OZEMPIC's Serious Side Effects have people looking for "Nature's Ozempic" - What's the science behind Berberine as a weight loss supplement? And is it much more than that?

Ozempic is a diabetic drug leading a weight loss craze since 2022. It isn’t without serious risks, however.

As a result, many are trying to find “Nature’s Ozempic”. Berberine, a plant alkaloid abundant in barberry and goldenseal, has been identified as the most likely candidate but what is the science behind weight loss with Berberine?

What is OZEMPIC:

Ozempic, known generically as semaglutide, was approved in 2017 by the US FDA for use in adults with Type 2 Diabetes. Ozempic is a weekly injection that helps lower blood sugar by helping the pancreas make more insulin.

Ozempic isn’t approved for weight loss but that's a famous side effect, so some doctors have been prescribing it off-label for that purpose. People with obesity seeking to lose weight can also turn to Wegovy, which contains semaglutide — the same active ingredient as in Ozempic, and is approved for weight loss.

The medication comes with side effects. The most common include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain and constipation, according to Novo Nordisk, the company that makes both Ozempic and Wegovy. But patients may also experience serious side effects such as pancreatitis, gallbladder problems and kidney failure, it warns.

People have to keep taking semaglutide for the drug to keep working — otherwise, they’ll regain much of the weight, studies have shown. It’s also expensive: List price for month’s supply is $900 for Ozempic and $1,300 for Wegovy.

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OZEMPIC - Typical Weight loss

• From a 2022 study by Ghusn et al:

• people who received weekly semaglutide injections lost an average of about 15 pounds after three months and about 27 pounds after six months, which translates into about a 5-pound weight loss per month.

OZEMPIC EXAMPLE: Struggling with side effects