Ozempic has taken the weight loss world by storm, helping many people shed unwanted pounds at breakneck speed. However, weight loss medications still come at astronomically high cost and are well known to cause side effects that can range from mild to severe. That’s why plenty of people are turning to alternatives, including supplements, which often claim—or not-so-subtly suggest—that they offer comparable results for less money and fewer adverse effects. Clever marketing has positioned these supposedly “natural,” non-injectable alternatives as miracle solutions that cut costs and reduce risk.
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In one high-profile example, Kourtney Kardashian Barker famously released her own Ozempic-inspired weight loss product via her gummy vitamin and supplement line, Lemme, earlier this month. On Instagram, she described it as “a breakthrough innovation in metabolic health, formulated to naturally boost your body’s GLP-1 production, reduce appetite, and promote healthy weight loss.”
However, many medical experts have voiced their apprehension at the growing trend of Ozempic alternatives, which have taken off across social media. They emphasize that while GLP-1 receptor agonists have undergone rigorous vetting to support their efficacy, Ozempic-inspired supplements remain largely untested and unregulated.
Joe Schwarcz, director of the Office for Science and Society at McGill University in Canada, recently told The New York Times that these products are confusing customers by marketing with pseudoscientific language. You’re likely to see phrases like “metabolic health” and “gastric emptying,” as well as references to the appetite-regulating hormone GLP-1 on the products’ labels.
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In truth, they don’t work the same way that prescribed GLP-1 medications do: By regulating your blood sugar, increasing satiety by slowing the transfer of food to your gut, and drowning out the “food noise” in your brain that leads to cravings and fixation on your next meal.
“They take smidgens of scientific fact and blow it out of proportion,” Schwarcz told the publication.
He emphasizes that there is no evidence to suggest that the effects of such supplements would be comparable to semaglutide or teriparatide-based medications. They are unlikely to result in significant weight loss, or to confer the health benefits associated with prescription medications such as Ozempic, Mounjaro, Zepbound, and Wegovy. These include improved heart health, reduced risk of kidney disease, lower risk of obesity-related cancer, and more.
So, if you’re considering a weight loss aid, experts say it’s best to discuss your options with your doctor. Approach viral solutions with a critical eye, and skip any supplements that make big claims with scant evidence to back them up.
