Berberine is an herbal supplement with a history that’s thousands of years long.
It’s been used and researched to treat everything from joint pain to weight loss to controlling diabetes in people with insulin insensitivity.
Berberine’s mechanism of action is complex, but it appears to alter the way your body’s mitochondria generate energy, which might indicate why it’s helpful for such a wide variety of ailments.
If you’re looking for a quality weight loss supplement sourced from an herbal remedy, berberine is worth a look.
We’ve examined what’s available on the market right now and come up with the top ten, ranked according to efficacy.
1. Thorne Research Berberine
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Thorne Research is a well-known name in the rarer, less common herbal extracts because they almost always make a quality, pure product with a minimal amount of extraneous ingredients.
That’s certainly the case here, as this is one of the best berberine supplements out there that comes in a vegetarian capsule. At 500 mg per capsule, it doesn’t skimp on the dosage either.
2. Amazing Formulas Berberine
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High dosage and highly pure, Amazing Formulas makes a very solid berberine supplement. It has 500 mg of berberine per capsule, and the company hires an independent firm to test its products for purity and accuracy of dosage.
That’s a plus when you are dealing with herbal supplements with unstandardized extraction processes, which could lead to one brand containing far lower a concentration of the active ingredient than another.
The only downside? The gelatin capsule, made from animal products. Most people won’t care, but hardline vegetarians and vegans would prefer a cellulose capsule instead.
3. aSquared Nutrition Berberine
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aSquared Nutrition makes a highly pure berberine supplement in a gelatin capsule that provides a very solid 450 mg of berberine per capsule.
With the only other ingredients being rice flour and gelatin, it’s a pure and reliable source of berberine. aSquared also has an excellent reputation for purity and quality in its supplements, making it hard to go wrong with this product.
4. Integrative Therapeutics Berberine Complex
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Unlike many other companies, Integrative Therapeutics is doing something innovative with its berberine supplement. It uses three different plant species as sources of berberine, and one of them is combined with several of the other related compounds in the plant that are bioactive.
This means that this berberine supplement could be more likely to work if others have failed you, though if all you want is 100% pure berberine, there are better options on the market.
5. We Like Vitamins Berberine
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The dosage of berberine in this supplement is middle-of-the-road, but its simplistic design and its allergen-free certification make it a very solid choice.
The only other ingredients are gelatin (for the capsule–sorry, vegetarians) and rice flour, and the fact that it’s gluten, dairy, egg, and soy free are all to its benefit.
6. Divine Bounty Berberine
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For those looking for a high dosage berberine supplement, Divine Bounty is a good choice. With 600 mg per capsule, it provides 20% more berberine per serving than most of its other competitors.
Add to that the fact that it comes in a vegetarian capsule and doesn’t have much in the way of extra fillers and stabilizers, and you’ve got a winning formula for those who need a higher than usual dose of berberine.
7. Best Naturals Berberine Plus
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Best Naturals takes an approach to its berberine supplement that focuses specifically on its immune system boosting effects.
It capitalizes on this strategy by providing two other supplements thought to boost the function of your immune system: vitamin C and zinc.
These are provided at 60 and 15 mg per capsule, respectively, alongside 500 mg of berberine. This is great if your goal is to use berberine to boost your immunity, but since berberine has so many other uses, a formulation like this hurts its versatility somewhat.
8. Dr. Whitaker’s Clinical Grade Berberine
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Though it’s branded as clinical grade, this berberine supplement doesn’t appear to be of higher dosage or quality than anything else on the market.
It has the usual 500 mg of berberine per capsule, and the capsules are made of gelatin along with a few extra fillers and stabilizers not found in the competitors, making it hard to justify ranking this supplement any higher.
9. EzyAbsorb Berberine
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While this supplement claims to offer superior absorption properties to other berberine supplements, it’s not clear how it intends to accomplish this. Its ingredients are pretty much standard fare: it has 500 mg of berberine per capsule, along with a brown rice concentrate filler in the vegetarian capsule.
Without any obvious bonus ingredients or a different manufacturing process, it’s hard to see how this supplement could be better than any others when it comes to absorption.
10. Sunergetic Berberine
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Sunergentic has a high-dose 600 mg berberine supplement that is delivered in a vegetarian capsule.
It’s also certified free of many common allergens like gluten and soy, though the main downside of the berberine supplement from this lesser-known supplement manufacturer is its reliance on silica as a filler for its capsules. Higher-quality brands will opt for something more natural, like rice flour.
Berberine benefits and side effects
Berberine is a powerful natural plant compound that improves cardiovascular health, lowers blood sugar, and may assist in weight loss.
Altering body processes on a molecular level, this supplement rivals the effects of pharmaceutical drugs for controlling blood sugar.
Bioactive substances are present in the berberis shrub and other plants from which berberine is extracted. (1) An alkaloid imbued with bright yellow coloring, the compound has been used in the past as a dye, as well as in traditional Chinese medicine.
Berberine has been shown to drop total cholesterol levels in clinical trials; it can improve LDL cholesterol profiles (the bad kind), and aid in the management of type 2 diabetes. (2)
Recent evidence indicates berberine may even act as an anti-cancer agent. (3)
Let’s take a look at how berberine supplements work to normalize body processes and contribute to better overall health.
