Tag

Supplement safety

Page 6 of 8

Red barberry berries hanging from a thorned branch against soft green foliage

Berberine: uses, evidence, dosing and safety

Berberine is sold as nature's Ozempic, a comparison it does not earn. It genuinely lowers blood sugar and some lipids, on small and limited trials; the weight-loss claim driving the marketing is the weakest part.

Aug 3, 2026

Ground turmeric filling an open sack, with fragments of dried root through it

verdict

Turmeric and curcumin: uses, evidence, dosing and safety

Curcumin barely absorbs, and the high-absorption forms built to fix that are the ones LiverTox links to liver injury. Knee osteoarthritis is the one solid use; the rest is thinner than the shelf suggests.

Aug 3, 2026

Sliced raw beef resting on a wooden board in a dark kitchen

verdict

Vitamin B12: uses, evidence, dosing and safety

B12 inverts the usual advice here. Most people do not need it, but vegans, older adults and anyone on long-term metformin do, because untreated deficiency damages nerves in ways that may never reverse.

Aug 3, 2026

Fresh oysters on the half shell arranged on a platter of crushed ice

verdict

Zinc: uses, evidence, dosing and safety

Zinc has three evidence-backed uses: a lozenge for an adult's cold, a high-dose formula for existing macular degeneration, and children in places where deficiency is common. The daily immune capsule is not one of them.

Aug 3, 2026