Berberine

shanstilts
shanstilts Posts: 29 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello pals:) Anyone have any personal experience taking berberine supplements? Its supposed to help stabilize blood sugars and aid in weight loss efforts among other benefits.
Ty!
-Shannon

Replies

  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 3,620 Member
    I tried it for just a few days for other reasons. It did dull my appetite, which I didn't really want, so I quit. But I may very well try them again someday for heart and cholesterol.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    My former company used berberine in one of our weight loss supplements, but likely not in the strength that was shown to be efficacious in studies, because we never did that :lol:

    If you give it a shot, make sure to take the right amount, and from a reputable supplement company.

    Re the latter: I buy a lot of supplements from Now Foods, with whom I have no financial relationship. I saw that they performed well on several third party tests, and are cheaper than other brands. Healthline agrees: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/now-vitamins

    Re the former: this site has a good reputation:

    https://examine.com/supplements/berberine/#dosage-information

    The standard dose of berberine is 900-2,000mg a day, divided into three to four doses.

    Berberine should be taken with a meal, or shortly after, to take advantage of the blood glucose and lipid spike associated with eating.

    Too much berberine at once can result in stomach upset, cramping, and diarrhea.
  • belkyg430
    belkyg430 Posts: 5 Member
    Nice! I am needing to lower my A1c, can you please share how many mg and brand you are using, and also did you emilinate cabs, my pcp advice lowering the carb intake.
  • dianeEESI
    dianeEESI Posts: 11 Member
    I did cut carbs and eliminate sugar, I was drinking a lot of coke so stopped that it was pretty drastic but I didn’t want to get put on diabetic meds. I take Naomi berberine 500 mg. Also intermittent fasting mwf for 22 hours.( the diabetes code, Jason fung) upped my MFP account to measure the carbs and kept it below 46 net carbs per day. Not for everyone I’m sure but it’s worked 🤷‍♀️
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,976 Member
    in the end it's NOT the supplement that matters, but HOW and what you're eating to lower your A1C.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 3,620 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    in the end it's NOT the supplement that matters, but HOW and what you're eating to lower your A1C.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    But does berberine help YOU achieve your goals?
    Chromium picolinate helped me get off the sugar roller coaster years ago.
    I stopped coca-cola cold turkey (from 2-3 3-liters a day to 0) with no help when a dietician pointed out what I was doing to my body.
    But I could stop sugar for 2 days, I just couldn't get through the third day--until chromium got me past that third day.
    I think berberine might actually help in much the same way chromium might. Just a little boost to help your will power. That little boost may be all you need to get over the hump, if you know what you need to do.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,176 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    in the end it's NOT the supplement that matters, but HOW and what you're eating to lower your A1C.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    . . . and exercise helps with blood sugar management, too. When done regularly, it can improve A1C.

    It does look like berberine has some preliminary but promising research results for some blood sugar and other related metabolic syndrome issues. But I'd strongly suggest using the lifestyle interventions alongside, for best results, especially long term.

    (I'm sure you wouldn't do this, OP, but sometimes people will use a supplement with some wishful thinking about then not needing to make more fundamental life changes. I did that for quite a time myself, with cholesterol and blood pressure issues, but it finally sunk into my thick head that that wasn't a complete, durable or robust solution.)

    Best wishes!
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,208 Member
    edited November 2023
    Medication is the popular answer, it just doesn't really address the underlying issue which is what people have to live with and hopefully the condition doesn't get worse, which is naive really, anyway, good luck with this journey. :)
  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 3,620 Member
    edited November 2023
    Totally agree with last 2 posts. Berberine is probably not THE ANSWER, probably only a short-term crutch at best. Lifestyle changes are the best way.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,321 Member
    My experience with Berberine is it was helpful early on in controlling my blood sugar, but going keto and losing a lots of fat made a far bigger difference and costs much less.

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