Berberine Exerts Powerful Effects on Metabolism
When berberine is ingested, it reaches cells via the bloodstream; on a cellular level, berberine seeks “molecular targets” and then binds to these, altering function. It may also play a role in determining gene expression through affecting the switching process. (4)
This is the same way pharmaceutical drugs affect the system.
Next comes the activation of the cellular enzyme AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) (5), which has been called the master switch for metabolism. (6)
This substance is found in organs like the heart, kidneys, muscles, brain and liver, and is necessary for the regulation of metabolism. (7, 8)
Berberine has shown great promise in treating symptoms of type 2 diabetes, a metabolic disorder that has become disturbingly common in the modern world.
Globally, nearly 10% of adults suffered from diabetes in 2012, and fatalities directly attributed to the disease in the same year were estimated at a staggering million and a half. (9)
Diabetic patients experience high blood glucose (blood sugar) levels that result from one of these physical disorders: not enough insulin produced in the body; or cell resistance to insulin. Both circumstances can inflict physical damage on organs and tissues over long periods of time.
Berberine is effective in reducing blood sugar levels for patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. (10) Over a three-month clinical trial, the natural substance performed comparably to metformin, a pharmaceutical drug used to treat hypoglycemia. (11)
This natural substance appears to affect blood sugar through several different mechanisms. (12)
The following process occurs: Decreases the speed at which carbohydrates are broken down in the gut, drops the production of sugar in the liver, bumps up glycolysis, which helps the body break down cell sugars more effectively, amps up the effectiveness of insulin, which lowers blood sugar, and increases friendly bacteria in the gut, functioning like a probiotic.
Berberine can also affect other aspects of bodily processes integral to the regulation of blood sugar, including gene expression and the function of molecules and enzymes.
Diabetic patients taking a gram of berberine daily dropped blood sugar levels into normal ranges during a three-month study. Triglycerides and cholesterol also improved, as well as measurements of hemoglobin A1c, which is a long-term indicator of high blood sugar levels. (13)
When analysts reviewed data from 14 studies, they found berberine as effective in lowering blood sugar levels as three separate oral medications used to treat diabetes: glipizide, rosiglitizone, and as mentioned above, metformin. (14)
Weight Loss Performance
Two separate studies recently examined the impact of berberine supplements on weight loss in humans.
In a 12-week trial with obese participants, average weight loss amounted to about 5 pounds, with a 3.6% loss of body fat. Berberine was administered at 500 mg three times daily. (15)
Another 3-month study focused on the effects of berberine with 37 subjects diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. This group took even less berberine: 900 mg split into three daily doses. (16)
The average body mass index (BMI) measurements of test participants dropped from 31.5 to 27.4 during the trial, shifting them from obese to overweight. Belly fat decreased significantly, and other health markers also improved.
Changes appear to result from alterations to hormones that regulate fat storage, including insulin, leptin and adiponectin. Berberine is believed to suppress the formation of fat cells at the molecular level. (17, 18)
Cholesterol-Lowering Properties Can Improve Heart Health
The most common cause of premature death worldwide is heart disease, and berberine has a positive effect on several blood markers associated with a greater risk of developing this deadly disorder.
A meta-analysis reviewing 11 studies of how berberine affected risk factors presented these conclusions: (19) Total cholesterol drops of up to 0.061 mmol/L, increase in HDL cholesterol (the good kind) by as much as 0.05 mmol/L, decrease in LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) by 0.65 mmol/L and blood triglyceride levels decreased by 0.50 mmol/L.
Drops in apolipoprotein B levels by as much as 15% were also noted in some studies. This is a major marker for developing heart disease. (20, 21)
Researchers believe berberine works to alter cholesterol levels by inhibiting the production of an enzyme called PCSK9, which results in the removal of more LDL cholesterol from the blood. (22, 23)
Diabetics and others with high blood sugar levels are more likely to develop heart disease, so the positive effects of berberine on these factors should also reduce risks.
Other Potential Health Benefits
Lab studies show berberine helps rats fight depression, and may prove to be beneficial for humans as well. (24)
The effects of berberine on reducing cancerous tumor growths, as well as preventing the spread of cancer, are being explored with animal ad laboratory studies, and results look promising. (25, 26)
Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of berberine may also prove to be effective in delivering valuable health benefits. (27)
Berberine has been shown to kill viruses, fungi, bacteria, parasites and other pathogens. (28)
For patients with heart failure, berberine can improve symptoms and decrease mortality rates. (29)
Because berberine’s half-life is several hours, spreading dosages over the day is most effective; amounts used in studies ranged from a total of 900 to 1500 mg daily, usually taken 30 minutes before meals.
Berberine is considered very safe, although some experience digestive distress, including diarrhea, flatulence, stomach pain or cramping, and constipation. (30)
Since this powerful substance is fairly new to the supplement scene, you may not find it in health food stores, but it’s available online.
Talk to your doctor before taking berberine, especially if you’re currently on medications to lower blood sugar.
Summary: Berberine is as effective as oral blood sugar lowering medications, and may prove to be extremely beneficial for patients with type 2 diabetes, as well as people who have been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome.
https://bodynutrition.org/berberine/
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