High-raffinose foods may not need acarbose (they are NATURALLY slow-digesting foods)
Look at my recent thread
that said, raffinose is never > 30 % of the total carbs of any food, so take acarbose for the other stuffz
Can anyone repeat the optimal dosing protocol? How much?.How often? Thanks. Thinking about buying some.
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It comes in three dosings: 25mg, 50mg and 100mg. You take the medication with the first bite of the meal (generally a higher starch meal, but there is debate on this).
You want to chew the tablet, not just swallow it, for best results. I found 50mg and 100mg to be effective, I’d skip the 25mg tablet size.
Some people take 200mg (as Bryon Johnson does), and I’ve heard some people take 300mg. Monitor your blood glucose levels after eating (ideally with a CGM, but finger prick method also fine) to see how your body reacts to the acarbose.
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Is there any evidence that acarbose lowers baseline (e.g. fasting) blood glucose? Or only helpful for lower postprandial spikes / AUC?
I know it lowers HbA1c in some trials, but that could be entirely due to lowering PPBG, not necessarily baseline.
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I’ve read through this entire thread (134 posts as of this writing) and just wanted to make sure I understand this (likely simple) concept: acarbose seems only useful if someone eat carbs? or are there other mechanisms? — I personally have been “keto” for 1.75 years and lost significant weight, all my blood/health metrics have improved and are mostly great, have gained muscle, do both weights and 100 flights of stairs most days, and feel f@&$%#Ing terrific and youthful energy (I’m 52) so I’m unlikely to change near term. (By “keto” I mean very low carb but with lots of vegetables and healthy meats and other protein, plus 18-hour fasts 1.5 meal a day “intermittent fasting”, and every six weeks or so I do a four-day water/coffee/tea fasts.) i studied it for six months to psyche myself up to change this in my lifestyle forever, and needed to convince my team of doctors to allow me to do it as I have one kidney (eGFR 89 a few weeks ago so I think the one is working pretty damn well at 52). I understand “keto”/low-carb doesn’t have the clinical trials for longevity behind it, and some of the top researchers suggest low protein content and also plant protein, but I’d rather have a solid layer of lean muscle everywhere so as I age beyond my 50s I have freedom of movement and energy, and it is very anti-cancer.
I don’t use supplements generally but added GlyNAC recently (3g glycine in my morning coffee with 50g NACET), and take 4000 units of vitamin D, although from a recent research paper showing no difference between minoxidil and rosemary I’ve just started trying a rosemary water spray for the beginnings of male pattern baldness over six months — I’ll update the group in a post either way, but no results likely for 3-4 months at least. I’m on this site because I plan to try Rapamycin both topically and orally (I’m considering pulsed every two weeks perhaps as high eventually as 2g every two weeks, on 2 months, off 1 months) but I need to psyche myself up and make sure I’m doing the right thing for my health. I’m of the belief less interventions should be more, because drug side effects can be worse than the benefits. I’m also considering trying carnivore during the “off” months to build even more muscle/bone density (I understand this is unpopular here but it seems to work well for me).
Oh: I should mention I have a masters in Chemistry and worked in a fellowship for a biochem lab for three years (DNA replication proteins) and work occasionally with biotech companies, although its not my daily focus. My point is I read the research directly to make my conclusions, and greatly appreciate this community for highlighting new research I haven’t seen.
Anyway, I apologize for the ridiculously long one-sentence question, but would be interested in anything that could meaningfully impact my health, and it sounds like acarbose could be that IF I wasn’t low carb. Thanks.
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We don’t know with any certainty the method of actions for Acarbose with regard to the longevity effect. We have the hypothesis from Richard Miller at U. Penn/NIA ITP that its the lower post prandial glucose levels (from carbs) but that is a theory, see also the thread on Canagliflozin: Canagliflozin - Another Top Anti-aging Drug
If the longevity effect is due to lower post prandial BG levels then it seems to suggest that Keto practitioners would get no additional benefit, but actual mouse clinical studies confirming this have not, to my knowledge, been done.
I’m not a chemist, and not a doctor, just an interested “tech guy” so take my comments with a grain of salt, I can only refer you to some sources. I recommend you also read these threads:
Here: (IMPORTANT) SGLT inhibitors are not a substitute for Acarbose
Here: Combination of Rapamycin, Acarbose, and SGLT-2 inhibitor
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Increased Butyrate and other SCFA’s after fiber fermentation in lower intestine, protects against leaky gut etc? The might be the key longevity point of Acarbose? I only speculate, but I have a gut feeling about this.
