What is Berberine Used For?

The plant is native to parts of Europe, Africa and Asia, but is now found almost everywhere in the world.
Barberina, commonly known as barberry, is a shrub that produces tart red berries.
The berries have antioxidant properties and have been used in traditional medicine for centuries to treat a wide range of problems, including digestive disorders, infections and skin conditions. Many people still ask what berberine is used for? And the answer is in this article.

1- The Health Benefits of Berberine

– For diabetes
– Lowers cholesterol
– Fights depression
– Natural anti-cancer
– For heart failure
– Reduces fatty liver
– Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory
– Regenerates intestinal flora
– Helps promote permanent weight loss
– Fights infections

Used for over 2,500 years in the Chinese pharmacopoeia and in Ayurvedic medicine (India), this plant extract is increasingly being used as a dietary supplement.

Used for over 2,500 years in the Chinese pharmacopoeia and in Ayurvedic medicine (India), this plant extract is increasingly being used as a dietary supplement.

What is Berberine?

Berberine is an alkaloid. An alkaloid is a chemically alkaline organic substance found in certain plants. Berberine is therefore an alkaloid extracted from certain plants. These include

Goldenseal,
Japanese cotis
barberry, etc.
Like all alkaloids (cocaine, caffeine, morphine, theine, etc.), berberine in its natural state can be toxic to the user.

Berberine and cardiovascular disease

Berberine and cardiovascular disease
Berberine not only lowers blood sugar but also blood lipids. Blood cholesterol, a fatty substance carried in the blood, is important for the production of steroid hormones in your body.

But as with any excess, too much cholesterol in the blood leads to plaque build-up in the arteries. The walls of the arteries are very thin, so they can easily become blocked, preventing or severely restricting blood flow to the heart. This often leads to cardiovascular disease.

As we have seen, berberine stimulates the action of the APKM enzyme (Adenosine Monophosphate Activated Protein Kinase), which converts food (glucose and lipids) into cellular energy.

Berberine bio, an active ingredient extracted from Berberis vulgaris, fights type 2 diabetes and is a powerful natural anti-cancer agent.
In the same study (quoted above) carried out in China by American and Chinese researchers and published on the American NCBI website, the doctors also looked closely at the effect of LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) in the blood.

First in patients not taking berberine, then in patients taking berberine. It was found that LDL cholesterol fell sharply under the effect of berberine.
In fact, berberine melts cholesterol plaques in the arteries.
The researchers concluded from this study that berberine significantly reduces bad cholesterol.

Berberine also lowers triglycerides and blood cholesterol levels in general. It is therefore a substance that significantly reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.

2-Berberine Type 2 diabetes

Berberine and type II diabetes
Berberine is little known in Western medicine. However, it is known and valued in traditional medicine in China and India. How can berberine help in the treatment of type 2 diabetes?

This molecule (berberine) promotes the activation of the body’s own enzyme APKM (adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase). The APKM enzyme regulates basic metabolism (2).

It initiates and speeds up chemical reactions in the body. It is therefore a very important element in your metabolism. Berberine stimulates the action of the APKM (Adenosine Monophosphate Activated Protein Kinase) enzyme in the body.

Berberine bio, an active ingredient extracted from the barberry plant Berberis vulgaris, fights type 2 diabetes and is a powerful natural anti-cancer agent.
By stimulating the body’s own enzyme, berberine allows for better transformation and conversion of food (lipids and glucose) into cellular energy in your body.

In type 2 diabetes, people develop insulin resistance, which prevents cells from absorbing glucose into the bloodstream. By taking berberine extracts, cells absorb more glucose.

Insulin sensitivity is also greatly reduced. And berberine significantly reduces glucose production in the liver.

In a study conducted in China on 84 adult patients, researchers demonstrated the positive effects of berberine in just 3 months in patients who consumed berberine.

In the group of patients taking metformin, the results in terms of patients’ health have been rather slow to emerge.

How did this not come to light earlier? Well, it’s a question of big money. The pharmaceutical industry refuses to face the truth.

Several collaborative studies have demonstrated the effect of berberine on patients with type 2 diabetes. It works much better than metformin. What’s more, unlike metformin, berberine has no side effects.

In the USA, Dr Julian Whitaker swears by this plant extract. He has been recommending it to patients and treating his own patients with berberine for decades. He is also campaigning for this molecule to be recognised and popularised by the pharmaceutical industry.

