Can Eating Certain Foods Have the Same Effect as Ozempic?
You’ve probably heard about the medication Ozempic, used to manage type 2 diabetes and as a weight loss drug. Ozempic (and the similar drug Wegovy) has had more than its fair share of headlines and controversies. A global supply shortage, tweets about using it from Elon Musk, approval for adolescent weight loss in the United States. Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel even joked about it on film’s night of nights last week. But how much do we really need drugs like Ozempic? Can we use food as medicine to replace them?
How does Ozempic work? The active ingredient in Ozempic is semaglutide, which works by inducing satiety. This feeling of being satisfied or “full”, suppresses appetite. This is why it works for weight loss.
Semaglutide also helps the pancreas produce insulin, which is how it helps manage type 2 diabetes. Our body needs insulin to move the glucose (or blood sugar) we get from food inside cells, so we can use it as energy. Semaglutide works by mimicking the role of a natural hormone, called GLP-1 (glucagon like peptide-1) normally produced in response to detecting nutrients when we eat. GLP-1 is part of the signalling pathway that tells your body you have eaten, and prepare it to use the energy that comes from your food.
Excerpted from The Conversation
