How to Get Rid of Hypertension Headaches with Berberine
If you suffer from headaches, you know how one moment you can feel okay, and the next you feel fogginess, pain, and pressure. Headaches can significantly disrupt your life, affecting your ability to work, parent, and engage with your community.
Headaches have many root causes, from stress to food sensitivities. Chances are, if you have headaches, you have more than one trigger.
An often-overlooked contributor to headaches is hypertension, or high blood pressure.
“An often-overlooked contributor to headaches is hypertension, or high blood pressure.”
Today’s article will look at the science of hypertension headaches and how berberine, a powerful metabolic supplement, can be supportive. Keep reading to learn more about:
- What are hypertension headaches?
- What is berberine?
- The berberine – blood pressure connection
- How to get rid of hypertension headaches
What are Hypertension Headaches?
Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a sign of metabolic dysfunction and a risk factor for cardiometabolic diseases, including heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Metabolic syndrome is a collection of related metabolic symptoms, including elevated blood pressure, blood sugar levels, high cholesterol, obesity, overall waist circumference, blood sugar, and imbalanced lipids.
Hypertension, especially in the early stages, often has no symptoms. As blood pressure increases, some people experience flushing, dizziness, shortness of breath, and headaches. This collection of symptoms is a hypertensive crisis or hypertensive emergency, where blood pressure (including pressure in the brain) becomes dangerously high, causing headache pain. (Source 1, 2)
Headaches in people with hypertension can also result from other contributors, such as:
- Elevated blood sugar/imbalanced blood sugar
- Dietary triggers
- Stress
- Tech neck (add link to tech neck article) and neck and shoulder tension
- Hormonal changes
What is Berberine?
Berberine is an alkaloid extract from plants, including Oregon grape root and barberry. These herbs have been used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine to treat conditions ranging from inflammatory skin diseases and digestive disorders to wound healing and fever reduction. (Source 3)
Modern research points to berberine for metabolic benefits, such as decreasing inflammation, reducing insulin resistance, and improving lipid balance. (Source 4)
Berberine and Hypertension
Hypertension is often part of the metabolic dysfunction seen with metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, and diabetes. So, it makes sense that an intervention that supports metabolic health – berberine – also helps support healthy blood pressure.
Research supports the benefits of berberine for blood pressure. Animal studies show that berberine supplementation lowered blood pressure in mice by relaxing the endothelium (lining of blood vessels) and improving vascular function. (Source 5)
“Research supports the benefits of berberine for blood pressure.”
In a systematic review of the effects of berberine on cardiovascular risk factors, berberine supplementation improved systolic blood pressure compared to placebo while also positively affecting insulin, triglyceride, and cholesterol levels and weight. (Source 6)
Another review of 27 studies looking at the use of berberine in people with type 2 diabetes suggests berberine helps lower blood pressure. The study found benefits of using berberine and lifestyle interventions compared to only lifestyle changes or a placebo. It also saw the combination of berberine with blood pressure medications was more beneficial than only medication. Additionally, no adverse reactions were reported across the studies. (Source 7)
Please discuss berberine with your healthcare provider before combining it with any medication.
How to Get Rid of Hypertension Headaches
The key to preventing and treating headaches is to understand the root causes and triggers. Elevated blood pressure may contribute to headache pain, especially during a hypertensive crisis.
Berberine supplements may help reduce blood pressure to prevent hypertensive crises and headaches, especially when combined with other supportive measures, including personalized nutrition, exercise, and stress management.
“Berberine supplements may help reduce blood pressure to prevent hypertensive crises and headaches, especially when combined with other supportive measures, including personalized nutrition, exercise, and stress management.”
Berberine supplements are widely available, yet because of their poor water solubility, berberine can be poorly absorbed and cause gastrointestinal side effects. (Source 8)
Core Med Science Liposomal Berberine offers an alternative to standard supplements by improving absorption with a liposomal delivery system. Essentially, the berberine becomes encapsulated in a phospholipid layer mimicking the body's cells. This formulation allows for improved absorption, better tolerance, and significant effects from lower dosages.
“This formulation allows for improved absorption, better tolerance, and significant effects from lower dosages.”
Each serving of Core Med Science Liposomal Berberine contains 300 mg of berberine and 100 mg of alpha-lipoic acid to support healthy blood pressure and metabolic health.
If you experience headaches and have high blood pressure, support the root cause with a functional medicine approach and targeted, science-backed supplements like berberine. Also reach out to a certified nutritionist and other healthcare professionals to see what your individual needs are and how a proper diet and supplements may help.
References:
- https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/about.htm
- Alley WD, Schick MA. Hypertensive Emergency. [Updated 2023 Jul 24]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470371/
- Neag MA, Mocan A, Echeverría J, et al. Berberine: Botanical Occurrence, Traditional Uses, Extraction Methods, and Relevance in Cardiovascular, Metabolic, Hepatic, and Renal Disorders. Front Pharmacol. 2018;9:557. Published 2018 Aug 21. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6111450/
- Guo J, Chen H, Zhang X, et al. The Effect of Berberine on Metabolic Profiles in Type 2 Diabetic Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2021;2021:2074610. Published 2021 Dec 15. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8696197/
- Tan N, Zhang Y, Zhang Y, et al. Berberine ameliorates vascular dysfunction by a global modulation of lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles in hypertensive mouse aortae. PLoS One. 2021;16(2):e0247621. Published 2021 Feb 23. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7901729/
- Zamani M, Zarei M, Nikbaf-Shandiz M, Hosseini S, Shiraseb F, Asbaghi O. The effects of berberine supplementation on cardiovascular risk factors in adults: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis. Front Nutr. 2022;9:1013055. Published 2022 Oct 14. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9614282/
- Lan, J., Zhao, Y., Dong, F., Yan, Z., Zheng, W., Fan, J., & Sun, G. (2015). Meta-analysis of the effect and safety of berberine in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus, hyperlipemia and hypertension. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 161, 69–81. Full text: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S037887411400871X
- Duong TT, Isomäki A, Paaver U, et al. Nanoformulation and Evaluation of Oral Berberine-Loaded Liposomes. Molecules. 2021;26(9):2591. Published 2021 Apr 29. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8125214/