A dietary supplement called berberine is gaining momentum on social media for its weight loss effects, even being referred to by some as &#;nature&#;s Ozempic,&#; in reference to the popular drug that can help people shed pounds.
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Users say berberine, which is found in a number of plants, including barberry plants, helps curb appetite and improve blood sugar levels, resulting in weight loss. Google searches for &#;berberine&#; began to increase at the end of March before they spiked in late May.
A Chinese barberry plant.
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Berberine is rising in popularity as demand increases for medications like Ozempic and Wegovy, known for their weight loss effects.
Ozempic and Wegovy are part of a class of drugs called GLP-1 agonists, which mimic a hormone that helps reduce food intake and appetite. They are highly effective, but they are in short supply in the U.S. They are also expensive &#; around $1,000 or more out of pocket &#; and need to be prescribed by a doctor.
By comparison, berberine appears to be widely available online, and it usually ranges in price from $15 to $40 for a month&#;s supply.
"You don&#;t have to deal with a doctor, and it&#;s going to be a lot less expensive,&#; said Dr. Pieter Cohen, who researches supplement use at the Cambridge Health Alliance in Somerville, Massachusetts. &#;So from an advertising perspective, it&#;s perfect.&#;
But that doesn&#;t mean berberine is effective, or safe, for weight loss. Here&#;s what to know about it, including how well it works and whether it&#;s safe.
Many of the claims about berberine haven&#;t been verified by large, peer-reviewed studies &#; and the bulk of the research has been conducted in mice, not humans, experts say.
A meta-analysis of 49 studies published last year in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition found berberine may provide metabolic benefits in people, mainly for the heart, although there may be small benefits for weight loss.
&#;It&#;s not a dramatic weight loss average for berberine,&#; said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity medicine specialist and the equity director of the endocrine division at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The studies show it is &#;between a quarter of BMI point to one BMI point, which is nowhere near what you see on average with semaglutide,&#; she said, referring to the drug found in Ozempic. Stanford wasn&#;t involved in the research.
For people in those studies, the optimal dose appeared to be 1 gram per day, Stanford said.
Cohen was more cautious about using the compound for weight loss.
Because dietary supplements aren&#;t reviewed or approved by the Food and Drug Administration, they can be promoted for just about any health claim, Cohen said. Supplements can also contain inaccurate amounts of the compound or contain other ingredients that aren&#;t listed on the label.
&#;An active pharmaceutical drug like berberine, it&#;s not the kind of thing that you should just be taking willy-nilly,&#; he said.
What&#;s more, how the supplement supports weight loss &#; if at all &#; is largely unknown, Cohen said.
&#;People are saying it is like metformin, but it is not,&#; said Dr. Holly Lofton, the director of the weight management program at NYU Langone Health, referring to a medication people with diabetes use to lower their blood sugar levels. She said she isn&#;t recommending berberine for weight loss.
Medications derived from plants aren&#;t uncommon, Cohen said. Highly effective drugs, including aspirin and morphine, come from plants.
Known side effects of berberine in humans include nausea and vomiting, Stanford said. In animal studies, it appeared to enlarge the liver and the kidney and reduce the number of white blood cells, which fight off infections. Larger studies would need to be conducted to know whether there are any serious side effects in humans.
Stanford said she would recommend speaking with a doctor before taking berberine as a part of a weight loss regime. It may not be safe for pregnant women, she added.
&#;These don&#;t go through any FDA approval or regulation,&#; she said. &#;You might work with someone that has some knowledge, whether it be an MD or naturopathic physician.&#;
If there are any side effects, stop taking the medication, she said.
Cohen said that despite the potential benefits for weight loss, it&#;s &#;not worth the risk.&#;
In fact, he said, if people do experience weight loss using berberine, they should stop taking it immediately and talk to a doctor. &#;That could suggest that something is wrong with the product you&#;re taking and you might be exposed to something that&#;s more dangerous than berberine,&#; he said.Follow NBC HEALTH on Twitter & Facebook.
Although berberine appears to be safe and causes few side effects, a person should speak with a doctor before taking it.
Studies of berberine have indicated that it can treat several metabolic health conditions, including diabetes, obesity, and heart problems. It may also improve gut health.
Berberine has been a part of Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years . It works in the body in multiple ways and is able to make changes within the body&#;s cells.
Berberine, or berberine hydrochloride, is a compound in several plants. It may help to treat diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure, among other conditions. However, side effects can include upset stomach and nausea.
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LeliaSpb/Getty ImagesThe following are conditions that berberine may help treat, according to research.
