24 Amazing Health Benefits of Barberries

Barberry is an evergreen, deciduous shrub that bears oval shaped red fruits. Barberry is known for its medicinal uses for more than 200 years. It is a detoxifying herb containing excellent stimulating and sedative properties that help fight several disease causing organisms. You can consume barberry orally, and also be used externally for treating a number of health issues. Let us know about some of the best health benefits of barberries for human health.

Barberries are rich source of vitamin C. Barberry also contains Vitamins B like thiamine and mineral such as Zinc. There is a chemical known as Berberine present in Barberry, which has a great medicinal value. This chemical acts as an antibiotic for killing bacteria, fungi and protozoa. The fruit, stem and the root bark of barberry contain chemicals such as protoberberine alkaloids and Isoquinoline, that are effective enough in treating several ailments.

100 gram of Barberry fruit contain 316 calories of energy, 3.6 gram of protein, 63.9 gram of Carbohydrate, 27.2 grams of Sugar, 3.5 grams of Fat, 7.4 gram of Dietary fiber, and 24 mg of Vitamin C in it.

Barberries are healthy fruits that are packed with high nutrients and also benefit the human health in a great manner. Below are some of the health benefits of barberries:

1. It Eases Up Inflammation And Infections:

   Barberries help in easing the inflammation. Actually, inflammation is the root of some health ailments and treating these inflammations can actually be helpful in making the symptoms a bit bearable.

   There are studies that have stated that barberry contain some potential antibacterial and antifungal agents in it and this make the fruit a great solution to fight infection.

2. Helps In Treating Infections In Urinary Tract:

   One more health benefit of barberries is that, it helps in treating infections in urinary tract.

3. Helps In Treating Gastrointestinal Infections:

   One of the most amazing benefits of barberries is that it can help in treating gastrointestinal infections because of the presence of some powerful antibacterial and antifungal agents in it.

4. Helpful For Sore Throat:

   Barberries greatly help in treating sore throat and some more light conditions like cold. This is because of the presence of Vitamin C in barberries.

5. Beneficial in Treating Diarrhea:

   Diarrhea is caused by specific bacteria that could be naturally treated using barberry. However, when the condition is serious, it is very much required to contact your doctor on an immediate basis.

6. Improves Digestion:

   All fruits contain high amount of fiber in them that are great for digestion. Barberry is also helpful in improving digestion because of the rich fiber content. Apart from this, the antibacterial and antifungal effects of barberries could help keeping digestion healthy and free from infection.

7. It Works As a Home Remedy For Food Poisoning:

   In light cases of food poisoning, barberries can be used as a home remedy. This is because of the antibacterial agents present in it. However, in severe cases one must consult with doctor.

8. Controls Blood Sugar:

   The sugar present in barberries could be harmful for diabetes patients. However, studies have stated that because of the presence of berberine, consuming the fruit in moderate amount could actually help in lowering the blood sugar levels in an effective manner.

9. It Prevents Diabetes:

   Berbine compound found in barberries, is the reason why the fruit could be helpful in preventing diabetes. Barberry is the natural solution for lowering blood sugar levels.

10. It Controls Cholesterol levels:

    Barberries also have one more wonderful health benefits for human health. They are known to control cholesterol levels. The dietary fiber present in barberry is great to bind unnecessary cholesterol in the intestine; which in turn promotes and optimizes the production of good cholesterol levels and this helps in controlling the cholesterol level.

11. Improves Flow of Blood:

    Normal flow of blood is essential for optimal distribution of nutrients and oxygen in the body. Barberry helps in optimizing the blood flow by relaxing the blood vessels and easing up the function of heart.

12. Heart Health Benefits of Barberries:

    All foods that control the cholesterol levels, relax the blood vessels and manage blood pressure, are great for the heart. Barberry is one such fruits that comes in the top of the list.

13. Beneficial For Immune system:

    One of the finest health benefits of barberry is that it is beneficial for immune system. The antioxidants present in it are very much essential to fight free radicals and improve immune system.

