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🗓️ 15 January 2024
⏱️ 17 minutes
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You might have heard the buzz around berberine, often referred to as “nature's Ozempic”.
Berberine is a powerhouse for many things, from reducing inflammation to regulating blood sugar levels.
Tune in to hear which benefits the science supports (and the surprising ones it doesn’t) and get a simple dosing guide.
And if you have any additional questions you would like answered in the future, let me know in the comments!
Diets Debunked: The Noom Program: https://drruscio.com/noom-debunked/
Diets Debunked: Weight Watchers: https://drruscio.com/weight-watchers/
Genetic Testing for Weight Loss Isn’t Worth it. Here’s what is: https://drruscio.com/genetic-testing-for-weight-loss/
How to Heal Your Gut Naturally: https://drruscio.com/how-to-heal-your-gut-naturally/
00:00 Intro
01:00 What is berberine?
01:37 Weight loss
02:34 Cholesterol
05:52 Blood sugar
08:47 Gut health
11:15 SIBO
12:53 Berberine dosing guide
Biological properties and clinical applications of berberine: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32335802/
Berberine: Botanical Occurrence, Traditional Uses, Extraction Methods, and Relevance in Cardiovascular, Metabolic, Hepatic, and Renal Disorders: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30186157/
The Effect of Berberine on Reproduction and Metabolism in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Control Trials: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31915452/
The effect of berberine supplementation on obesity parameters, inflammation and liver function enzymes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32690176/
The effect of berberine supplementation on lipid profile and obesity indices: An umbrella review of meta-analysis: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2213434423000361
Berberine decreases plasma triglyceride levels and upregulates hepatic TRIB1 in LDLR wild type mice and in LDLR deficient mice: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31666640/
Berberine decreases cholesterol levels in rats through multiple mechanisms, including inhibition of cholesterol absorption: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25002181/
Overall and Sex-Specific Effect of Berberine for the Treatment of Dyslipidemia in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trials: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36941490/
Efficacy and Safety of Berberine Alone or Combined with Statins for the Treatment of Hyperlipidemia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31094214/
The Effect of Berberine on Metabolic Profiles in Type 2 Diabetic Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34956436/
Overall and Sex-Specific Effect of Berberine on Glycemic and Insulin-Related Traits: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37598753/
Effects of berberine and barberry on selected inflammatory biomarkers in adults: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37675930/
Berberine improves intestinal epithelial tight junctions by upregulating A20 expression in IBS-D mice: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31306972/
Berberine Enhances Intestinal Mucosal Barrier Function by Promoting Vitamin D Receptor Activity: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37046128/
Berberine influences multiple diseases by modifying gut microbiota: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37599699/
Berberine Improves Intestinal Motility and Visceral Pain in the Mouse Models Mimicking Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS-D) Symptoms in an Opioid-Receptor Dependent Manner: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26700862/
A Randomized Clinical Trial of Berberine Hydrochloride in Patients with Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26400188/
Efficacy and safety of berberine in preventing recurrence of colorectal adenomas: A systematic review and meta-analysis: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34509605/
Berberine and rifaximin effects on small intestinal bacterial overgrowth: Study protocol for an investigator-initiated, double-arm, open-label, randomized clinical trial (BRIEF-SIBO study): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36873985/
Berberine and health outcomes: An umbrella review: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36999891/
Bioavailability study of berberine and the enhancing effects of TPGS on intestinal absorption in rats: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21637946/
Efficacy of berberine in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18442638/
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*Full transcript available on YouTube by clicking the “Show transcript” button on the bottom right of the video.
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0:00.0 | Welcome to Dr. Rousho Radio, providing practical and science-based solutions to feeling your best. |
0:15.4 | To stay up to date on the latest topics, as well as all of our prior episodes, make sure to subscribe in your podcast player. |
0:22.9 | For weekly updates, visit Dr. Russo.com. That's d r-R-R-U-S-C-I-O.com. |
0:30.6 | The following discussion is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or |
0:36.0 | treat any disease. Please do not apply any of this information |
0:39.6 | without first speaking with your doctor. Now, let's head to the show. Welcome back. Today, let's |
0:45.6 | discuss Berbering. You may have heard of this plant compound that's been studied for weight loss, |
0:51.2 | blood sugar, cholesterol. In fact, you may have even heard of one fairly seminal |
0:56.1 | meta-analysis comparing the effectiveness of berberine for blood sugar against that of metformin. |
1:01.8 | And also it has uses for gut health. So let's take a moment and look at this traditionally used |
1:08.3 | plant alkaloid, pass it through a filter of modern science, |
1:13.2 | and see what we can learn. Where or when should we use it? When might we not want to? And then |
1:19.0 | also provide you usage guidelines. As I mentioned a moment ago, berberine is an alkaloid. |
1:27.4 | Think caffeine, nicotine. Theseine is an alkaloid. |
1:34.1 | Think caffeine, nicotine, these are both plant alkaloids, in this case from a variety of plants, |
1:43.1 | barberry, golden seal, golden thread, Oregon grape, and the use of berberine does date back some 3,000 somewhat years in traditional and ancient Chinese medicine. |
1:48.0 | So, an interesting backstory, but again, we want to see if the traditional uses for gut and for wound healing and for metabolism hold merit modern day when examined with science. |
2:02.3 | So let's start off with weight loss. |
2:05.1 | Now, as many compounds do, they have and they exert interesting impacts. |
2:12.2 | So in this case, the impact of berberine does improve fatty acid oxidation and thermogenesis and therefore energy expenditure. |
2:23.8 | However, when we look at a 2003 umbrella meta-analysis, looking at 13 meta-analyses over 17,000 individuals being studied. |
2:38.2 | The effect of berberine on weight loss was 1.9 pounds considered non-significant. |
... |
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