Trisha Parsicha in The Washington Post:
In the original clinical trials of GLP-1 medications for weight loss, the most common side effects were gastrointestinal, including nausea, vomiting and constipation. Ask almost anyone who’s been on one, and they’ll probably tell you that they’ve had some GI issues — even if very mild. So you might be surprised that as a gastroenterologist, when my patients tell me they’re considering starting a GLP-1 (the class of drug that includes Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound, among others), my answer is often highly enthusiastic: Do. It.
We hear all the time about the weight loss or heart health benefits of GLP-1s, but as a scientist who studies GLP-1 and the stomach in my own laboratory, I’ve seen first-hand how powerful and beneficial they can be for gut health. The GI effects of GLP-1s that I wish more people talked about? Randomized controlled trials have found that they can, in some cases, improve outcomes for people with fatty liver disease and fibrosis — or liver scarring — which previously no drugs could reliably achieve.
More here.
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