Main image courtesy of Healthline.
Losing weight can be a difficult challenge for anyone, especially for older individuals looking to get rid of any stubborn fat. Through exercising, eating a healthy diet, sleeping well, and maintaining your mental health, weight will seem to fall right off, but getting rid of fat can be another challenge.
Another fat burning technique to consider and add into your everyday routine includes supplements. Berberine is a supplement that can help to target that stubborn fat and help to eliminate it in conjunction with exercising and eating healthy foods everyday.
It is important to talk to your doctor before taking berberine as it may interact with other drugs you may be taking, so let’s discuss what this means!
Supplements are a great aid in any diet to help ensure that you are living your healthiest and happiest life. If you’re looking for a supplement brand that uses natural ingredients to make their products, then Dr. Emil’s brand may be perfect for you. Dr. Emil focuses on holistic health and he has created some of the best supplements on the market that are high quality, using the best ingredients available that are healthier for your body. Dr. Emil offers a ton of supplements to focus on many aspects of your body, and his berberine supplement can help to promote healthy weight loss for results you’ll love!
In this article, some of the topics we will discuss include:
- A Deeper Look Into Berberine
- Potential Drug Interactions With Berberine
- The Overall Safety of Berberine
A Deeper Look Into Berberine
Berberine is a popular supplement to take for weight loss, but what does it consist of?
Finding the best supplement to help aid you in your weight loss journey is crucial, and berberine is a common one that many people have been trying out. It’s important to know not only what berberine does, but also where it comes from before taking it.
What is Berberine?
Chinese medicine has relied on plants for many years to help take care of its people, and there are many medicinal plants out there to help maintain your health and other aspects of your body. Berberine is a supplement that comes from a plant, but specifically, it is a chemical that is found in certain plants. The main ingredient in berberine comes from a few different types of plants such as the European barberry, goldenseal, goldthread, the Oregon grape, tree turmeric, and the phellodendron.
Just like many other plants that Chinese doctors have used in treating their patients, berberine is derived from a chemical that has been popular among their medical practices for years. Berberine is known to have a ton of positive benefits that help you not only lose weight, but for certain medical conditions and diseases, and alleviating painful symptoms for patients.
This is a supplement that is available in a capsule or pill form, but it can also be applied topically through your skin if you prefer this method.
How is Berberine Absorbed in Your Body?
Berberine activates an enzyme in the cells in your body called AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). AMPK functions to help to regulate metabolism and energy levels within your body.
AMPK is also responsible for turning specific genes in your body on or off. This may help prevent any type of diagnoses from a chronic health condition that can cause damage to your body over time.
Health Benefits to Taking Berberine
There are benefits to taking any supplement and berberine can help many aspects of your body besides helping you to lose weight.
Some of the common benefits to berberine consist of:
- Supports metabolism
- Aids in weight loss
- Increases energy levels
- Lowers high cholesterol
- Lower high blood pressure
- Strengthen the heartbeat
- Regulates sugar in blood
- Helps reduce swelling
- Prevents the build-up of a fatty liver
- Helps with symptoms of diabetes
- Helps aid with certain heart conditions
- Reduces risk of heart disease
- Reduces the risk of heart failure
- Reduces the growth and the spread of certain types of cancers
Potential Drug Interactions With Berberine
Berberine is a popular weight loss supplement, but people should be wary of possible drug interactions.
Taking supplements is an important part of many people’s everyday lives because of the positive benefits that they have. Before taking any supplement, especially berberine, it’s important to consider some of the potential drug interactions that you could come in contact with if you are prescribed medications to take on a daily basis.
Does Berberine Interfere With Prescription Drugs?
If you take any daily prescribed medications, it’s crucial to consider the drug interactions that could be potentially harmful if you decide to take berberine. While berberine can help you to lose weight, it could potentially interact with your prescription medication in a negative way.
For example, many people take berberine due to their diabetes diagnoses, but if you currently take medications for it, it could react with it. Berberine is known for interacting with medications by increasing or decreasing the levels of them in your blood. This is due to the effects that it can have on the AMPK enzymes in your blood.
While berberine works great for patients that have been diagnosed with diabetes, it can be potentially harmful if combined with blood sugar medications. If a diabetes patient is already on medications to help lower their blood sugar levels, berberine can lower them even more, which could cause hypoglycemia.
