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There are many different reasons for supplements. They can help target certain areas of your body that need a little bit more help, help increase energy levels throughout the day, boost your immunity, increase metabolism, or even help you to lose weight. Regardless of what you feel your body needs more of, there is a supplement to cover it.
There are two very similar supplements and medications that are out there that can help with diabetes patients to help alleviate their symptoms. Berberine and metformin are two great options for anyone who suffers from common issues and symptoms of diabetes, and while both are helpful, there are similarities and differences between both.
Consider the similarities and differences between both berberine and metformin to see what is a good option for you!
Supplements are an important aid to add into our everyday lives that can have more benefits than you might think. With tons of supplement brands available, it can be hard to find one that is the healthiest to take with all-natural ingredients. One of the best brands currently out there is Dr. Emil’s because not only does he use high-quality ingredients for all of his supplements, but he focuses on holistic health and how important it is for everyone. Dr. Emil has created his own exclusive supplements brand including his berberine supplement, which can help to promote healthy weight loss!
In this article, we’ll discuss the following topics:
- What is Berberine?
- What is Metformin?
- Berberine or Metformin: What is Better For You?
What is Berberine?
Get familiar with both berberine and metformin, because sometimes supplements are the way to go!
Berberine is an over-the-counter supplement that you can easily pick up at your local supermarket and will have effects on symptoms of diabetes, and even heart conditions, while also providing other positive benefits.
What is Berberine?
When it comes to supplements, a lot of them are derived directly from plants. One that has been popular among Chinese medicine for years is berberine, a medicinal plant to help maintain your overall health and even promote weight loss.
Berberine comes directly from plants such as the European barberry, goldenseal, goldthread, the Oregon grape, tree turmeric, and the phellodendron and the main chemical in it is what creates the supplement to provide the positive benefits it has.
Chinese doctors have used berberine to treat their patients for years in medical practices focusing on holistic health and the positive benefits that can come from using plants as a type of medical treatment. Berberine is known for being the go-to supplement to promote weight loss, increase metabolism, and even help patients who are diagnosed with diabetes and even certain heart conditions.
It is also crucial to know how berberine is absorbed in your body and when you take it, it activates an enzyme in the cells in your body called AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). AMPK functions specifically 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, meaning it can help prevent a chronic health condition that can affect you and your health for the rest of your life.
It is also important to note that berberine 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.
Health Benefits to Taking Berberine
When taking any supplement, there are a ton of benefits that are helpful in making you feel healthier, including berberine that can improve your weight, help aid with diabetes treatment, and even prevent health conditions and cancers.
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
What Are the Side Effects of Berberine?
When taking any supplement, it is crucial that you talk to your doctor first before trying out anything to ensure it is right for you, and even to get the proper dosage. This is especially necessary for berberine since there are a few different reasons people take it.
Some of the most common side effects of taking berberine include:
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Gas
- Upset stomach
What is Metformin?
Metformin is different from berberine in a few ways, but can have similar effects on the human body!
If you suffer from diabetes, sometimes getting medication, like Metformin, to help deal with the pain and the symptoms of it is necessary. Prescription medications like Metformin are very different from obtaining supplements, so it’s important to get to know what Metformin is and how it can help you.
Get to Know Metformin
If you are someone who has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, many doctors will prescribe Metformin. The brand names for Metformin include Glucophage, Glucophage XR, Glumetza, and Riomet. This prescription medication helps to lower blood glucose levels by helping to improve how your body handles insulin.
Metformin can help make excess glucose that diabetes patients need, create more muscle in your body, and even create more fat cells that are sensitive to the insulin created through the medication.
