Rapamycin and berberine

General
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Hi everyone,

I just turned 40 and as sort of a reaction to entering my middle years (lol) decided to pull the trigger on a longevity medication protocol. It’s great Healthspan offers all the tools so readily but it is kind of pricey (though of course worth it for the potential benefits).

Leading up to this I’d been taking berberine daily for about six months. I usually take it twice a day with meals. I’ve read in various articles about how berberine has effects similar to longevity prescription medications like rapamycin (it inhibits mTOR, though I think more mildly) and acarbose/metformin (it controls blood glucose). It looks like acarbose is $30/mo on Healthspan whereas I can buy a big 120-count bottle of berberine at Costco for $35.

I guess my question is what benefits am I missing out on by going with rapamycin+berberine vs. rapamycin+acarbose (or rapa+metformin)? I’m willing to upgrade from berberine to a prescription option for glucose control but am only willing to throw so much money at this, especially if the benefits at the margins are speculative/uncertain.

Thanks!

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Great question and curious on this one myself. Berberine is how I started my longevity journey…

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Hi! It depends on what you’re looking to achieve. If it’s glucose control then I would recommend the glucose goddess who talks about glucose hacks. For example the order you eat the food can have an impact. She talks about apple cider vinegar too. The rapa, metformin and other stuff is more about cellular repair too …I would still take the Berberine as extra support regardless bc it also helps with arterial disease and inflammation. The jury is out on how necessary the rapa and others is needed -

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I recently started taking rapamycin. My cholesterol levels are historically high and it has been recommended that I take 4mg every 10 days and take berberine on days 4-10. Hope that helps!