“A lot of celebrities are in it,” he says. “Everyone who doesn’t talk about it is on point.” Ozempic has become so popular in the last couple of years because it makes people lose weight fast. It’s so controversial because of how it works: by triggering a chemical aversion to the food itself. After injecting Ozempic, a user could try to imagine a wet slab of black forest gateau or a calorie-dense Baconator bacon cheeseburger from Wendy’s and their body would physically rebel, with spasms of nausea and waves of sickness. . It is the chemical realization of a behavioral psychologist’s wildest dream. A pickled orange for junk food, an eating disorder in a shot. On TikTok, videos documenting weight loss with the help of Ozempic have garnered hundreds of millions of views. Elsewhere on the internet, speculation that Ozempic has catalyzed drastic celebrity body transformations is rampant. Several musicians and actors told the Guardian they personally knew high-profile people in their industries using Ozempic, although none would go on record. Ghiyam has been in the limelight himself, with his own informative #OzempicWeightLoss TikToks getting hundreds of thousands of views. The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has also praised the drug, publicly and unabashedly. One of the side effects of Ozempic is that it reduces appetite – leading to weight loss. Photo: FotoDuets/Getty Images/iStockphoto Ozempic is also regularly advertised on television: the ubiquitous ads feature various characters who, having stabilized their blood sugar levels, lead healthy, active lives. “Oh!” they exclaim, turning to the camera, barely able to contain their excitement as the soundtrack – set to the tune of Magic, the unmistakable 1974 single by Scottish soft-rockers Pilot – crescendoes. Oh! Oh! Oh! Ozeeeeempic! But the ad mentions the weight loss only as an afterthought. In reciting the cautions and potential side effects that punctuate pharmaceutical advertisements, the voice casually says “You may lose weight!” to which a chipper character replies, “Oh!” This is because Ozempic is not marketed as a weight loss drug. It is sold as a medicine for diabetes. It has gained traction in the medical community for its ability to lower blood sugar or limit glycated hemoglobin (also known as A1C) levels, often transforming patients’ lives. However, one of its side effects is that it makes patients want to eat less. And so doctors are increasingly prescribing the drug off-label, purely for its effect of helping people lose weight. Trish Wheeler is one of thousands of Ozempic users. For years, she exercised and ate right. It was even featured in a fitness magazine. But as she got a little older and her body went through menopause, she found that her usual habits weren’t doing the trick anymore. “The diet didn’t work,” says Wheeler, 53, “and my joints hurt enough that I couldn’t exercise vigorously anymore.” When the pandemic hit, the situation got even worse and, as Wheeler puts it, “the burden just piled on.” She managed to lose about 20 pounds (9 kg) before her doctor prescribed a new treatment: Ozempic. The treatment has seen drastic changes in Wheeler’s life: fatigue, dizziness and an increased heart rate. She says her brain “runs very, very slowly these days,” which makes phone calls and zooming a little difficult. But he lost weight: a reported 47 kg more (21 kg). “Whether it’s because of age or health,” says Wheeler, “traditional methods for weight loss can become less effective, and so far this drug has done a miraculous job of overcoming those obstacles.” Many are concerned that Ozempic for weight loss is creating shortages of diabetics who need the drug. Photo: Brastock Images/Getty Images/iStockphoto But Ozempic is no miracle. The drug works because Semaglutide mimics a hormone called GLP-1 that regulates blood sugar levels. If blood sugar rises, the hormone tells the body to produce more insulin, which in turn lowers blood sugar levels. This mode of action has made GLP-1 a game-changer in the management of type 2 diabetes, but the same hormone has also been shown to slow the passage of food from the stomach to the small intestine, which can increase satiety. making patients feel fuller faster. According to data from the Mayo Clinic, studies have found that patients who combined weekly semaglutide injections with healthy lifestyle changes (eating a balanced diet, regular exercise, etc.) The popularity of the drug, combined with its promising results, led to a massive depletion of supplies worldwide. Worryingly, the off-label use of Ozempic for weight loss