I’ve started using berberine a couple of months ago, mainly to decrease fasting blood glucose, which too often was starting to approach the threshold of 100 mg/dL. I did try a low-carb diet, it was effective in keeping FBG around 90 mg/dL, but it also caused an undesired weightloss.
I started with 400 mg/d (Swanson Berberine), then 800 mg/d same brand, and presently 1000 mg/d another local brand, with black pepper and chrome picolinate added.
The effect on FBG seems to be evident so far with values ranging usually in the 90-95 mg/dL region, sometimes lower than 90.
What impressed me though, was the conspicuous effect on hunger, the neurological signal of it. I’ve read the literature on berberine as a stimulant of GLP-1, and I recognize the effects of GLP1- receptor agonist drugs as described in other threads. For example, Steve Combi described how GLP1-RAs can liberate you from the constant signal of hunger.
To me berberine had a similar effect. I have low adiposity and don’t eat much, but this supplement seems to provide a significant detachment from food. The hedonistic attachment is now blunted, and I’m viewing the food more as a means to nourish the body. I am presently decreasing by half or one-third the portions of vegetables, otherwise, I would reach full satiety before being able to eat calorie-dense foods.
Again, the effect on me was dramatic; before this, sometimes I tended to overindulge in some tasty healthy foods especially sweets at the end of a meal. Tonight I was only able to eat minuscule portions.
I’m enjoying such mental detachment but my purpose is not weight loss. I’m going to monitor my body weight and if it drops beyond 3 pounds I’m going to halve the daily dosage, eventually discontinuing. And maybe I’ll use the present dosage when wanting to go through short periods of caloric restriction or Longo’s FMD.
I’ll take note if this is just a casual occurrence, but the association is pretty strong. It may really be that, for some people, berberine is nature’s ozempic.
