London based Dr Harpal Bains, Longevity doctor and Medical Director at Harpal Clinic spills the beans on Ozempic and all things GLP-1.
I can’t remember being this excited about a drug since I discovered how body and bio-identical hormones could transform preventative healthcare. With more than 15 years of solid safety data behind them, and the latest generation of GLP-1 agonists showing even greater tolerance and effectiveness, this feels like a game-changer.
In today’s world of constant food abundance, willpower alone just doesn’t cut it—and it’s not a sustainable strategy. These drugs could revolutionise healthcare, tackling chronic diseases of aging head-on and slashing the skyrocketing costs of healthcare and insurance. Right now, the known downsides are minimal, and the benefits massively outweigh them, as long as they’re prescribed carefully and supported with a well-thought-out medical maintenance plan and the right diet to support muscle mass and any potential nutritional deficiencies.
How does it work?
GLP-1 receptor agonists like Ozempic and WeGovy, and particularly the newer combination of GLP-1 plus GIP, Mounjaro, offer potential benefits beyond weight loss and diabetes management. These include applications in athletic performance, addiction control, and metabolic health.
Its application in athletic performance makes it relevant in healthy aging and longevity medicine, as it may aid in muscle preservation during caloric restriction, enhance muscle protein synthesis, and improve metabolic efficiency and energy utilisation. Additionally, these drugs could help mitigate exercise-induced inflammation and reduce oxidative stress, contributing to overall recovery—a key factor in performance enhancement.
The main mechanism behind many of its beneficial actions is the suppression of the body’s ‘fire alarm’ mechanism—the NF-κB pathway.
When this pathway gets activated, it signals the cells to release inflammatory chemicals resulting in pain, swelling and further damage to the surroundings. Reducing these inflammatory signals helps protect blood vessels, reduce brain inflammation, and improve gut and liver health.
What More?
Emerging research suggests a role in craving reduction, particularly for alcohol, food, nicotine, and possibly extending into drug addictions, especially hospital-based opioid addictions. It acts on the ‘reward’ center in the brain and reduces the dopamine-driven reward response, which in turn reduces impulsive tendencies.
These medications also show promise in modulating immune response and could potentially work in synergy with other immuno-modulating therapies. They function by modulating how white blood cells react to insults—boosting the white cells that dampen inflammation and decreasing the white cells that increase inflammation as needed.
Long COVID is an area of exploration, particularly in neuroinflammation, making these treatments exciting prospects for broader health applications.
From our clinical experience, our doctors have observed these benefits firsthand, particularly in reducing cravings—not just for food, but also for alcohol. Many patients on micro-dosing report enhanced performance and well-being, along with a noticeable reduction in age-related inflammation, such as arthritis. This improvement is reflected both in symptom relief and measurable decreases in inflammatory markers on serum testing.
In long COVID and other chronic conditions, we microdose alongside other treatment modalities. While it is difficult to isolate the exact role of these medications, patients report positive changes sooner than we would normally expect.