14. Fights Metabolic Syndrome:

    Metabolic syndrome is not at all easy to deal with. However, barberry contains some powerful compounds in it that could help you fight this kind of condition in an effective manner.

15. Detoxifies Blood:

    One of the best known health benefits of barberry is that it is beneficial in detoxifying the blood. Barberry could help in improving the function of liver, which in turn optimizes the blood detox in your body

16. Acts As Liver Cleanser:

    Liver may function in clearing your body from toxins. However taking barberry regularly, could help in cleansing the liver so that it could function optimally in cleansing the body from toxins.

17. Eye Health Benefits Of Barberries:

    Barberries are also known to be beneficial for eye health. The barberine present in barberry could actually promote eye health. This means, it is not only able to improve vision, but also be able to prevent any macular degeneration that is related to vision.

18. It Treats Skin Disorders:

    There are some specific types of skin disorders that could be treated by using barberry. Acne, psoriasis, etc. are some of the skin disorders that can be treated with barberries, as it contain some effective antibacterial and antifungal agents for fighting infections.

19. It Stimulates The WBC Production:

    Barberry is known to be beneficial in stimulating the production of WBCs. Berberine chemical compound present in barberries, helps in this. Optimal production of white blood cells is beneficial in promoting normal blood clot and accelerating the wound healing.

20. Helps Treat Anemia:

    Barberries are also beneficial in treating anemia. Anemia occurs when the body is suffering from iron deficiency. There may be a lot of causes for iron deficiency. However, we know barberry is loaded with Vitamin C and thus could be helpful in dealing with this problem.

21. It Is Useful For Regular Menstruation Periods In Women:

    There are some factors that could result in irregular menstruation periods in women. One of the natural and effective solutions for regular periods could be barberries.

22. Optimizes The Iron Absorption:

    There is one more health benefits of barberry and that is, it is helpful in iron absorption. Iron is an essential compound required for human health. However, sometimes the iron absorption is not optimal, because of some factors. Vitamin C is one of the chemical compounds that could optimize the iron absorption. As barberries contain lots of vitamin C, they can be used for optimizing the iron absorption in the body.

23. Lowers Blood Pressure:

    Hypertension is not a condition that is pretty easy to deal with. Barberries could help in relaxing the blood vessels and this will improve the blood flow and help the heart work properly. This in turn will result in lowering the blood pressure.

24. Eases Up The Side Effects Of Chemotherapy:

    One of the most interesting health benefits of barberries is that it eases up the side effects of chemotherapy. One of the side effects of chemotherapy is that the production of white blood cells gets disturbed. However, barberries help in easing up this side effect by promoting the production of white blood cells.

• We would mention that though taking barberries in low dose may not cause any side effect; however, when taken in high amount, it may lead to several serious side effects like, nosebleed and vomiting.
• Barberry might be great for liver, but for younger children, it may cause problems in their liver. So, it is better to keep it away from your children.
• Pregnant women must avoid barberries, as in some cases, this could cause miscarriage(though it is rare).
• Diabetic patients should not combine their special medications that they take to lower blood sugar levels, with barberry.

• Barberries are available in capsules, tinctures, fluid extracts and as a topical ointment. The dried roots can also be used in tea and also its extracts are standardized to contain 8% to 12% alkaloids or Berberine.
• It must be strictly noted that for children, it should only be used under the supervision of a qualified health care provider. For adults, it is traditionally used at a dose of 2 grams, 3 times or an equivalent amount in extract form.
• It must be mentioned that it is not recommended for long periods of time(i.e. more than one week), without the supervision of your doctor.

Now, it is pretty sure that you would agree that barberries are quite impressive enough in being a wonderful herbal remedy. So, with all that barberries can help relieve and improve health naturally, you might want to really consider adding this to your natural medicine cabinet right away. Talk to your medical professional for the exact doses of barberry.