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PeoGeo\/Getty Images<\/p>\n <\/span> \nOzempic and other semaglutide drugs have seen a dramatic swell in popularity in the last few years, as these pharmaceuticals have shown promise for stabilizing blood sugar and reducing body weight. Now a supplement called berberine is trending as a \u201cnatural\u201d version of Ozempic.\n<\/p>\n \nSocial media influencers claim that taking berberine can improve insulin sensitivity, lower blood glucose, and help you lose stubborn weight. The hashtag #berberine currently has more than 60 million views on TikTok\u2014an indicator that many are seeking an alternative to sometimes-pricey prescription semaglutides.\n<\/p>\n \nIt\u2019s not hard to understand the appeal of a \u201cnatural\u201d treatment for health issues like diabetes and obesity. But dietary supplements (and TikTokers) often make health claims unproven by evidence and unauthorized by the Food and Drug Administration, leading to confusion about actual documented benefits.\n<\/p>\n \nSo how does berberine compare to Ozempic or other medications for diabetes management and weight loss? Here\u2019s what experts have to say.\n<\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nBerberine is a bioactive compound derived from a variety of shrubs, including barberry, Oregon grape, goldthread, tree turmeric, and others. Unlike vitamins and minerals, you won\u2019t find berberine in common foods, so if you\u2019d like to add it to your diet, it\u2019s necessary to take it as a supplement.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nThough it may not be a household name in the U.S., berberine traces its medicinal history back thousands of years in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. More recently, research has linked berberine supplementation with several potential health benefits, including lowering blood sugar, taming inflammation, and reducing cancer risk.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cBerberine lowers blood sugar by increasing the amount of glucose (sugar) that is taken into muscle cells. It does this regardless of insulin status,\u201d Charlie Seltzer, MD, double board-certified physician in obesity and internal medicine, told Health<\/em>. \u201cIt also activates an enzyme called AMPK which may have anti-cancer and anti-aging properties.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nBerberine is available online and in stores, in powder or capsule form. It can be found in doses ranging from of 500\u20131,500 milligrams.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cBecause the half-life of berberine is only several hours, it is best to divide the dosage by taking it two to three times per day at meals (for a total of 1,000\u20131,500 mg\/day),\u201d Erin Palinski-Wade, RD, CDCES, author of 2 Day Diabetes Diet<\/em> and creator of The Blood Sugar Fix, told Health<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n \nThat said, experts urge people to speak to their healthcare providers about berberine before starting it on their own, so they can help you determine if the supplement is right for you, and the correct dosage to take.\n<\/p>\n What Happens to Your Body on Ozempic?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nAs online influencers tout berberine as a \u201cnatural Ozempic\u201d for its ability to lower blood sugar and promote weight loss, the question remains: Are these benefits for real? And if so, how do they compare to prescription semaglutide drugs?\n<\/p>\n \nTo a degree, berberine may be useful for some people. \u201cResearch has found\u00a0berberine\u00a0to be effective at reducing A1c, lower fasting glucose levels and fasting insulin levels, and reducing post-meal glucose levels,\u201d Palinski-Wade said.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n \nA 2021 systematic review in Frontiers in Pharmacology<\/em>, for example, <\/em>found that berberine was not only effective for reducing insulin sensitivity for better management of type 2 diabetes, it also showed promise for improving cholesterol levels.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cIn clinical trials, berberine has been shown to decrease fasting and post-meal blood sugar\u2014both short-term and over three months,\u201d Kim Yawitz, RD, a registered dietitian in private practice, told Health<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n \nThe primary difference between berberine and Ozempic is the way they work. Semaglutide drugs help the pancreas to release the right amount of insulin when blood sugar is high (thus reducing blood glucose levels). The drug also works by slowing the movement of food through the stomach, ultimately leading to decreased appetite and weight loss.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nBerberine, on the other hand, uses a different pathway. \u201cBerberine impacts multiple systems within the body through the activation of the enzyme AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which helps regulate metabolism and impacts your blood sugar levels,\u201d said Palinski-Wade. \u201cBy activating this enzyme, berberine essentially triggers various pathways in the body to help regulate blood sugar levels.