is creating shortages in people who rely on the drug to treat type 2 diabetes. Isabelle Kenyon is the founder and CEO of Calibrate, a telehealth weight loss startup that has more than 25,000 members using Semaglutide for weight management. “That’s a bad title,” he complains when I mention a possible Semaglutide shortage. “There is no possibility,” he insists, “that the use of these drugs, on or off-label, will affect the availability of these diabetes drugs.” While Kenyon strongly argues that increased use isn’t leading to shortages or diabetics unable to access drugs, federal agencies disagree. In recent months they have been worried about the lack of semaglutide. In the spring, Ozempic’s maker, Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, reported difficulty meeting growing demand. In Australia, recommendations were made to doctors, who were instructed to prioritize the use of Ozempic in the treatment of type 2 diabetes on the label. As Australian authorities noted, “The shortage is significantly affecting people who use Ozempic for its approved use.” The US Food and Drug Administration is sounding a similar alarm, noting that “intermittent supply interruptions” of certain quantities of Semaglutide injectable products (the 0.25 mg/0.5 mg doses and larger 2 mg doses) are due to “increased demand for the drug ». . Online, some doctors say the drug is on order until December. Novo Nordisk responded to the rise in off-label prescribing by introducing a new, rebranded drug, called Wegovy: a chemically identical injection of semaglutide, offered in higher doses, specifically targeted at obesity and weight management. Now, Wegovy itself is in short supply. The FDA says distribution of Wegovy, in various doses, has been temporarily suspended. Wegovy’s maker has halted shipments of the two smaller, dynamic starter batches until their production and supply chains can keep up with demand. This pause comes at what is, arguably, an opportune time. Between the media hype, TikTok trends, targeted ads, and wall-to-wall TV commercials, GLP-1s seem to have exploded overnight. And while it seems benign, the drug’s method of action – regulating blood sugar levels and promoting satiety – comes with some strange side effects.

Four bites of dinner and you’re full

For their part, Calibrate advertises their system as a “metabolic reset… We’re talking about the combination of medication and lifestyle intervention,” Kenyon explains, “to help you fundamentally reset your metabolic system in a way that regulates your body for a long time. term, sustained weight loss’. Screenshot of the Calibration home page. Photo: Calibration “When you change your body’s insulin response,” says Kenyon, “you crave different food. This happens.” As a result of this hormonal hot-wiring, some food cravings virtually disappear. The treatment is not only mechanical, but physiological. But not everyone is excited about these profound physiological changes. Matt Mahowald, a veteran Los Angeles nutritionist whose A-list clients include Chris Pine, Mandy Moore and Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, says some patients taking GLP-1 report having nausea from the very prospect of eating. “They tell me the food is gross,” he says with a laugh. “That’s kind of the rub, right?” Ghiyam has heard similar reports from his patients. “Patients complain to me,” he says. “I go to my favorite restaurant and I order a steak and I get four bites and I don’t want to finish it.” They have to run to the bathroom if they eat too much.” Both Ozempic and Wegovy name nausea and vomiting as among their most common side effects. But just as weight loss was originally a byproduct of using GLP-1 to treat diabetes, these side effects may not be side effects at all, but the cause of the weight loss. Simply put, Ozempic and similar GLP-1s may work because they make food (or at least certain types of food) taste disgusting. A 2012 paper in the journal Neuropharmacology found that this feeling of nausea was integral to reducing food intake. “Whether suppression of food intake,” the authors wrote, “occurs independently of nausea is unknown.” More recent research has shown that glucagon-like peptide-1 plays a key role in taste perception. When Trish Wheeler started taking the drug, she found her physical reactions to food shifted almost immediately. “It started to make me nauseous and after I ate or drank a very small amount, I felt full,” she recalls. “If I tried to eat a few more bites, it felt like everything…


