Taking berberine pills (500 mg, 2–3 times a day) can help lower your bad cholesterol and fat levels in the blood almost as well as a low dose of statin drugs, and it might work by turning on a cellular switch that helps your body remove more bad cholesterol.

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Supplements for Lipid Lowering: What Does the Evidence Show?

Narrative Review

2023 Aug

The study says berberine might slightly lower cholesterol in some people, but the results are mixed and not strong — it doesn’t back up the claim that it works as well as statins or lowers numbers by 20–30%.

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Supplements for Lipid Lowering: What Does the Evidence Show?

Score: 1

DOI: 10.1007/s11886-023-01903-9

Similar Assertions

Taking berberine pills may help lower your 'bad' cholesterol and fat in your blood by about 10–20%, which could be good for your heart.

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Taking berberine pills for 3 months helped people with high cholesterol lower their bad fats in the blood—cholesterol dropped by almost a third, and triglycerides by over a third—so it might be a natural way to help manage cholesterol.

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Taking berberine, a natural supplement, may help lower your 'bad' cholesterol and overall cholesterol levels if you already have high cholesterol — better than not taking anything at all.

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Taking berberine pills every day for 3 months can lower your bad cholesterol and fat levels in the blood by a lot—like cutting your cholesterol by nearly a third.

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Taking berberine pills daily for a few months may help lower your bad cholesterol and overall cholesterol levels if you have high cholesterol, diabetes, or metabolic syndrome.

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