Push the Plate, Not Your Limits: Surviving the Holidays Without Regret

Tips to help you navigate the holiday season with a little help from a natural supplement, proven to help with those blood sugar spikes.

Avoid making stretchy pants your best friend this holiday season. With careful planning and implementation, you will be able to breeze through the coming festivities without regret.

Strategic preplanning- or the art of not rolling home

Before you even hit the dinner table, start your day out right. By doing so, your cravings will be at bay, and you will be able to choose wisely.

This doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your dessert. We all have our favorite holiday dishes. For some, it’s green bean casserole, for others it’s stuffing. And let’s not forget desserts. Cookies, pies, and cakes abound in excess during this time of year.

It starts with breakfast

• Eat a protein-rich breakfast. Starting the day with good-quality protein sets you up for success later in the day. You won’t experience the blood sugar spikes followed by the sugar crash, resulting in cravings and overeating. Aim for eggs and skip the toast. Avoid fruit juices. Without the fiber, fruit juice is notorious for raising blood sugar followed by a sugar crash.
• Stay hydrated throughout the day. Keep iced water with a slice of lemon with you, sipping on it throughout the day. Our thirst signals often get confused with hunger.
• Take a brisk morning walk to boost your metabolism. Great for the mind and body.

During the meal, use

   Tactical Table Maneuvers

• Use smaller plates (psychology works!)
• Fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables first. Then protein, then the simple carbs-breads, etc. Eat your meal in that order. First, veggies, protein, then bread- or skip the carbs altogether and allow yourself a small slice of pie or favorite dessert.

Mindful Mouthfuls

• Savor each bite. Make eating an experience, not a destination.
• Put your fork down between bites. By doing so, you slow down eating and allow hunger pangs to subside.
• Engage in conversation (you can't eat while telling stories!)

Enter Berberine: Your Holiday Helper

Oregon grape, a natural source of Berberine

Nature's answer to blood sugar control

What is Berberine?

Berberine is a natural compound found in several plants, including barberry, goldenseal, and Oregon grape. It's been used in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for centuries, but modern science is now backing up its benefits.

Berberine vs. Metformin

Berberine is equated with metformin for blood sugar control. They both lower blood sugar, but the similarity stops there.

Metformin is by prescription only, Berberine is over the counter.

Metformin:

• Can cause more significant digestive issues.
• It can lead to vitamin B12 deficiency. Reduced uptake of vitamin B12 within the small intestine by interfering with intrinsic factors. Intrinsic factor helps the body absorb B12. (1)
• Short-term use of metformin benefits liver function. However, patients with type 2 diabetes that took metformin long-term were at a high risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. (2)

Berberine:

• Helps cells respond better to insulin, leading to better glycemic control.(3)
• Activates an important enzyme called AMPK, which regulates metabolism. (4)
• Can aid in weight loss when taken consistently. Research points to the most successful weight loss occurs about 6 to 8 weeks of consistent, daily use. (5)
• Berberine may help protect the gut barrier from inflammation and kill harmful gut bacteria. (6)
• Reduces glucose production in the liver, in turn regulating glucose levels. (7)
• Reduces total cholesterol, and triglycerides and increases HDL (the good cholesterol). (8)

Timing is Everything

• Take Berberine 30 minutes before a meal

   You’ve got both strategy and science on your side

By combining these strategies with Berberine’s natural benefits, you can enjoy the holiday season without the usual aftermath of regret and discomfort. Your waistline will thank you, and you'll still get to enjoy all those delicious holiday favorites – just more mindfully and with better metabolic support.

Check out our Signature Series Peak Metabolism - With Berberine- and more!

Contains natural herbs and ingredients that work synergistically to help with weight management.

Citations

1. Huang KH, Lee CH, Cheng YD, Gau SY, Tsai TH, Chung NJ, Lee CY. Correlation between long-term use of metformin and incidence of NAFLD among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A real-world cohort study. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022 Nov 30;13:1027484. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2022.1027484. PMID: 36531446; PMCID: PMC9748475.

2. Aroda, V. R., Edelstein, S. L., Goldberg, R. B., Knowler, W. C., Marcovina, S. M., Orchard, T. J., ... & Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. (2016). Long-term metformin use and vitamin B12 deficiency in the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 101(4), 1754-1761. https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2015-3754

3. Kong, W. J., Zhang, H., Song, D. Q., Xue, R., Zhao, W., Wei, J., ... & Jiang, J. D. (2009). Berberine reduces insulin resistance through protein kinase C–dependent up-regulation of insulin receptor expression. Metabolism, 58(1), 109-119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metabol.2008.08.013

4. Jin Y, Liu S, Ma Q, Xiao D, Chen L. Berberine enhances the AMPK activation and autophagy and mitigates high glucose-induced apoptosis of mouse podocytes. Eur J Pharmacol. 2017 Jan 5;794:106-114. doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2016.11.037. Epub 2016 Nov 22. PMID: 27887947.
5. Firouzi S, Malekahmadi M, Ghayour-Mobarhan M, Ferns G, Rahimi HR. Barberry in the treatment of obesity and metabolic syndrome: possible mechanisms of action. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2018 Nov 8;11:699-705. doi: 10.2147/DMSO.S181572. PMID: 30519065; PMCID: PMC6233907.

6. Wang H, Zhang H, Gao Z, Zhang Q, Gu C. The mechanism of berberine alleviating metabolic disorder based on gut microbiome. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2022 Aug 25;12:854885. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.854885. PMID: 36093200; PMCID: PMC9452888.

7. Li, A., Liu, Q., Li, Q., Liu, B., Yang, Y., & Zhang, N. (2018). Berberine reduces pyruvate-driven hepatic glucose production by limiting mitochondrial import of pyruvate through mitochondrial pyruvate carrier 1. EBioMedicine, 34, 112-125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2018.07.039

8. Koperska A, Wesołek A, Moszak M, Szulińska M. Berberine in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease-A Review. Nutrients. 2022 Aug 23;14(17):3459. doi: 10.3390/nu14173459. PMID: 36079717; PMCID: PMC9459907.
   
   

Written By Brooke Lounsbury