\u201d According to Palinski-Wade, berberine can also slow down carbohydrate digestion in the gut, which may help reduce blood glucose levels and decrease appetite.\n<\/p>\n \nWhile all these berberine benefits sound promising, the supplement isn\u2019t a one-to-one replacement for semaglutide\u2014and a lack of research makes it difficult to measure the two against each other. \u201cTo my knowledge, there are no randomized clinical trials comparing berberine to semaglutides, so we can\u2019t say for sure whether berberine is as effective as medications like Ozempic,\u201d McKenzie Caldwell, MPH, RDN, fertility dietitian and creator of The Insulin Resistance Mini Course, told Health.<\/em> \n<\/p>\n \nMeanwhile, some experts caution that, though berberine may improve blood sugar levels, it won\u2019t have the same effects as Ozempic on weight loss. \u201cBerberine will not have the weight loss properties because it does not have the appetite suppressant properties,\u201d\u00a0Dr. Seltzer said.\n<\/p>\n Ozempic Shortage: How a Viral Trend Could Be Putting People With Diabetes at Risk<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nSince it\u2019s readily available over the counter, you might expect berberine to come without significant side effects, but that\u2019s not necessarily the case. Though berberine may not share Ozempic\u2019s lengthy list of potential side effects, Yawitz noted that some people may experience diarrhea, gas, nausea, and constipation with large doses.\n<\/p>\n \nAnd just like prescription meds, berberine may interact adversely with other drugs and supplements. Because berberine lowers blood glucose, it could give you dangerously low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), especially when paired with other anti-diabetic medications, like metformin.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nPeople with other conditions may need to steer clear of berberine, too. \u201cCaution should be used in patients currently taking additional medications or herbs with hypotensive, hypoglycemic, or anticoagulant effects, as\u00a0berberine\u00a0may cause too strong of an added effect alongside these products,\u201d Caldwell said.\u00a0Berberine\u00a0should not be taken alongside the medication cyclosporine, or by women who are trying to conceive, pregnant, or breastfeeding, she added.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nThere\u2019s also always the possibility that an OTC supplement will contain more (or less) than you bargained for. Since the FDA does not test supplements before they hit the market, there have been numerous reports over the years of pills packing prohibited substances\u2014or none of the ingredient they claim. It\u2019s always best to choose supplements from a reputable manufacturer whose products undergo third-party quality testing, such as an NSF certification.\n<\/p>\n Two Common Type 2 Diabetes Drugs Shown to Outperform Others in New Study<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nUltimately, the decision of whether to try berberine is one to make with your healthcare provider.\n<\/p>\n \nWhile it\u2019s not an exact replacement for drugs like Ozempic or other semaglutide medications, it may be a first line of defense for some people before trying a prescription.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cWe do know that it can be helpful, and we also know that it has significantly less side effects when compared to semaglutide injections,\u201d Caldwell said. \u201cFor this reason, many of my clients opt to try this natural alternative first before trying a stronger medication to help them manage insulin resistance alongside nutrition and lifestyle changes.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nStill, don\u2019t expect berberine to be a miracle pill. Especially for weight loss, it\u2019s unlikely to yield the same results as semaglutides.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cThere are a few studies that show berberine can suppress appetite, but the impact is negligible compared to Ozempic,\u201d Dr. Seltzer said. \u201cIf you can\u2019t procure Ozempic, it may be worthwhile to try berberine, but I would not expect too much from a weight loss standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A supplement called berberine has been dubbed "nature's Ozempic" on social media. Users on TikTok and other social media platforms claim that berberine can help people improve insulin sensitivity, lower blood glucose, and lose weight. Experts warn that berberine is not a one-to-one replacement for Ozempic or other semaglutide drugs, and that individuals should discuss […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1015,410],"tags":[1016,116],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17239"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n What Is Berberine? <\/span> <\/h2>\n
Berberine Vs. Ozempic <\/span> <\/h2>\n
Potential Downsides of Berberine <\/span> <\/h2>\n
Bottom Line: Is It Worth a Try? <\/span> <\/h2>\n