Diabetes and Depression: Risk Factors

Diabetes and depression: risk factors
Depression is defined as a state of permanent sadness, with loss of interest and pleasure in activities usually enjoyed.

Various factors or conditions predispose patients to developing depression:

Being a woman or an adolescent;
Being isolated or in a precarious social situation;
Having poorly controlled diabetes or complications;
Having suffered from diabetes for a long time.

The announcement of the disease is also a crucial moment. Patients must mourn the loss of their « normal » life. They may go through a phase of shock, then revolt, and finally depression.

Depression and diabetes: the downward spiral
Depression leads to fatigue and loss of motivation. It may be responsible for the patient’s disinvestment in his or her treatment, or the consumption of alcohol or tobacco. The complications that follow worsen the diabetes, plunging the patient into even deeper depression.

Good to know! Depression itself is thought to promote diabetes: the risk of developing diabetes is doubled when depression and a predisposition to diabetes are combined.
Berberine helps to combat depression effectively.
30% of people with diabetes experience depression and 10% experience major depression.

3- Antifungal Agents

A powerful antifungal
Your gut flora is balanced by good bacteria. These include bifidobacteria and others. These bacteria are important for a healthy immune system (5).

They also help the body absorb certain vitamins. They also cleanse the body of the toxins and waste products it consumes. These good bacteria are present in significant numbers when we are healthy.

However, a proliferation of bad bacteria can develop in the gut flora, leading to the elimination of the good bacteria. Our balance is then threatened (known as dysbiosis). These fungi and yeasts, such as Candida albicans, are harmful to the gut flora. Hence the use of this powerful natural antifungal.

Dysbiosis is usually caused by lactose intolerance, the use of certain antibiotics and drugs in general.

Dysbiosis can also occur if you have an unbalanced diet, eat your meals in a hurry, have an intolerance to certain plants…

Candida albicans is a very common cause of infection and also causes many problems in the digestive tract.

Ayurvedic medicine (in India) uses plants with a high concentration of berberine to treat Candida albicans and, in general, all digestive problems.

In fact, berberine’s action on the APKM enzyme (adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase), a system regulator, helps to treat and prevent digestive disorders.

4-The Health Benefits of Berberine

An interesting extract for weight loss

You guessed it right from the start. Berberine has a fat-destroying effect. Not just the fat that builds up around your arteries.

But also the fat that crystallises in your abdomen and other tissues. It stimulates APKM (adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase) to convert lipids and glucose into cellular energy.

By multiplying the action of this body enzyme, berberine accelerates the breakdown of lipids throughout the body.

In this study, conducted in March 2012, people suffering from obesity were given berberine extracts to consume for 3 months.

The dose was 300g, to be taken three times a day. The researchers found that berberine inhibited the action of lipids at the abdominal level, preventing them from crystallising.

This led to the conclusion that berberine can be used to reduce obesity and overweight problems.

Organic berberine and hypertension
Berberine’s power lies in its effect on APKM, which is related to the immune system in general. By affecting this rather sensitive enzyme, berberine triggers reactions at several levels of the body.

People with high blood pressure can also take berberine supplements to help lower their blood pressure.

In a published study involving 330 patients over 12 weeks, berberine was shown to be effective in lowering blood pressure. People who did not take berberine showed no improvement.

Those who took berberine saw an improvement. But it’s wiser to talk to your doctor first.

Uses and contra-indications of berberine
Organic berberine extract is yellow in colour and has a bitter taste.

Given the chemical effects of berberine, which can be toxic, I advise against consuming large quantities of plants containing it.

The dose of berberine to be taken in a day varies between 500mg-2000mg for best effects. This dose should not be taken all at once. It should be taken in small doses throughout the day.

The dose of berberine to be taken in a day varies between 500mg-2000mg for best effects. This dose should not be taken all at once. It should be taken in small doses throughout the day.

Because of its effect on lipids and glucose in the body, berberine is best taken with or just before meals. In fact, it works best during meals.

Conclusion

On the other hand, too much berberine can cause diarrhoea and stomach cramps. The same applies if you take it outside mealtimes.

Berberine bio, an active ingredient extracted from Berberis vulgaris (barberry), is a powerful natural anti-cancer and anti-type 2 diabetes agent.
Berberine is hypoglycaemic. A high intake of berberine may therefore lead to hypoglycaemia. Ask your doctor for advice if you want to use berberine in your treatment.