Berberine could be an effective antimicrobial agent. A study found that berberine helped inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus.
S. aureus can cause many health problems, including:
Another study found that berberine has the ability to damage the DNA and protein of certain bacteria.
Inflammation is a key factor in several health conditions, including heart disease and diabetes.
Research suggests that berberine has anti-inflammatory properties, which means it could help treat diabetes and other inflammation-related health conditions.
Research has shown that berberine may work as a diabetes treatment. Studies have found that it can have positive effects on:
One literature review indicated that berberine was better than a placebo at lowering blood sugar.
The same analysis found that a combination of berberine and blood-sugar-lowering drugs is more effective than the drugs alone.
According to research, berberine shows promise as a potential diabetes treatment, especially for those who cannot take existing anti-diabetic drugs due to heart disease, liver failure, or kidney problems.
Another literature review found that berberine combined with lifestyle changes worked better to lower blood glucose than lifestyle changes alone.
Berberine appears to activate AMP-activated protein kinase, which can help regulate how the body uses blood sugar. Researchers believe this activation can help treat diabetes and related health issues, such as obesity and high cholesterol.
Another meta-analysis showed benefits in body weight and metabolic parameters, without significant elevation in liver enzymes.
However, scientists need to conduct more large, double-blind studies to fully determine berberine&#;s safety and efficacy.
Speak with a doctor before taking berberine for diabetes. It may not be right for everyone and could interact with other medications.
High levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides may increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Some evidence suggests that berberine could help lower LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels. According to one review, studies in both animals and humans indicate that berberine has cholesterol-lowering effects.
It may help reduce LDL, or &#;bad&#; cholesterol, and increase high-density lipoprotein, or &#;good&#; cholesterol.
A literature review found that berberine combined with lifestyle changes works better than lifestyle changes alone in treating high cholesterol.
Researchers believe that the effects of berberine might be similar to those of drugs that reduce high cholesterol, while berberine does not cause the same side effects.
High blood pressure is a leading cause of heart disease.
A literature review found that berberine combined with a blood-pressure-lowering drug was more effective than the drug alone.
Also, results of a study of rats indicate that berberine could delay the onset of high blood pressure and, when it does develop, help reduce its severity.
Obesity is a common condition that can increase the risk of:
One review reported that people who took 750 milligrams (mg) of barberry twice a day for 3 months had a significant decrease in weight. Barberry is a plant that contains high amounts of berberine.
Also, a double-blind study found that individuals with metabolic syndrome who took 200 mg of barberry three times a day experienced decreases in their body mass index readings.
The team behind another study observed that berberine may activate brown adipose tissue. This tissue helps the body turn food into body heat, and increased activation may help treat obesity and metabolic syndrome.
Some research suggests that berberine works similarly to the drug metformin, which doctors often prescribe to treat type 2 diabetes. In fact, berberine may have the ability to change the bacteria in the gut, which could help treat both obesity and diabetes.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) occurs when a female has high levels of certain male hormones. The syndrome is a hormonal and metabolic imbalance that can lead to infertility and other health issues.
PCOS is linked with many issues that berberine may help address. For example, a person with PCOS may also have:
Doctors sometimes prescribe metformin, a diabetes drug, to treat PCOS. As berberine appears to have similar effects to metformin, it may also be a good treatment option for PCOS.
A systematic review found that berberine has promise as a treatment for PCOS with insulin resistance. However, the authors state that confirming these effects will require further studies.
Berberine can create changes within the molecules of cells, and this could have another potential benefit: fighting cancer.
One review found that berberine has &#;clear inhibitory effects&#; on the following cancers:
Another study states that berberine helps treat cancer by interfering with its progression and its typical life cycle. It may also play a role in killing cancer cells.
Based on this evidence, the authors state that berberine is &#;highly expected to be effective, safe, and affordable&#; as a cancer-fighting agent.
However, it is important to remember that researchers have only studied berberine&#;s effects on cancer cells in a laboratory, not in people.
If berberine can help treat cancer, inflammation, diabetes, and other conditions, it may be because of a beneficial effect on gut microbiota, according to some research published in . Scientists have found links between the gut microbiome &#; colonies of bacteria in the gut &#; and these conditions.
Berberine has an antibacterial action that seems to remove the harmful bacteria in the gut, and thus enhance the growth of healthy bacteria.
While studies in humans and rodents have suggested this could be true, scientists caution that more research is needed to confirm how berberine affects humans and whether it is safe to use.
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