of China.

I am going to China within the next month and I'm going to visit herbal factories with my fiancee. I will be focusing on viewing first hand "quality control".

Personally, I've read threads where someone posts anti-low carb messages and people chime in for that person to take their comments elsewhere. I started this thread for a Chinese Herbal medicine and I'm getting chimed with anti-herbal, so should I chime in and say take your comments elsewhere, as this thread is for those who want to use Chinese herbs. No, I won't do that, because as much as my opinion differs from others, I think it is good to hear both sides of things, as long as we're not insulting each other.

All products should be taken with caution, no matter where they are from. If it goes in your mouth, there is a chance it is not good for you, being it's an apple, a steak, a vitamin, and herb, a medicine. Use your common sense and don't panic, we're all going to die anyway....

Ron

and I like hearing about your experiments with herbals

Approximately 80 percent of the components of prescription drugs
are imported into the USA.Approximately 40 percent of the prescription
pills are imported into USA.Each USA prescription drug manufacturing company
has their QC audited by the FDA once or twice per year.Safety??
Eddie

<<<<I am going to China within the next month and I'm going to visit herbal factories with my fiancee. I will be focusing on viewing first hand "quality control". >>>

I wish this were possible for me - this is, of course, the optimum way to select any herbal or prescription product.

It would be wonderful if you could find a trustworthy source and then perhaps distrubute the product in North America, since it might benefit millions of us.

Have you considered this?

Hello, again Ron,

I am just wondering if you know of a reliable source for this in North America. As for my not buying from China, this was client-driven. I had no idea there was such a huge problem, real or perceived, so they must be freaking out for some reason. Maybe it was the pet-food scandal of last year.

As for me, I drink green and oolong tea from China every day.

If this substance has such a great benefit, it would be great to have a source in North America; would you let us know if you know oif one?

http://www.daily-diabetic.com/50226..._2_diabetes.php

http://www.straightfromthedoc.com/5...ic_evidence.php