Berberine accelerates fat burning and is expected to become a new weight loss drug

The Financial Times recently reported that nearly one-third of the world's population is "overweight", and obesity has become a global problem. Market research firm McKinsey also predicts that in the next 15 years, the number of "overweight" adults in the world will soar to 50%. All walks of life are committed to finding an antidote to obesity, and the latest research in China has found that "berberine", a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat diarrhea, actually has the effect of burning fat, bringing a ray of hope to the weight loss drug industry.

Berberine, a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat diarrhea, actually has the effect of burning fat, which is a ray of hope for the weight loss drug industry. (Picture/taken from Wikipedia)

Berberine helps burn "brown fat"

According to a report by Fox News in the United States, the School of Medicine of Shanghai Jiao Tong University recently published a study in the journal Nature Communications, pointing out that berberine (BBR) can accelerate the fat burning effect of "brown fat". Professor Guang Ning, who led the research at the school, explained that there are two types of fat in the human body, white and brown. White fat stores energy, while brown fat burns calories to maintain body temperature. If the burning of brown fat can be accelerated, it is equivalent to getting rid of fat.

Professor Ning Guang divided the experimental mice into two groups for testing. The first group of mice were injected with berberine daily, while the second group of mice were not. After comparing the results after four weeks, it was found that the mice injected with berberine consumed more total calories, and when entering a cold environment, the mice in the first group were able to burn more calories to improve their cold resistance. In addition, the white fat in the first group of mice actually turned into brown fat, which means that berberine would increase overall fat burning and help the mice lose weight.

Berberine helps reduce diabetes

Berberine, commonly known as berberine, is an important alkaloid that can be extracted from plants such as Coptis chinensis, Phellodendron chinense, and Tripterygium wilfordii. It is often used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat diarrhea, and is also used in Western medicine clinically to treat bacterial gastroenteritis.

Berberine has the effect of preventing diabetes and is expected to be developed into a new drug for the treatment of metabolic syndrome, hereditary endocrine diseases, and patients who are prone to obesity.

In addition, another study conducted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2012 stated that berberine has the effect of preventing diabetes because it can inhibit 175 types of "bad bacteria" related to diabetes in the intestines and promote the growth of another 93 types of "good bacteria", reducing the risk of toxins entering the blood due to an imbalance in the intestinal flora structure, destroying insulin, interfering with fat metabolism and inducing diabetes.

The Journal of Metabolism also published a report in 2008, pointing out that berberine has the effect of lowering cholesterol and triglycerides.

Berberine may become a new weight loss drug

Based on the above advantages, Professor Ning Guang believes that berberine has broad and important application prospects and is expected to be developed into a new drug for the treatment of metabolic syndrome, hereditary endocrine diseases, and patients who are prone to obesity. However, all current experiments are conducted on mice, and more research is needed to confirm its effects on humans.

【Health Tips】:

The most common side effect of berberine is constipation. It is a traditional Chinese medicine, so if people want to take it, they should consult a Chinese medicine practitioner and not take it casually.