How these powerful medications can be used, misused, or abused!
By Rick Tague, M.D., M.P.H. & T.M.
YES, WE ARE NOW USING THE NEW, POWERFUL, GLP-1 MEDICATIONS. They are available and affordable!!!
It’s 2024 and weight loss has never been more in the news! The world is finally acknowledging that we have an overweight problem. But is the ultimate solution truly the new pharmaceutical injections?
Everyone is jumping on the GLP-1 bandwagon, including cosmetic spas, online retailers, and grocery store chains. Is it that simple, purchase a shot and I’m “fixed”???
These new medications (if pure) are indeed powerful and helpful, when used appropriately. However, powerful treatments typically have potential downsides. GLP-1’s are no different.
I wrote a summary on the GLP-1’s in January. If you missed, it please read it HERE. In the article, I explain how losing weight PROPERLY can prevent and reverse many common diseases, slow aging, and dramatically improve quality of life. And there has never been a better time to pursue a powerful, medically supervised, comprehensive plan to lose weight and keep it off! And yes, one of these new GLP-1’s can be a part of the solution.
First, The Good News!
At the Center for Nutrition, the two most effective GLP-1’s are now available, affordable, and powerful! That’s right, our supplies are plentiful and a fraction of the cost of brand name prescriptions!
We use the GLP-1 medications in appropriate individuals as one component of a comprehensive approach to losing body fat, while promoting health of muscles, bone, brain, and heart!
By monitoring and managing metabolism, appetite, hormones, and nutrient intake, while using personalized medication plans, our patients have achieved extreme success, without experiencing the horrible side effects you may have read about in the news.
That’s right, when patients are treated with appropriate, lower doses, in the context of a comprehensive, personalized medical treatment plan, and monitored for early signs of side effects, they almost universally have a great outcome with minimal or no side effects!
I am a firm believer that doses of GLP-1’s can and should be minimized and individualized. This approach allows for great weight loss, fewer side effects, and more affordability! Since availability and insurance coverage have been limited for brand names, and their prices have been excessive to say the least, we most often use top quality generic alternatives.
By using a local pharmacy that maintains strict quality controls and is state licensed, we have assurance that our patients’ medications have only pure pharmaceutical active ingredients and are of the best possible quality. And, we have prioritized quality with affordability, so the medications are literally a fraction of the cost of brand name prescriptions!
The Bad News About GLP-1’s!
GLP-1’s are being used inappropriately, as a standalone weight loss treatment, and in excessive doses, by medication sellers across the country!
When used alone, especially in higher doses, the GLP-1’s regularly cause loss of muscle and bone (lean body mass)! The Journal of the American Medical Association published an article in June 2024 proving the point.
By using a GLP-1 medication by itself, patients ended up with lower bone density after 1 year of treatment. That’s correct, taking the medication for 1 year, without a supervised nutrition and exercise plan, patients were on the path to osteoporosis, ugh! Weight loss at the expense of broken bones, is not worth it! However, with proper nutrition, exercise, and monitoring, there was NO loss of bone after 1 year. The process matters!
You see, with GLP-1 medications, the appetite can be reduced so much that people end up malnourished, losing muscle, bone and even brain tissue, resulting in frailty, blood chemistry imbalances, and premature aging rather than vitality and strength. Truly, caution is advised!
An individualized, monitored, comprehensive medical weight loss plan is required to avoid complications, including gallstones, electrolyte imbalances, vitamin deficiencies, and excess loss of muscle, bone and brain. Remember, weight management is a long term journey. As always, science-based nutritional protocols that assure proper nutrient intake are mandatory for safety.
Lastly, The Ugly News About GLP-1’s!
Counterfeit clinics, counterfeit providers, and counterfeit GLP-1’s are on the market in the U.S. and available! Be very wary and do your homework before trusting online sources and local retailers for quality, pure medication.
Ask yourself, do these retail centers selling prescriptions really have expertise in nutrition, physiology, pharmacology, and metabolism? And are they all holding to necessary high quality medical and pharmaceutical standards? I think not, buyer beware!
The FDA is concerned. Fake and counterfeit GLP-1’s have hit the market. Many online medication sellers are not using licensed pharmacies and do not have state agency oversight and quality control standards. What they are selling is very questionable. Here are some things to watch for:
- If a company claims to sell prescription medications online or by phone without requiring an in-person visit and a prescription by a licensed medical provider, it is not using a licensed pharmacy, standards are questionable, and it’s breaking the law.
- If the seller of GLP-1 medications cannot assure you that their product is originating from a state-licensed pharmacy, beware!
- If the seller cannot assure you that a Certificate of Analysis on the product is available and shows purity to be > 99%, beware! Purity is essential for safety AND effectiveness!
NOTE: At the Center for Nutrition, of course we hold to the above standards!
Weight loss franchises, online providers who never meet their patients in person, and non-medical strip mall clinics that may sell prescriptions without proper physician supervision, put patients at risk.
Your medical history, current medications, current nutritional status, muscle status, and blood chemistry are just a few of the things that need to be assessed prior to and during weight loss! At the Center for Nutrition, your safety is always our priority! Our physicians, nurse practitioners, and dietitians have all been specially trained to provide medical weight loss with safety and excellence!
Typical self-induced restrictive diets are ineffective. Food cravings, chronic hunger, and a sluggish metabolism eventually make weight loss impossible.
At the Center for Nutrition, we use the power of synergy between our most proven nutritional protocols along with synergistic medication combinations. And by adding the new category of GLP-1 medications, especially for that “hard to lose” stubborn weight, in lowest effective doses, to our already proven strategies, our patients are now achieving faster, more dramatic, and more sustained weight loss than ever before!
Are You Ready to Take Control of Your Weight and Health?
Let us know how we can help you achieve your health goals and discuss whether a plan using GLP-1’s (or alternatives) is right for you!
Our patients are reporting improvements in health, quality of life, self-esteem, mood, activity levels, productivity, and daily joy. We’ve seen many patients reverse their high blood pressure, high blood sugars, and uncontrollable appetites.
If you want to lose 20, 40, or 100+ pounds, and keep it off – there has never been a better time for it!
Contact us to schedule an appointment to discuss your options, or ask one of our staff at your next appointment to see if this new approach is right for you.
Note: If you are interested in becoming a new patient, request a “Free Consultation” when you call. If you have been an active patient, but have not been seen in the last 12 weeks, please request a “Restart Visit” when you call.
