TikTokkers also call it ‘nature’s Ozempic’. This drug was originally developed as a medicine for people suffering from type 2 diabetes, but has now also been scientifically accepted as a weight loss aid.
It is about berberine, a toxin that naturally occurs in barberry (scientific name: Berberis vulgaris). It is yellow and bitter, it is sold as dried berries, pills or powder. And it would, according to the one after another cheer story on TikTok are a kind of natural miracle cure that makes body fat disappear like snow in the sun.
Where does the effect come from?
The hashtag #berberine already has 73 million views on TikTok, and that is rising quickly.
Dietitian Berdien van Wezel sees similarities with other natural medicines: “These types of natural medicines often contain the same active ingredients, only in much lower doses.”
She now also sees that effect on the ingredient list of berberine pills, she says. And because of those rather low doses, she does not immediately believe that the pill or the dried fruit causes weight loss. “People who have such a social media channel often do much more to achieve their goals than just taking pills. They often have the time and money to hire personal trainers, or they drink a lot of protein shakes, and do other things to stay fit. Nice for the followers, but where does the effect come from?”
The comparison with Ozempic is ‘pure marketing’, writes The Washington Post. The newspaper quotes a doctor from Yale University’s medical school, F. Perry Wilson, as saying: “That term ‘nature’s Ozempic’ suggests that the remedies are comparable, but they are not. To claim that it is ‘natural’ and just because it’s cheap, and widely available, doesn’t mean it works. It doesn’t mean it’s safe either.”
There is one study published showing that berberine caused weight loss in mice. The appetite of the rodents was also lower. People would according to a study lost about two kilos of body weight, but this was described by Wilson of Yale as ‘not particularly convincing’. The study was ‘of low quality’ and the researchers involved are said to have a questionable reputation.
The latter is recognizable, says Martijn Katan, professor of nutrition at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. “In these types of studies they always use mice. But if something works in mice, that says nothing at all about how it works in humans.”
‘Miracles are rare in science’
This is largely because mice ‘are put together for such studies’, says Katan. “Molecular biologists modify DNA to conduct certain studies. You can find any results you want in mice.”
He has also seen many ‘miracle remedies’, he says. Especially through social media. “The agreement is that they cost 49.95 per jar, and disappear again after a few years. Everyone is looking for a miracle, but miracles are scarce in serious science.”
Two ‘naturopaths’ that The Washington Post spoke to emphatically say that a healthy diet is indispensable if you want to lose weight. “Berberine alone is not strong enough to cause weight loss on its own,” the newspaper quotes Nikka Kanani, a California naturopath.
What does help, says dietitian Berdien van Wezel, is keeping your blood sugar level stable. “That is crucial when losing weight. And you do this mainly by eating regularly and healthily. Avoiding stress and exercising also helps. Overweight people often have the problem that they suddenly eat a lot. Then the pancreas suddenly has to produce a lot of insulin, to ensure that the carbohydrates can be absorbed by the cells. But those peaks are unhealthy. They cause an imbalance in the sugar level and subsequently obesity.”
‘Always be careful with herbal remedies’
In the Netherlands, berberine does not seem to be a super trend yet; Several dietitians we asked about it say they are not yet or hardly familiar with the trend (and largely with the drug itself).
But in general terms, ‘always be careful with herbal remedies’, says Professor Katan. Because: “Nature is our enemy. Many plants stuff themselves with poison because they don’t want to be eaten. But these kinds of remedies keep coming, because people want them and manufacturers can make huge profits with them.”
The Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority has this month a podcast made in which it warns against ‘supplements and herbal jars’, says Katan. “Rightly so, because accidents regularly happen with plant extracts. There is a notorious example of a Chinese herbal supplement with pipe flower that gave dozens of Belgian women cancer. So it is really not as harmless as it seems.”
2023-12-21 16:43:42
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