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Ozempic, the popular weight loss drug, is everywhere right now. And with its rise in popularity, there’s a growing interest in the mechanisms behind its success and concerns around the long-term side effects. Medical professionals and health-centric people alike are searching for natural alternatives to ozempic that can achieve similar outcomes.
Ozempic is a GLP-1 agonist, giving it the ability to help you drop weight quickly. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), is a hormone produced in the intestines and brain, plays a crucial role in appetite control, metabolism, and blood sugar regulation. While medications that positively impact GLP-1 such as Ozempic are effective, they can come with significant risks and side effects. Fortunately, natural compounds and lifestyle changes offer a sustainable and side-effect-free way to boost GLP-1, helping to regulate weight and improve metabolic health, naturally.
What is GLP-1?
GLP-1 is a hormone that gets produced in the intestines and the brain up to one hour after eating. The function of GLP-1 is to signal satiety and regulate blood sugar via its actions on insulin. Metabolic chaos and weight gain are often the result when GLP-1 is dysregulated - as we tend to overeat and crave sugary, processed foods to counteract blood sugar spikes.
The popular class of medications, semaglutide, which includes ozempic, act as GLP-1 receptor agonists, meaning they mimic the action of this hormone. Traditionally, these medications were used in the management of diabetes due to their ability to regulate blood sugar but today they are most revered for weight loss.
While no one is deficient in Ozempic, you can have low levels of GLP-1, and anything that can modulate it has ripple effects across our physiology. Through optimizing GLP-1 production or mimicking it, there’s generally a noticeable difference in weight and blood sugar. Let's explore how it works!
How Does GLP-1 Work
GLP-1 helps to decrease appetite, keep you full and support metabolism by acting on a few different pathways and organs.
First, GLP-1 serves as a primary communicator between the gut and the brain. It stimulates nerve cells in the digestive tract to tell the brain that you’ve had enough to eat, which promotes a cascade of metabolic events telling you that you feel full and satisfied.
It is able to assist in regulating the digestive process by slowing the rate at which food leaves the stomach and enters the small intestine. Often time food passes from the stomach to the intestine too quickly and this causes discomfort such as bloating and can cause overeating since the signal the brain needs to stop eating doesn’t get turned on. Normalizing this process via increasing GLP-1 allows us to feel fuller sooner and longer, decreasing overall calorie intake.
Lastly, it modulates blood sugar, a key player in weight management and metabolic health by prompting the pancreas to release insulin, the hormone required to take sugar out of the blood and into the cells. It also postpones glucagon production, the hormone that increases blood sugar.
Additionally, new science is showing that GLP-1 impacts pathways that support fat storage - helping us to lean out.
Ozempic vs Supplements
The most popular weight loss medication, ozempic, mimics GLP-1 and activates the GLP-1 receptors. It is extremely effective at helping people drop weight, but it has a lot of potential side effects such as pancreatitis, gallbladder problems, kidney failure and negative changes to vision. Ozempic doesn’t specifically target fat cells, so the dramatic weight loss comes from a combination of fat and lean muscle loss. Long term use can lead to low bone density, nutrient deficiencies and sarcopenia.
Like many medications, ozempic has its place, but more and more people are looking for side effect free, natural alternatives that can influence GLP-1.
Thankfully, you don't need medication to alter your appetite- you can biohack your way to higher GLP-1 levels through targeted supplementation and lifestyle modifications.
Research shows that naturally boosting GLP-1 levels leads to beneficial effects of weight, appetite control and blood sugar regulation.
The major difference between ozempic and natural compounds is that natural compounds increase the body's ability to produce a healthy amount of GLP-1, whereas ozempic floods the GLP-1 receptors. Because of this, supplements used to modulate GLP-1 don’t cause rapid weight loss- they are a slow burn, don’t have any side effects and are a sustainable addition to a weight loss program.
We want to highlight two natural compounds that have been researched for their ability to increase GLP-1- leading to weight loss, while having several other metabolic benefits.
Berberine
Berberine is known as nature's Ozempic because it can increase GLP-1 and is well researched as a potent blood sugar regulator. Mechanism wise, berberine is a unique natural compound for weight loss because it increases GLP-1 two main ways:
- It protects the cells in the gut that produce GLP-1 from damage
- It up-regulates the production of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that promote the production of GLP-1
Additionally, berberine is known to activate AMPK- an enzyme known to regulate metabolism in a way similar to GLP-1 agonists, such as Ozempic.
You can learn more about berberine and check out our favorite brand here!
Curcumin
Curcumin is known as a ‘secretagogue’ as it stimulates GLP-1 secretion to a significant degree. Scientific research shows that curcumin helps to regulate glucose and it behaves similarly to semaglutide medications.
Beyond this, curcumin is well known for its ability to help with weight regulation because it inhibits fat cell formation, promotes the death of fat cells and it acts on several hormones that play a role in weight and weight loss.
It also reduces inflammation and supports detoxification- two often overlooked pieces of the weight loss puzzle.
Shop our best selling curcumin here! We also love this one that has boron for added health benefits.
Dietary Ways to Support GLP-1
Modifying the diet, while utilizing supplements such as berberine and curcumin can help to naturally and safely increase GLP-1 levels, which in turn can help regulate weight and blood sugar without the side effects of medications.
Ozempic may dominate the conversation around weight loss, but it’s not the only path to balancing GLP-1. Natural compounds like berberine and curcumin, combined with dietary strategies, offer powerful alternatives for those seeking to optimize metabolism, control appetite, and manage blood sugar levels without the downsides of medication. These approaches not only enhance GLP-1 but also provide a range of additional health benefits, making them a sustainable choice for long-term weight and metabolic support. By harnessing the body’s natural systems, you can take a step toward achieving your health goals safely and effectively.
Author: Lisa Kowalyk, CNP, Bkin
