in today's video we're going to be discussing if berberine is a good treatment for polycystic
ovarian syndrome also known as pcos is it a better alternative to metformin this is a question i am
frequently asked about berberine which if you aren't familiar is a natural over-the-counter
supplement that is often touted as being effective for reducing pcos symptoms and
the reason i am asked about it so frequently is that a lot of women who are prescribed metformin
suffers some pretty nasty side effects not all women there are some who are lucky and
don't have any side effects at all but then there are others who are not so lucky so in
today's video we're going to be talking about what berberine is whether it is an
effective treatment and if it comes with the same side effects as metformin or not
hey guys welcome back to my channel if you're new here my name is kait i'm a health coach and i post
videos on a high fat nutrient dense way of eating if you like this video please give it a thumbs up
feel free to share and make sure to subscribe and make sure to follow me on instagram twitter
and facebook where's your new posts every single day now i've done another video in the past about
taking inositol for pcos which is another natural supplement that i'm often asked about and while
these two supplements are similar in a lot of ways they're also different in other ways
one might be better suited for you than the other so if you watch this video and you're
not quite sure watch that one as well and weigh the pros and cons of both but anyways
today we are focusing on berberine we're going to start off today talking about what berberine is
and how it works in the context of pcos and then we'll get into how it compares to metformin in
terms of effectiveness and also in terms of side effects what is berberine berberine is a natural
compound that comes from plants some of the plants include european barberry goldenseal and oregano
grape so not really plants people eat day to day usually at least probably the most well-known and
consumed one is turmeric and because of its yellow color turmeric is often used in dye
but for the context of today's video it is also used as a supplement berberine has long been used
in chinese medicine but modern scientific research has confirmed its health benefits
it has been shown in many studies to help with weight loss as well as blood sugar management
and of course it's also been shown to help with pcos symptoms as well so how does it work before
we discuss how it works for pcos we need to discuss what causes pcos because that will help
you to understand the connection what causes pcos now there is a lot of confusion surrounding pcos
i know that most women who are diagnosed with it are told that it's irreversible that the best
thing they can do is manage their symptoms and this is completely not true pcos can be reversed
and you reverse it by addressing the root cause and spoiler alert berberine helps to address the
root cause which is why it is so effective for so many women but what is the root cause
okay so if you've been watching my channel for a while my answer is probably not going to surprise
you but the vast majority of pcos cases are caused by insulin resistance insulin is a hormone
responsible for lowering blood sugar and storing excess glucose in our cells every time we eat
blood sugar rises and as a result the pancreas pumps out insulin but insulin resistance occurs
when our insulin levels remain high for a long period of time our cells stop responding to
insulin in the way that they should they become resistant to it and this leads to numerous side
effects and this ties in with pcos because high insulin levels are what caused the main symptoms
of pcos every month just before ovulation there should be a big spike in the hormone estrogen
all estrogen is made from testosterone but high insulin levels block the ovaries from converting
it and the spike in estrogen doesn't happen so you don't ovulate you don't have your period
your eggs remain in your ovaries and become cysts and your testosterone remains high and those are
the three main symptoms of pcos irregular periods ovarian cysts and high testosterone by addressing
and reversing insulin resistance pcos will reverse as well but now let's get into how berberine works
how does berberine work now as previously mentioned verb brain has been shown
in numerous studies to help with weight loss and also blood sugar management
and it does this by improving insulin sensitivity it works in a similar way to metformin
it makes insulin more effective so the cells accept more blood sugar it decreases the amount
of sugar that the liver releases it also slows down the breakdown of carbohydrates in the gut
and it increases the amount of beneficial bacteria in the gut now before we get into how berberine
compares to metformin i'm quickly going to tell you about today's sponsor squarespace
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berberine vs metformin so now let's get into how berberine compares to metformin a 2012 review that
looked at 14 studies found berberine to be just as effective as metformin for the treatment of
type 2 diabetes and type 2 diabetes is another disease that is caused by insulin resistance
pcos is actually a huge risk factor for type 2 diabetes it is estimated that 50 of women with
pcos will develop type 2 diabetes before the age of 40. so berberine being effective for type 2
diabetes is also relevant to women with pcos as well now when we compare berberine to metformin
we find that it doesn't improve all the same symptoms in the exact same way berberine seems
to have a greater impact than metformin on hormone balance and body composition however but honestly
there haven't been many studies comparing the two directly so it's really hard to gauge if one's
better than the other there have however been numerous studies done on berberine by itself a
2020 review that looked at five studies found that berberine is shown to be effective against insulin
resistance and obesity particularly against visceral adipose tissue the study concluded that
berberine is safe to use in pre-menopausal women who want to get pregnant and showed
few side effects in all the cited studies which brings me to the final topic we're going to touch
on today now unfortunately berberine doesn't come without side effects i know i know it was
almost sounding too good to be true a lot of the digestive distress that we see with metformin
we do sometimes see with berberine as well this includes constipation gas and diarrhea for some
people it can also cause headaches nausea and even rashes because honestly like metformin it depends
on the individual some people will experience a lot of side effects and some people none from my
experience working with women however i have found that a lot of women who did have side effects on
metformin have fewer when they take berberine so that's something to consider now in terms of
how much to take it's usually recommended to take 500 milligrams before your meals so three times a
day this is generally a good approach although some people might take it slightly differently
now before i wrap up i just want to finish by saying that you're gonna see the best results
using berberine if you pair it with proper diet and lifestyle change even just small changes
and i do have a whole video on my channel that has a few really easy steps you can take to reverse
pcos i'm going to link that video up above if you can do one two or all of those things
combined with berberine you're going to have really really good results and of course final
disclaimer if you are currently taking metformin or any other drug relating to blood sugar
make sure to talk to your doctor first before adding in berberine or maybe swapping it talk
to your doctor though see what they say work with them this isn't medical advice i am
simply providing you with information to help you to make an informed decision so talk to your
doctor and figure out what's best for you anyways guys that's all i have for you today let me know
in the comment section down below if you've tried berberine before and what your experience was
thank you so much if you take the time to leave a comment or even if you take the time to just
give this video a thumbs up i really appreciate it and make sure to check out squarespace which
will be linked in the description box down below if you guys did enjoy this video you might also
enjoy my video on inositol for pcos you can check it out here if you want to catch up
on my most recent upload you can find it right here and if you want to check out my keto diet
and carnivorous coaching programs you can find those here thanks guys i'll see you next time bye