The active ingredient is semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist. GLP-1 can cut your appetite. But a meta-analysis of semaglutide revealed that the rate of serious adverse events was almost double that of placebo. Instead of relying on potentially-dangerous drugs to take the weight off, you can try a healthy diet.
URL: https://www.loc.gov/resource/fsa.8d29742/
When researchers investigated high-protein diets for 6 months, they found out that they increase GLP-1, the very thing that Ozempic and Wegovy mimic. They were also able to put prediabetes into remission with the diet. This means that low-protein, high-carbohydrate diets are the ones expected to lead to sales of Ozempic/Wegovy.
But if you can get the weight off and reduce risk with food, that’s healthier. A 12-week clinical trial found healthy outcomes in type-2 diabetics with a macronutrient ratio of 30% protein, 30% carbohydrate, and 40% fat. The two initial groups crossed over in the middle of the study and the other diet was 17% protein, 50% carbohydrate, and 33% fat.
When protein grams were as high as carbohydrate grams, there was a larger reduction in glycated hemoglobin, HbA1c — a long-term marker of blood glucose control. To get more protein and less carbohydrates, people could make a large rainbow (6-color) salad with either chicken or salmon in it, along with a large, hard-boiled egg.
Such a salad could be topped with olive oil and lemon juice, and can include super-healthy berries like blueberries, along with your favorite spices. Here are nutrient breakdowns, including net carbs (total-fiber) for main sources of carbohydrates, for the items in that salad that hold most of the calories:
Chicken
Salmon
Hard-boiled Egg
Blueberries (0.24 net carbs per 1 berry)
Lemon Juice (0.74 net carbs per 1 tbsp)
Olive Oil
The food analyzer used above can be found here. Good tips on how to put together a rainbow salad are found here. And for very nutritious meals with very little preparation time, check out PaleoGrubs.
Reference
[high-protein can put prediabetes into remission, and raise GLP-1 levels] — Stentz FB, Mikhael A, Kineish O, Christman J, Sands C. High protein diet leads to prediabetes remission and positive changes in incretins and cardiovascular risk factors. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2021 Apr 9;31(4):1227-1237. doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2020.11.027. Epub 2020 Dec 8. PMID: 33549435. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33549435/
[getting as many grams of protein as you do of carbohydrates can decrease markers of diabetes] — Skytte MJ, Samkani A, Petersen AD, Thomsen MN, Astrup A, Chabanova E, Frystyk J, Holst JJ, Thomsen HS, Madsbad S, Larsen TM, Haugaard SB, Krarup T. A carbohydrate-reduced high-protein diet improves HbA1c and liver fat content in weight stable participants with type 2 diabetes: a randomised controlled trial. Diabetologia. 2019 Nov;62(11):2066-2078. doi: 10.1007/s00125-019-4956-4. Epub 2019 Jul 23. PMID: 31338545. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31338545/
On my first visit to USA, with kids, doing the Universal Studios/Disney crap, we were quite shocked by the size of people we saw. Not surprising considering the portion sizes, food and drinks served up in cafes and restaurants. We soon learned to order just 2 meals plus 2 extra plates. I realise eating healthily can be more expensive by best cuts of meat and fresh fruits and veg but you can do it by choosing cheaper cuts and learning to cook them. Too many carbs, whether from bread, potatoes, pasta, sweet things, beer or wines, are all culprits for weight gain.