Ozempic has quickly become a household name in recent years due to its reputation as the newest miracle weight-loss drug.
The medication was first approved by the FDA in 2017 to treat individuals with Type 2 diabetes, but over time, it has become a popular method for anyone seeking to drop a few pounds — so popular that shortages in the United States have been an issue.
But how safe is Ozempic? And is it really as effective as it claims to be?
Dave Rubin, who suspects Ozempic “will not be on the market forever,” plays a clip of fitness expert and certified nutritionist Jillian Michaels explaining to Sage Steele the reality of a drug like Ozempic.
Here are her three takeaways:
“You will plateau on this drug,” she promised, calling the assertion a “fact.” The reason for this inevitable plateau is because Ozempic increases Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), which is a hormone the body produces naturally to regulate insulin.
However, “When you are giving the body a hormone exogenously, over time the body is like, ‘Oh I’m going to stop making this on my own, oh I’m going to develop a tolerance to this,”’ Michaels explained.
And when the drugs inevitably “stop working physiologically,” and you “get off of [Ozempic],” Michaels says, “You will gain all of the weight back,” meaning that “you’re handcuffed to this drug for the rest of your life.”
“All of the meta analyses show us this — Google it,” she told Steele.
If you do choose to get off of Ozempic, however, here’s what happens:
According to Dr. Peter Attia, a physician and researcher of longevity medicine who’s conducted studies on the effects of drugs like Ozempic, individuals who cease taking the drug experience “muscle loss at an alarming rate” and “compromised bone density.”
That means “your metabolism is going to be slower,” says Michaels. “You have been starving your body because you aren’t eating for such a long period of time that you will then lower your metabolic set point.”
What’s even more concerning is that, according to studies, “individuals who went through a period of famine” ended up “[passing] on a slower metabolism to their offspring” because to compensate for food scarcity, their bodies made “biochemical shifts” that “marked their epigenome.”
Bottom line: “There is a devastating rebound effect when people get off the drugs,” Michaels said.
Dave isn’t surprised a bit by Michaels’ reports.
“I will tell you just anecdotally I know a couple people that either were or are on Ozempic and have had insane weight loss … it is so obvious to me that this cannot be good for your system,” he tells Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and Dr. Drew Pinsky.
“You’re going to begin to hear about people who died on Ozempic,” says Dr. Pinsky, adding that Michaels “is 100% right in all of it.”
To learn more about the side effects of Ozempic, including bowel obstructions, paralysis of the stomach, and sarcopenia, watch the clip below.
Want more from Dave Rubin?
To enjoy more honest conversations, free speech, and big ideas with Dave Rubin, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.