Not only does metformin lower blood glucose levels, but it can also reduce any complications that diabetes patients experience on a daily basis. Some of these most common symptoms of type 2 diabetes include the following:
- Feeling very thirsty or hungry
- Extreme fatigue
- Excessive urination
- Pain, numbness, or tingling in hands or feet
- Slow healing cuts or bruises
- Excessive weight loss
- Blurry vision
- Itchiness
Not only can metformin medication help to lower blood glucose levels, but it also can lower blood cholesterol and even triglycerides. It doesn’t cause any weight gain like taking insulin can, or even other prescribed medications for type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes patients often become overweight overtime, suffer from high cholesterol, or develop heart disease, which are all the most common conditions that these people die from. Metformin can help to reverse these effects and prevent them from happening because it lowers blood glucose levels and helps to gain muscle .
What Are the Benefits of Metformin?
Some of the most common benefits to taking metformin include the following:
- Lower glucose
- Lowers risk of hypoglycemia (too low of a blood glucose level)
- Modest weight loss
- Reduce size of your waist
- Can improve fertility
- Improves immunity
- Can slow tumor growth in certain cancers
- Less likely to suffer extreme symptoms of COVID-19
- Can prevent diabetes for people who are obese
- Lowers risk of dementia
- Affordable for most people
Side Effects to Taking Metformin
With taking any type of medication, there are usually different side effects that people can experience. Side effects are common with medications so it’s important to talk to your doctor first and stop taking the medication if the side effects persist.
There are a few side effects of metformin to keep in mind that include the following:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Stomach aches
- Loss of appetite
- Metallic taste in mouth
Berberine or Metformin: What is Better For You?
Berberine and Metformin both are great aids to help your overall health, but which one is best for you?
Being healthy is a top priority for everybody because it allows you to continue to live a long and happy life. Type 2 diabetes is a condition that many people live with, but regardless, the symptoms of it can cause damage overtime. Berberine and metformin are two types of aids that can continue to help you improve your overall health if you are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, but which one is better?
Which is Right For You: Berberine or Metformin?
Before selecting either berberine or metformin, it is important to talk to your doctor first before selecting the right one for you. While there are positives and benefits to both, your doctor can point you in the right direction and prescribe, or recommend what they feel is necessary for your body and your overall health.
Many people often call berberine a metformin substitute since you can get it at your local supermarket, pharmacy, or anywhere that sells supplements. Berberine has shown that it can replace metformin in a small way.
Berberine can be great for individuals who are prediabetic, or for individuals with mild diabetes compared to people who severely suffer from the condition. It is often prescribed to individuals whose diabetes is very mild because metformin can be too much for someone who is prediabetic, or someone with lesser symptoms. It will still work to decrease your symptoms of diabetes, just like metformin does, while also helping you to lose weight as well.
Many doctors believe that berberine is a better option due to it being tolerated better than metformin. If taken correctly, the side effects of berberine are not nearly as bad or even as damaging as metformin, and it also includes immune-boosting properties, lowers cholesterol, and helps individuals who suffer with chronic inflammation.
In some cases, there are people who can’t tolerate metformin due to severely high blood pressure, certain heart conditions, or even if you had a heart attack or stroke. Instead, this person can take berberine as an alternative and to minimize the side effects of diabetes.
How Much Berberine or Metformin Should I Take?
After talking to your doctor and getting the okay on if you should start metformin or berberine, it’s important to get to know what the correct dosage is that you should take.
For berberine, it is recommended to take 900 to 1,500mg of berberine per day. This is the recommended dosage since berberine should only be taken for six months at a time and you can start off with a small dose and take it three times a day, or take the dose all at once depending on how your body reacts to it.
When it comes to metformin, it is recommended to take 500mg twice a day with morning or evening meals, or one dosage of 850 with food in the morning. By talking to your doctor, they will recommend the proper dosage that is correct for you and your body, but this all depends on how your blood sugar is responding to the metformin.
Both metformin and berberine can help to improve one’s very own life with the help of controlling their weight and to stay at a healthy BMI. Whether your doctor recommends taking a controlled metformin dosage once or twice a day, or to try out berberine for the many positive effects it has on the body, both are incredible choices to improve the health of diabetes patients.
Talk to your doctor today about the best supplement that you should be taking to improve the health of your body!