title: " I Miss Food The Truth Behind The Weight Loss Drug That Makes Food Repulsive Food " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-24” author: “Melvin Wells”


“A lot of celebrities are in it,” he says. “Everyone who doesn’t talk about it is on point.” Ozempic has become so popular in the last couple of years because it makes people lose weight fast. It’s so controversial because of how it works: by triggering a chemical aversion to the food itself. After injecting Ozempic, a user could try to imagine a wet slab of black forest gateau or a calorie-dense Baconator bacon cheeseburger from Wendy’s and their body would physically rebel, with spasms of nausea and waves of sickness. . It is the chemical realization of a behavioral psychologist’s wildest dream. A pickled orange for junk food, an eating disorder in a shot. On TikTok, videos documenting weight loss with the help of Ozempic have garnered hundreds of millions of views. Elsewhere on the internet, speculation that Ozempic has catalyzed drastic celebrity body transformations is rampant. Several musicians and actors told the Guardian they personally knew high-profile people in their industries using Ozempic, although none would go on record. Ghiyam has been in the limelight himself, with his own informative #OzempicWeightLoss TikToks getting hundreds of thousands of views. The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has also praised the drug, publicly and unabashedly. One of the side effects of Ozempic is that it reduces appetite – leading to weight loss. Photo: FotoDuets/Getty Images/iStockphoto Ozempic is also regularly advertised on television: the ubiquitous ads feature various characters who, having stabilized their blood sugar levels, lead healthy, active lives. “Oh!” they exclaim, turning to the camera, barely able to contain their excitement as the soundtrack – set to the tune of Magic, the unmistakable 1974 single by Scottish soft-rockers Pilot – crescendoes. Oh! Oh! Oh! Ozeeeeempic! But the ad mentions the weight loss only as an afterthought. In reciting the cautions and potential side effects that punctuate pharmaceutical advertisements, the voice casually says “You may lose weight!” to which a chipper character replies, “Oh!” This is because Ozempic is not marketed as a weight loss drug. It is sold as a medicine for diabetes. It has gained traction in the medical community for its ability to lower blood sugar or limit glycated hemoglobin (also known as A1C) levels, often transforming patients’ lives. However, one of its side effects is that it makes patients want to eat less. And so doctors are increasingly prescribing the drug off-label, purely for its effect of helping people lose weight. Trish Wheeler is one of thousands of Ozempic users. For years, she exercised and ate right. It was even featured in a fitness magazine. But as she got a little older and her body went through menopause, she found that her usual habits weren’t doing the trick anymore. “The diet didn’t work,” says Wheeler, 53, “and my joints hurt enough that I couldn’t exercise vigorously anymore.” When the pandemic hit, the situation got even worse and, as Wheeler puts it, “the burden just piled on.” She managed to lose about 20 pounds (9 kg) before her doctor prescribed a new treatment: Ozempic. The treatment has seen drastic changes in Wheeler’s life: fatigue, dizziness and an increased heart rate. She says her brain “runs very, very slowly these days,” which makes phone calls and zooming a little difficult. But he lost weight: a reported 47 kg more (21 kg). “Whether it’s because of age or health,” says Wheeler, “traditional methods for weight loss can become less effective, and so far this drug has done a miraculous job of overcoming those obstacles.” Many are concerned that Ozempic for weight loss is creating shortages of diabetics who need the drug. Photo: Brastock Images/Getty Images/iStockphoto But Ozempic is no miracle. The drug works because Semaglutide mimics a hormone called GLP-1 that regulates blood sugar levels. If blood sugar rises, the hormone tells the body to produce more insulin, which in turn lowers blood sugar levels. This mode of action has made GLP-1 a game-changer in the management of type 2 diabetes, but the same hormone has also been shown to slow the passage of food from the stomach to the small intestine, which can increase satiety. making patients feel fuller faster. According to data from the Mayo Clinic, studies have found that patients who combined weekly semaglutide injections with healthy lifestyle changes (eating a balanced diet, regular exercise, etc.) The popularity of the drug, combined with its promising results, led to a massive