I think everyone has heard of this drug, but not everyone understands how it actually works: Ozempic (the active ingredient is semaglutide) is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) mimetic . A mimetic is a substance that imitates the action of another substance in the body. In this case, glucagon-like peptide-1. This hormone has an interesting and comprehensive effect on the body—it helps the body utilize all energy substrates, such as glucose and fat, more quickly.
Why is this necessary? Evolutionarily, our bodies needed to obtain the maximum amount of energy in the shortest possible time. After all, in an aggressive environment, our ancestors ate less frequently than they do today. At the same time, the body's cells needed to use glucose efficiently, i.e., "eat" it quickly, synthesize ATP (adenositrile triphosphate), and initiate anabolic processes (division and growth). Glucagon-like peptide-1, which Ozempic is biochemically similar to, helped and continues to help the body achieve all of this. GLP-1, or Ozempic, triggers the following key processes in the body:
- Reduces stomach activity (e.g. less acid)
- Temporarily increases insulin secretion (under the influence of insulin, glucose enters cells)
- Temporarily increases growth hormone
- It stimulates the secretion of TSH (which stimulates the thyroid gland to synthesize its hormones). The more thyroid hormones, the thinner the person (roughly speaking).
Sounds positive, right? But in practice, there were nuances. It turns out that with excess GLP-1, or its mimetics, not all organisms can handle such a burden on the pancreas and thyroid glands. After all, who tests them before starting therapy?
So, if someone was initially healthy and simply overeated due to an abundance of good things in their life, Ozempic can effectively solve their problems. But what if we have a sick person who is overweight due to genetic imbalances in their thyroid and pancreas, who has various infections, and problems with various glands? Then, with Ozempic, we'll get even more problems, in the worst case, thyroid cancer or pancreatitis.
The sly pharmaceutical companies tell you this in the instructions for this drug. My favorite analogy in this case is accelerating a car on the highway. A bad car will fall apart at high speeds. A new one will run in one piece. For an old one to last a long time, you don't need to accelerate it. So here, a sick body doesn't need to be accelerated with Ozempic or other hormones. This is an axiom.
So, what's an alternative to Ozempic? I wrote about it before. Yes, it's not as effective due to bioavailability, but it's safe and inexpensive— Berberine . To keep things short, I'll quote someone else's words about Ozempic and Berberine from a video:
