Supplements Companies Are Cashing In on the Ozempic Wave

The supplement industry has a long, tangled past with the satellite of weight-loss products. Prior to the property of Ozempic, galore of the trendiest fare immunodeficiency were supplements, not medicine medications: greenish beverage extract, caffeine pills, ephedra. According to the US National Institutes of Health, more than 15 percent of big Americans person tried a weight-loss supplement. Now, the supplement manufacture is leaning into the GLP-1 boom. They can’t merchantability Ozempic—but they’re hitching a hefty wagon to it anyway, spinning up full businesses built astir existing request for this blockbuster drug, oregon thing similar it.

Two antithetic types of supplements are glomming onto the popularity of GLP-1 agonist drugs similar semaglutide and tirzepatide, which mimic a earthy appetite-suppressing, blood-sugar-regulating hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1. (Ozempic is 1 of the astir well-known marque names for semaglutide.) First, there’s a emergence successful efforts to marketplace supplements arsenic complementary to GLP-1 drugs. The online storefronts for ample supplement retailers similar the Vitamin Shoppe and GNC present connection abstracted sections devoted to selling products to instrumentality successful tandem with medicine meds. “GLP-1 Side Effects? Get Support for Your Journey,” the GNC website proclaims. The Vitamin Shoppe offers existent GLP-1 drugs done a concern to motorboat a telehealth company, arsenic good arsenic much accepted supplements it markets arsenic “nutrient support,” including probiotics, fiber, and multivitamins.

Brian Tanzer, the Vitamin Shoppe’s manager of technological and regulatory affairs, says that the institution offers products that volition compensate for the nutritional deficiencies that tin originate erstwhile radical taking GLP-1 drugs chopped calories. “Current information shows that a important percent of the colonisation does not conscionable their regular request for respective nutrients, and this whitethorn beryllium exacerbated by a drastic simplification successful calorie intake due to the fact that of the usage of GLP-1 medications,” helium says.

Food and supplement elephantine Nestlé is getting successful connected the action, too. In summation to launching an upcoming enactment of foods aimed specifically astatine radical who instrumentality GLP-1 medications, the institution besides launched a website, GLP-1nutrition.com, selling a assortment of supplements to “complement your GLP-1 journey.” “We are the archetypal large nutrient institution to participate this space,” Nestlé outer communications pb Dana Stambaugh told WIRED via email. Meanwhile, repast transportation services person besides started courting GLP-1 patients. Daily Harvest offers a “GLP-1 Support” bundle of meals designed to entreaty to radical connected these medications; a smaller work called BistroMD peddles similar fare.

While GLP-1 drugs are remarkably effective, they often besides cause broadside effects similar gastrointestinal distress and musculus loss. Side effects tin beryllium terrible capable that radical halt taking the medications. A caller survey from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association found that implicit fractional the radical it surveyed who had been prescribed these drugs successful the past decennary stopped taking them wrong 3 months.

Obesity medicine doc Alexandra Sowa precocious launched a enactment of supplements aimed astatine radical taking GLP-1 meds. “I was cobbling unneurotic what I could find retired connected the marketplace to conscionable the needs of my patients,” she says. “Nothing has been made conscionable for the GLP-1 user.” Sowa, who inactive runs her Manhattan-based practice, says the extremity is to support patients comfortably connected the medications by helping to alleviate broadside effects. Her strategy sells 3 powdered supplements (electrolytes, protein, and fiber) that tin beryllium purchased unneurotic oregon separately; they were designed to entreaty to the tastebuds of radical connected GLP-1 meds, who mightiness not tolerate saccharine products arsenic they erstwhile did.

The different benignant of Ozempic-adjacent supplement connected the emergence close present is positioned not arsenic a helpmeet to pharmaceutical offerings but alternatively arsenic an alternative. These products often person “GLP-1” successful their name, signaling to imaginable customers who are acquainted with the medicine medications that they connection thing successful the aforesaid universe. A marque called Supergut touts prebiotics arsenic “nature’s Ozempic” successful its selling and claims that its products “trigger your body’s hunger-quieting GLP-1 hormone naturally.” The supplement marque Pendulum offers a “GLP-1 Probiotic,” which it besides claims helps summation GLP-1 accumulation “naturally.” Other lines, similar Codeage, connection blends similar the “GLP Advantage+,” which contains L-taurine, decaffeinated greenish beverage leafage extract, boron, prebiotics, and a assortment of different ingredients, including berberine, an antibiotic-like constituent fashionable with wellness influencers connected TikTok who tout its appetite-suppressing properties. When asked if Codeage intended the merchandise arsenic an alternate to GLP-1 drugs for radical who don’t privation to instrumentality medicine drugs, cofounder Auggie Quancard said it was “designed for individuals funny successful supporting their metabolic health.” (Codeage besides offers a merchandise the institution says is to beryllium taken successful tandem with GLP-1 drugs.)