depletion of supplies worldwide. Worryingly, the off-label use of Ozempic for weight loss is creating shortages in people who rely on the drug to treat type 2 diabetes. Isabelle Kenyon is the founder and CEO of Calibrate, a telehealth weight loss startup that has more than 25,000 members using Semaglutide for weight management. “That’s a bad title,” he complains when I mention a possible Semaglutide shortage. “There is no possibility,” he insists, “that the use of these drugs, on or off-label, will affect the availability of these diabetes drugs.” While Kenyon strongly argues that increased use isn’t leading to shortages or diabetics unable to access drugs, federal agencies disagree. In recent months they have been worried about the lack of semaglutide. In the spring, Ozempic’s maker, Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, reported difficulty meeting growing demand. In Australia, recommendations were made to doctors, who were instructed to prioritize the use of Ozempic in the treatment of type 2 diabetes on the label. As Australian authorities noted, “The shortage is significantly affecting people who use Ozempic for its approved use.” The US Food and Drug Administration is sounding a similar alarm, noting that “intermittent supply interruptions” of certain quantities of Semaglutide injectable products (the 0.25 mg/0.5 mg doses and larger 2 mg doses) are due to “increased demand for the drug ». . Online, some doctors say the drug is on order until December. Novo Nordisk responded to the rise in off-label prescribing by introducing a new, rebranded drug, called Wegovy: a chemically identical injection of semaglutide, offered in higher doses, specifically targeted at obesity and weight management. Now, Wegovy itself is in short supply. The FDA says distribution of Wegovy, in various doses, has been temporarily suspended. Wegovy’s maker has halted shipments of the two smaller, dynamic starter batches until their production and supply chains can keep up with demand. This pause comes at what is, arguably, an opportune time. Between the media hype, TikTok trends, targeted ads, and wall-to-wall TV commercials, GLP-1s seem to have exploded overnight. And while it seems benign, the drug’s method of action – regulating blood sugar levels and promoting satiety – comes with some strange side effects.

Four bites of dinner and you’re full

For their part, Calibrate advertises their system as a “metabolic reset… We’re talking about the combination of medication and lifestyle intervention,” Kenyon explains, “to help you fundamentally reset your metabolic system in a way that regulates your body for a long time. term, sustained weight loss’. Screenshot of the Calibration home page. Photo: Calibration “When you change your body’s insulin response,” says Kenyon, “you crave different food. This happens.” As a result of this hormonal hot-wiring, some food cravings virtually disappear. The treatment is not only mechanical, but physiological. But not everyone is excited about these profound physiological changes. Matt Mahowald, a veteran Los Angeles nutritionist whose A-list clients include Chris Pine, Mandy Moore and Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, says some patients taking GLP-1 report having nausea from the very prospect of eating. “They tell me the food is gross,” he says with a laugh. “That’s kind of the rub, right?” Ghiyam has heard similar reports from his patients. “Patients complain to me,” he says. “I go to my favorite restaurant and I order a steak and I get four bites and I don’t want to finish it.” They have to run to the bathroom if they eat too much.” Both Ozempic and Wegovy name nausea and vomiting as among their most common side effects. But just as weight loss was originally a byproduct of using GLP-1 to treat diabetes, these side effects may not be side effects at all, but the cause of the weight loss. Simply put, Ozempic and similar GLP-1s may work because they make food (or at least certain types of food) taste disgusting. A 2012 paper in the journal Neuropharmacology found that this feeling of nausea was integral to reducing food intake. “Whether suppression of food intake,” the authors wrote, “occurs independently of nausea is unknown.” More recent research has shown that glucagon-like peptide-1 plays a key role in taste perception. When Trish Wheeler started taking the drug, she found her physical reactions to food shifted almost immediately. “It started to make me nauseous and after I ate or drank a very small amount, I felt full,” she recalls. “If I tried to eat a few more bites, it felt like everything…