Asterix and Ozempix. When this illustration landed in my SM feed a few months ago it took me a while to figure that the skinny guy next to Asterix was Obelix.
Also just like Obelix, many of my own friends are becoming unrecognisable, slimmer, trimmer versions of themselves. One thing they all have in common is that they were all on the heavier side and had all tried various methods of losing weight - gymming, cardio, dieting (keto, med), intermittent fasting - all to no avail. Then came injection pens from brands like Ozempic and Mounjaro...
What is this this oddly named injection the magic cure they seek? From where does this drug originate? What are its long-term side effects?
Ozempic, Mounjaro, Wegovy, Zepbound, Saxenda, and Retatrutideand, and a host of other brand-names referred to a single chemical compound. These are all called Triple Agonist injections, an advanced class of multi-hormonal medications that simultaneously target three distinct metabolic receptors—GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon (GCG)—originally used to treat conditions like obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Today I finally came across a YT video that seems to present balanced view.
According to Dr. Amin Hedayat, this drug, branded as Ozempic / Mounjaro was approved by US-FDA way back in 2005, not for weight loss, but for Type-2 Diabetes. Over a period of time, the drug manufactures discovered that this particular drug not only reduced blood sugar levels, hearts and kidneys got healthier, solved sleep apnea and slept better, women suffering from irregular periods got cured..
- How does a single drug solve such a wide range of health problems? In the 1980s three scientists (Abener, Mojsov and Holst) studying a chemical messenger in the stomach - Glucagon-like Peptide-1 (GLP-1). This messenger told the body to release insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar level. The original GLP-1 formulation was actually based on a chemical (exendin-4) found in the venom of the Gila Monster (!) because this version lasted longer in the body (why?) compared to the one produced by human bodies.
- 20 years after being used as a sugar regulator, scientists found that GLP-1 was actually a much more potent messenger. It tells many organs to regulate their own functions, to provide the the body only what it needs needs, not less, not more. The liver was told to regulate sugar output; told the stomach to slow down digestion; sent signals to the hypothalamus to send out signals for satiety - 'don't eat more than this'.
- The body's own GLP-1 signals get damped by excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods, chronic inflammation and insulin resistance.
- So, ultimately, the GLP-1 injection is just a signal booster, effective only as long as your body re-learns to listen to its own signals.
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REFERENCES & LINKS
- Dr. Amin Hedayat - https://youtu.be/RFOrOt-z-Nk
- Gila Monsger - https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-monster-whose-bite-saves-lives.html
