11 Amazing Health Benefits of Berberine

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Berberine is an herb used for thousands of years that can help with congestive health failure, cholesterol, diabetes, weight loss, blood pressure, metabolic syndrome and more.

Found in Plants – The compound “Berberine” is found in many different herbal plants including: Oregon Grape, Barberry, Phellodendron, Yerba Mansa, Goldenseal, and a few more medicinal plants.

TCM and Ayurvedic Medicine – Berberine has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine in India for thousands of years with great success. Berberine powder has a bright orange color and has a bitter taste. Berberine works by changing “adenosine monophosphate/activated protein kinase” a specific enzyme that changes the way cells produce energy.

Lowers Glucose – Clinical studies with berberine shows berberine has the ability to lower blood glucose levels, thus making it important for those suffering from diabetes. Berberine is just as effective in lowering blood glucose as the prescription drug “Metformin or Glucophage”… which is pretty amazing.

Berberine stimulates cells to take in more glucose and slows the production of glucose in the liver… it improves insulin sensitivity dropping insulin resistance by 45%… and A1c levels by 8%.

Lowers Cholesterol and Trigs – Studies show that berberine does a great job of lowering total cholesterol, LDL or Bad cholesterol, and also triglycerides. Thus berberine is important for cardiovascular health, strokes, and cancer. Double blind studies in people show that when taking 500 mgs of berberine once a day their total cholesterol dropped 18 %, their LDL or Bad cholesterol dropped 21%, and their trigs dropped a whopping 35.9 %.

Congestive Heart Failure – Studies show that berberine can help those suffering from congestive heart failure and lower the risk of sudden death. Plus berberine improves heart function, lower back pressure, and helps the heart to function more normally. And in lab animals heart size started to decrease… and it’s also effective for heart arrhythmias such as PVC’s.

Metabolic Syndrome – Because berberine helps with cholesterol, trigs, glucose, inflammation, weight loss, and especially midsection weight loss, berberine is a wonderful herb for treating all the aspects of metabolic syndrome.

Alzheimers and Dementia – A study in China showed that berberine may be able to prevent Alzheimer’s disease and dementia by preventing the oxidation of particular chemicals needed to preserve memory. Plus berberine also helps to lower cholesterol… and that too helps to prevent cardiovascular disease and the subsequent loss of memory.

Anti-Inflammatory – Berberine is a natural anti-inflammatory and helps with joint related inflammation, cardiovascular inflammation, and inflammation that can lead to the formation of cancer.

Antimicrobial – Berberine is a powerful antimicrobial agent that’s able to control infectious agents by not allowing them to attach themselves to the cell wall… thus preventing disease. Berberine helps with viral, bacterial, protozoan, fungal infections, eye trachoma, and chlamydial infections. And studies show that berberine used with traditional antibiotics can rid the body of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria.

Diarrhea – Berberine is also very effective for treating diarrhea and soothing away intestinal infections.

Weight Loss – In clinical trials berberine helps those with high cholesterol and trigs, and they also lost weight… especially tummy fat.

Lowers Blood Pressure – In clinical trials it was found that berberine lowered blood pressure by 5 to 7 points.

Cancer – In laboratory tests it was found that berberine was effective in inhibiting the progressing of lung tumors, prostate cancer, liver cancer, and some types of leukemia. And berberine also helps to prevent colitis caused by radiation therapy.

Side Effects – To date there have been no ill effects caused by taking berberine… and berberine has been successfully used for thousands of years. But as with all herbs berberine should only be taken for 7 to 10 days, then one week off, then come back to it again.

Prof. Hesin
I am herbalist and write on variety of topics from nutrition to natural health, herbal medicine, nutritional supplementation, mind/body medicine and i enjoys the challenge of providing my family with healthy food options that fit with their busy lifestyle.