Hypoglycemia is when your blood sugar levels are below the average level that they should be at, which can be very dangerous if not treated instantly. By eating or drinking something that is high in sugar, your body’s blood sugar levels will go back to normal.
What Drugs Can Berberine Interact With?
There are many types of medications that can negatively interact with berberine, so it’s important not to combine the two.
Some of types of medications that berberine should not be taken with include:
- Robitussin (cough medicine)
- Cozaar (high blood pressure medication)
- Medications for your liver
- Medications to aid with diabetes patients
- Medications for high blood pressure
- Medications that slow blood clotting
- Glucophage (liver medication)
- Versed (sedative)
- Nembutal (sedative and anticonvulsant)
- Antidepressants
- Prograf (immunosuppressive drug)
Can Berberine Interact With Herbs and Other Supplements?
Herbs and supplements are what many people use to maintain their health and stay happy and healthy. Berberine supplements may also not only affect any prescription medications that you take, but also work against any herbs and supplements you take as well.
Just like certain kinds of medications, berberine can affect herbs and supplements that aid the following:
- Might lower blood pressure
- Might lower blood sugar
- Might slow blood clotting
- Supplements with sedative properties
- Interacts with probiotics
Does Berberine Have Any Food Interactions?
Since berberine can affect certain medications, herbs, and supplements that you may take, you may wonder if it can affect the food, or ingredients in it that you love to eat. Luckily, berberine is not known to have any food interactions.
Side Effects of Berberine
Now that you are familiar with some of the possible interactions that are common to see when mixing berberine with certain medications, it’s important to get to know some of the side effects of it.
Some of the most common side effects of taking berberine include:
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Gas
- Upset stomach
Taking certain supplements while you’re pregnant is okay if you’re approved by your doctor, but berberine is one to stay away from if you are carrying a child. If it is taken while pregnant, it can come in contact with the placenta and potentially harm the baby even before it is born.
The most common type of birth defect that can harm unborn babies because of the use of berberine is Kernicterus. Kernicterus is known for being a type of brain damage, it is developed in newborns who are exposed to berberine. This can cause long-term damage and is irreversible once diagnosed. Some of the long term effects of kernicterus in children can cause hearing loss and even cerebral palsy. If you are a mother currently breastfeeding, it is also advised to not take berberine to avoid any health issues that you could potentially pass to your child.
To avoid any side effects, or long term damage to you, or even your unborn child is to talk to your doctor before taking any kind of supplement. Getting a doctor’s advice can point you in the right direction and they can even help to give you even better alternatives that may be healthier for you, or work with your body better.
The Overall Safety of Berberine
Knowing how safe berberine is to take can help you make the right decision for your health.
It can be tricky to know if a supplement is right for you, especially berberine, if you are already prescribed certain medications. Taking a look at the overall safety of the supplement is crucial to know before deciding it’s right for you and your body.
How Safe is Berberine?
According to many doctors, berberine is a safe supplement to consider taking, but only if taken the correct way. Berberine is a supplement that shouldn't be taken every single day for the rest of your life, so many doctors recommend taking it in six month increments. Taking doses only up to 1.5g daily for six months can help to get the weight loss results you’ve been looking for, along with the many other benefits.
There are specific groups that doctors recommend taking berberine, which includes people who have been diagnosed with diabetes, heart disease, or suffer from obesity. Berberine can help people get back to the proper weight that they need to be at, or it can help them with their blood sugar levels, or even strengthen their heart.
If you are a healthy individual, there may be no need to take berberine, but if you are interested in losing more weight, or for other concerns about your health, it is advised to talk to your doctor before taking it. You may also consult the authorities to check if the supplements have obtained proper licensing.
Berberine is a supplement that many people can take for tons of different reasons. Whether you want to shed off some of that extra weight you may have, or even if you have been diagnosed with diabetes and you want to help regulate your blood sugar levels, berberine is a great option to consider.
Consider giving berberine a try to help maintain a healthy body weight to help look and feel great!
Make sure to check out Dr. Emil’s very own Berberine Plus supplement that can further help you in your weight loss journey, help with diabetes, or even help with certain heart conditions. Made using natural ingredients for a healthier and happier you, this supplement has been flying off of the shelves and can provide results you never thought possible.