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I agree with Goran, this is known and important. I’m keto and I take it whenever I’m eating veggies or anything with starch at all. It works and with low carb you don’t need much and it doesn’t have the bad side effects either.
I read here somewhere that it boosts MTOR 2, but was busy and didn’t read the studies and can’t remember where that info came from. If true that could be why it works so well with Rapa.
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So if your “gut” feeling is that acarbose increases butyrate in our intestines and that provides the longevity benefit, couldn’t we just take butyrate supplements, or probiotic/prebiotic fiber, or even better: butter (as a source of butyrate) instead of acarbose? I’m always of the belief that fewer supplements/drugs are better (fewer side effects and interactions). I know we don’t have a butyrate clinical trial so the “proof” is missing. Not trying to argue, but I want to simplify my life/“stack”. As a keto practitioner, I’m not sure I’ll require the carb reduction function (yes I know low carb/keto doesn’t seem popular on this site and little longevity research behind it, but insulin resistance, low glucose spikes, lower inflammation markers, weight control, muscle building, and anti-cancer seem worth it to me to “bio hack” this practice, and what a lot of the longevity drugs try to provide). But the acarbose longevity data is compelling.
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Just important to keep on mind, with claims like the above, what you’re comparing keto to. The typical American diet of processed junk food? That’s an easy target. Comparing the usual keto diet to a whole foods, plant based diet with adequate protein, on the other hand, is much more of a challenge.
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Soluble fiber works the same way as Acarbose regarding glucose spikes, if you take Psyllium husk before a meal you don’t get the spikes.
I do this, and I use butyrate supplement (problem with this is that it is unknown how much of this is destroyed by stomach acid before it reaches lower intestine) And I take Acarbose from time to time. You can actually feel Acarbose working as it should do, because it creates gas.
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When this is happening, I get the feeling that while we may be living longer, the lives of those people around us is shortening 
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@davin8r you are absolutely 100% correct. And I am DEFINITELY not trying to be “religious” about which diet is best, or to get anyone to try keto. Actually Valter Longo’s Fasting Mimicking Diet is probably the best as of the most clinical data. My point was: if you’re trying to reduce glucose spikes, or inflammation markets, etc., there are other easy ways to do this without taking a pill (and thus risking side effects, interactions, or other complications). And if acarbose does something beyond this which is responsible for its longevity gains, maybe I should be taking it anyway given the data.
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I started acarbose a few weeks ago and I no longer get massive amounts of gas. It’s pretty clear to me that an adaptation has occurred. A few years ago I experimented with taking resistant starch to optimize gut health (potato starch in water), and the same thing happened: initially much gas that slowed down tremendously. I take up to 200 mg acarbose with a meal and the people around me are unaffected 
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My wife (not diabetic) buys hers at https://www.levelshealth.com approx $200/mo I nipped one of hers for the 15 day period they last. A constant policeman (the cgm) did cause me to reduce my chocolate vice. I calibrated with the keto mojo blood test meter. My cgm read high by 10pts.
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re buyng acarbose I see it on alldaychemists.com for $0.37/50mg I’ ve bought lots off allday. A fine (by me) site.
BTW watched a youtube (?? a PHD researcher recent post; acarbos produces the most gas on a wheat diet and less on a rice diet. Sounds like gas side effect is based on what you eat, not just personal variances.
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Interesting. I put two tablespoons of green banana flour along with an actual green banana in my morning smoothies and don’t get any gas at all, but acarbose is a completely different story. I don’t think the people around me could handle a two week break-in/break-wind period. I’m a health care provider who sees 30 patients per day, so that would be a quick way to earn an unwanted reputation. 
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FWIW.
After quitting Acarbose because of its unwanted gassiness etc., I have begun titrating up again. After a few weeks, I became less subject to unwanted gassiness, etc.
For me, wheat products in general cause the most gas, but strangely pasta products are mostly okay. Rice also seems to be okay. I still get a little gassy at times, but I am not sure that is all on Acarbose.
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How much Psyllium husk do you take? Do you take it with or before each meal? Do you add it to a glass of water or to a meal itself?
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I take 15g collagen, 500mg potassium powder, 15g pea protein powder, 3g of MSM, 200mg Hyaluronic acid, 2 tea spoons of Psyllium husk and 1g of vitamin C powder in a shaker, mix it with iced green tea and drink that before lunch (I don’t eat breakfast). Glucose spikes are very minor throughout the whole day. Even after sweets.
I go for number 2 in the toilet once a day, and I feel like my intestines are completely emptied after that.
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