This suggests that berberine has powerful effects even when taken alone. Based on these two studies, intake of berberine for at least 12 weeks or three months is necessary to see positive results in weight, triglycerides, cholesterol, and BMI of individuals.
Based on the findings of these two studies, a dose of 300-500 mg three times per day or 1200-1500 mg/day taken for at least three months can significantly reduce weight. However, there are still limited studies examining the prolonged health benefits of berberine in reducing weight.
Most studies have looked at berberine activity over 90 days. So, we can assume that the effects of berberine take around 3 months to be evident. However, some people taking berberine report a reduction in blood sugar levels within the first month of taking berberine. In contrast, metformin works much faster.
San Antonio woman's weight loss journey with Berberine
Savannah Crosby has taken TikTok to document her weight loss journey with Berberine. Crosby has lost about 7 pounds already. " I want to talk about Berberine because people are calling it nature's Ozempic."
Taking berberine supplements regularly appears to lower total cholesterol, “bad” cholesterol, and triglycerides in people with high cholesterol. It works differently from today's standard cholesterol medications, so it may help treat people who are resistant to other cholesterol-lowering drugs.
In some people, supplementation with berberine has been reported to cause gastrointestinal side effects, including diarrhea, constipation, flatulence, and stomach pain. Due to its ability to reduce blood sugar, berberine may increase the risk for hypoglycemia in high doses.
Berberine can interact with prescription medications and increase or decrease levels of these medicines in the blood due to its effects on specific enzymes in the blood. This is especially true of drugs like metformin metabolized by the liver. There may also be an increased risk of bleeding.
How long should I take berberine? Continual use of berberine can impact cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes in the liver which may affect drug-to-drug interactions. Therefore, it's recommended to use it in a pulsed 8-week cycle with two to four weeks off, then starting again if symptoms have not resolved.
Berberine suppresses adipocyte differentiation and decreases obesity. It also regulates glucose metabolism via decreasing insulin resistance and increasing insulin secretion.
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.
Berberine has great potential in treatment of insomnia and might have better clinical significance.
Berberine can cause digestive side effects, such as: upset stomach. constipation. nausea.
Present study proved that treatment with berberine in the HF diet group reduced food intake, body weight, fat contents, serum leptin, and glucose level.
Conclusions: Berberine impairs muscle metabolism by two novel mechanisms. It impairs mitochonidrial function stimulating the expression of atrogin-1 without affecting phosphorylation of forkhead transcription factors.
I suggest taking 500 mg three times a day. This is the average dosage used in most of the clinical trials for blood sugar, lipids, weight, liver disease, etc. Twice-a-day dosing may be sufficient for individuals with prediabetes. The best time to take berberine is about 30 minutes before meals.
The standard berberine dosage is 900 to 2,000 mg per day, spread out over three or four doses. “I recommend taking it about 10 to 20 minutes before meals, so that it will have maximum effect,” Dr. Blum says. “For gut treatment, I usually recommend using it for 30 to 60 days.
Depending on how healthy a patient's liver is, berberine's beneficial effects can persist for as long as 20 hours, meaning that a once-per-day dosing schedule is sufficient for most patients. When taken once per day, berberine is safe to take for at least 12 months.
Berberine also enhances the expression of the AMPK-dependent adipose tissue triglyceride lipase, which is positively associated with long-term weight loss and is one of the mechanisms of action in the prevention of obesity [20]. Berberine has also been shown to increase glucose-stimulated insulin secretion [25].
Animal experiments showed that berberine (5 mg/kg body weight) administration increased whole-body energy expenditure by 20% without changes in physical activity.
64, 65 A growing number of studies have demonstrated that berberine can affect mood by regulating plasma corticosterone levels. Palmatine, a quaternary protoberberine alkaloid, produced antidepressant‐like activity by decreasing plasma corticosterone levels.
Emerging research suggests that berberine is beneficial for balancing hormones, especially when it comes to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Berberine provides numerous benefits for women living with PCOS, including improved fertility, weight loss, and reduced inflammation.
Bodybuilding. The benefits of this in-demand plant-based ingredient offer results-driven rewards when it comes to exercise and performance. By altering the way the body metabolises fat, it's been shown that Berberine also improves the uptake of glucose into cells which means a boost to energy production.
Due to berberine's effects on AMPK activity and the subsequent reduction in reactive species, some researchers have posited that berberine may similarly blunt the effects of exercise.
Berberine has also been found to specifically have an anti-aging effect on skin. First, berberine prevented TPA-induced ERK activation and AP-1 DNA binding activity, which can prevent skin inflammation and degradation of extracellular matrix proteins [41].