Chinen Salt Can Help Handle Diabetes?
Chinen salt is an herbal supplement known for its use in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to treat type 2 diabetes.
Although it contains salts, it’s utilized as a supplement and not as a table or domestic salt used in cooking.
Chinen salt allegedly can help treat diabetes and has been suggested as an adequate replacement for diabetes meds. Nevertheless, research on its benefits is rather limited.
This article gives an overview of Chinen salt and its alleged benefits for those with diabetes.
What is Chinen salt?
Chinen salt consists of berberine chloride, a salt compound found in plants and herbs used in TCM and other traditional medicine forms (1, 2Trusted Source).
It’s usually derived from a plant known as Chinese goldthread (Coptis Chinensis).
Certain people misinform Chinen salt to a cooking salt containing the flavor booster monosodium glutamate (MSG). Chinen salt as well gets mistaken for pinkish Himalayan salt.
Nevertheless, Chinen salt is not salt in the dietary sense. It’s used as a supplement — not ment to be used in cooking.
Medicinal preparations
Medicinal blends with berberine derived from Chinese goldthreads, such as Chinen salt, are commonly used in TCM to remove toxins and treat diabetes (2Trusted Source).
On the other hand, in the United States, these blends are usually sold under different names than Chinen salt, such as Chinese Coptis, Coptidis Rhizoma, Coptis Chinensis, also Chinese goldthread.
Others may also be marked as Huang Lian, the Chinese vocabulary for this plant.
These additives are on the market available as pills, powders, and liquid extracts.
Chinen salt is seldom used on products originating from Chinese goldthread; this can confuse its use.
How Chinen salt impacts diabetes
Berberine chloride, the central active compound of Chinen salt, is a type of salt belonging to a set of chemical compounds known as alkaloids (1).
Berberine can reduce blood sugar levels in both animals and people with type 2 diabetes (3Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source).
Berberine originates from a wide variety of plants. Notably, research on Chinese goldthread shows that it exerts anti-diabetes effects similar to berberine (5Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source, 7Trusted Source).
The proper method by which berberine operates isn’t fully known.
However, this compound could level up insulin secretion — a hormone that lowers blood sugar values and reduces insulin resistance.
It may reduce glucose absorption and modulate gut bacteria that play a role in blood sugar regulation (7Trusted Source, 8Trusted Source).
A meta-analysis of 14 arbitrary studies involving people with type 2 diabetes revealed that once combined with lifestyle changes, berberine may significantly lower blood sugar levels compared with placebo (9Trusted Source).
The study also revealed that berberine’s effectiveness was similar to metformin and other diabetes medications (9Trusted Source).
On the other hand, these results should be interpreted with a grain of salt.
Most relevant research studies are of poor quality and use relatively small sample sizes.
More extensive research involving a large-scale, randomized controlled trial on Chinese goldthread’s effectiveness is needed (6Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source).
Adverse effects and safety
Supplements having berberine derived from Chinese goldthread seem to be generally safe and well-tolerated by type 2 diabetes.
Specific research studies propose that dosages of up to 3 grams daily are safe. However, there’s no standard dosage given.
Most Coptis Chinensis and berberine additives suggest having 1 gram daily.
Mostly, you shouldn’t exceed the recommended dosage on the label (7Trusted Source).
Possible adverse effects of berberine include stomach pain, nausea, and diarrhea (9Trusted Source).
Non-sufficient information is available on the long-use safety of Chinen salt and similar additives. Hence, babies, children, and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should stay away from berberine-containing supplements.
If you have a medical issue or are on medications, consult your doctor before using Chinen salt, berberine, or any other additives derived from Chinese goldthread.
This guide applies to people taking diabetes meds, as berberine could lower blood sugar values.
Finally, keep in mind that herbal additives are not heavily Controlled in the U.S.
Ensure inspecting the ingredient label and checking for brands tested for quality by a third party, such as NSF International or United States Pharmacopeia (USP).
Final Word
Chinen salt is one of the multiple names for additives having Chinese goldthread (Coptis Chinensis), a plant with an anti-diabetes impact.
Human and animal study has shown that berberine, the active compound in Chinen salt, may help lower blood sugar levels and ward against type 2 diabetes adverse complications.
Nevertheless, more deep research is required. Call your healthcare provider before trying these supplements.
