Many people tolerate berberine well. But it can cause nausea and constipation, particularly when taken in high doses. Berberine may not interact well with other medications, such as antidepressants, MAOIs, blood thinners, and beta blockers.
Table of Contents
Can berberine make you nauseous?
Research has suggested that berberine can help treat diabetes, obesity, and inflammation, among other conditions. However, side effects can include upset stomach and nausea. Berberine has been a part of Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years.
Is berberine hard on the stomach?
In some situations, berberine may cause digestive side effects, such as diarrhea, constipation, flatulence, and stomach pain ( 10 ). If you’re taking any medication, it’s important to speak with your healthcare provider before taking berberine due to the risk of interactions.
Is berberine an appetite suppressant?
Present study proved that treatment with berberine in the HF diet group reduced food intake, body weight, fat contents, serum leptin, and glucose level.
What should you not take with berberine?
Taking berberine along with medications that also slow clotting might increase the chances of bruising and bleeding. Some medications that slow blood clotting include aspirin, cilostazol (Pletal), clopidogrel (Plavix), dalteparin (Fragmin), enoxaparin (Lovenox), heparin, ticlopidine (Ticlid), and others.
Why is berberine not intended for long term use?
For decades it has been a well-researched herbal treatment for intestinal infections, like Giardia, but it came with the warning to avoid long-term use due to the potential undesirable and antimicrobial effect in the gut. Significant gastrointestinal side effects are well documented with berberine extract studies.
Can berberine cause hypoglycemia?
If you have diabetes and are on medications to lower your blood sugar, berberine could further lower blood glucose levels and lead to potential hypoglycemia, which can be dangerous.
What are the side effects of taking berberine?
- Diarrhea.
- Constipation.
- Gas.
- Stomach Upset.
- Headache.
- Digestion problem.
- Severe stomach cramp.
- Flatulence.
How long does it take for berberine to work for weight loss?
Two studies have shown that taking a berberine supplement over the course of three months results in significant weight loss. This may be due to how berberine helps control insulin and other hormones that regulate your fat cells.
Does berberine help stomach?
Recent studies have shown that berberine and its derivatives have significant biological effects on gastrointestinal (GI) and other functions and may become therapeutics for the treatment of diarrhea, gastroenteritis, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular diseases and inflammatory conditions.
How long can you take berberine safely?
When taken by mouth: Berberine is possibly safe for most adults. It’s been used safely in doses up to 1.5 grams daily for 6 months. Common side effects include diarrhea, constipation, gas, and upset stomach.
When is the best time to take berberine?
Does berberine speed up metabolism?
Berberine has been reported as a critical factor in promoting adaptive thermogenesis through activating BAT activity. Animal experiments showed that berberine (5 mg/kg body weight) administration increased whole-body energy expenditure by 20% without changes in physical activity.
Does berberine affect hormones?
Also, our results showed that the administration of berberine caused a significant rise in FSH, and progesterone levels and a significant decrease in the levels of LH, estrogen, and testosterone. Our results showed that treatment with berberine regulates the level of sex hormones in the letrozole-induced PCOS rats.
Should I take berberine while fasting?
The blood sugar-lowering power of berberine is comparable to metformin, based on head-to-head studies. With that said, it’s essential to point out that you should not take metformin or berberine while fasting since blood sugar can drop too low.
Can berberine damage the liver?
Sub-chronic toxicity of berberine has reported to damages lung and liver by increasing alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), significantly (Ning et al., 2015).
How is berberine best absorbed?
The bioavailability of berberine is extremely low. Only 0.5% of orally ingested berberine are absorbed in small intestine and about 0.36% can enter the systemic circulation. About 56% of ingested berberine was not absorbed and additional 43.5% is lost due to metabolism in small intestine.
What foods are high in berberine?
Berberine (also known as berberine hydrochloride) is a natural isoquinoline alkaloid found in a wide variety of herbs, including goldenseal, barberry, goldthread, Oregon grape and tree turmeric.
Does berberine help with anxiety?
Furthermore, berberine has been reported to alleviate anxiety-like behavior in rats with posttraumatic stress disorder and facilitate extinction of drug memories (Lee et al., 2018; Shen et al., 2020).
How effective is berberine for weight loss?
Another 2012 study investigating the impact of berberine on weight loss in obese patients with metabolic syndromes produced similarly promising results. In this study, those who took berberine lost an average of 4 kilograms more than the patients who consumed a placebo.
Does berberine decrease muscle mass?
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.
Does berberine increase testosterone?
Berberine is a promising treatment for lowering cholesterol. Berberine did not lower testosterone but instead may increase testosterone in men, suggesting sex-specific effects of berberine. Exploring other pathways and assessing sex differences would be worthwhile, with relevance to drug repositioning and healthcare.
Does berberine help with insulin resistance?
The combined application of berberine in patients with metabolic syndrome can effectively regulate blood glucose and blood lipid of patients, alleviate insulin resistance and reduce the level of inflammatory response in the body.
Is berberine as good as metformin?
Compared with metformin, berberine exhibited an identical effect in the regulation of glucose metabolism, such as HbA1c, FBG, PBG, fasting insulin and postprandial insulin. In the regulation of lipid metabolism, berberine activity is better than metformin.
What does berberine do for PCOS?
Berberine in women with PCOS also improved the insulin resistance in theca cells, thanks to an increase of the expression of Glut-4 in ovaries with an improvement of the ovulation rate per cycle; so, berberine is also effective on fertility and live birth rates in women affected by PCOS [23, 24].