Lose Weight with Natural GLP-1 Boosters

According to a recent survey, about 50% of Americans are currently trying to lose weight.

That’s over 165 million people! No wonder the development of new weight loss drugs is such a hot topic. Fat loss is difficult for many people, especially women.

We’re constantly bombarded by cheap, convenient, ultra-processed food-like products, we’re addicted to sugar, we’re practically bathing in estrogenic chemicals that throw off our hormonal balance, and we’re under constant stress - all of which make it harder to attain and maintain a healthy weight and fat percentage.

Science is proving again and again that the old, simplistic model of “calorie-in, calorie-out” simply does not work for most women, especially as we age, which is why even the most restrictive diets often end up with rebound weight gain.  There’s got to be more to this story!

A lot of the time, weight loss resistance is rooted in hormonal issues, not discipline or willpower.

The way your body carries weight, responds to the food you eat, and tolerates exercise is hugely influenced by hormones including leptin, cortisol, insulin, estrogen, ghrelin, and of course, Glucagon-Like Peptide-1.

These hormones work together to regulate many processes in the body, including weight and fat percentage. And that’s why we’re here to discuss some of nature’s GLP-1 helpers for healthy fat loss, blood sugar management, and metabolism support.

You might be wondering why I don’t tell you to go out and grab yourself some Ozempic if GLP-1 agonists are so great at helping folks lose weight. Well, there are a few reasons.

First, because these drugs are expensive, and rarely covered by insurance for folks who don’t meet strict criteria - usually advanced diabetes. Second, because GLP-1 drugs often need to be taken for the rest of your life in order to maintain your weight loss results. And third, because of the way they work, they can cause some pretty serious and long-lasting digestive side effects.

So, how do GLP-1 agonists work?

Well, GLP-1 is a hormone that is made in your gut, or gastrointestinal tract, when you eat. That’s right - food is what stimulates the release of GLP-1 from your intestinal cells - certain foods more than others! Hint - that will be important later. 

GLP-1 then sends a signal to your pancreas that causes the release of insulin, which tells your cells to take in glucose from your blood, lowering your blood sugar.

This is why GLP-1 agonist medications were originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes, a condition where your cells become resistant to insulin’s actions over time. GLP-1 hormone also improves satiety, or the sense that you’ve had enough to eat by activating certain areas of your brain.

That’s why it can help lower appetite and food cravings. GLP-1 slows down how quickly food moves from your stomach to your intestines, a process called gastric emptying. This keeps you feeling “full” longer so you eat less, which can result in weight loss for some people.

GLP-1 agonist medications don’t stimulate the release of GLP-hormone by your cells. Instead, they mimic the effects of GLP-1 hormone by activating the same receptors as your home-made hormone.

Instead of working with your body to help your gut make more GLP-1 on it’s own, these medications hijack the system, giving you exponentially increased GLP-1 activity without your body actually making more of it.

Unfortunately, for some people, this can result in super negative side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea - one study reported that 50% of patients taking GLP-1 agonists experienced nausea while taking them. 

And because you’re not assessing and addressing the reason or reasons that your own gut isn’t making enough GLP-1 to help you lose weight, you’re stuck taking the meds. A 2022 study showed that participants who discontinued GLP-1 agonist treatment gained most of their weight back within 1 year. Bummer, right?

BUT - this doesn’t mean that supporting your body’s production of GLP-1 hormone is a bad idea!

It can absolutely help you lose weight, balance your blood sugar, prevent chronic disease, and even feel BETTER digestively, not worse. And you can boost your secretion of GLP-1 naturally, using food, micronutrients, herbs, and even probiotics!

Let’s talk about some GLP-1 boosting foods, first.

Olive Oil & Pistachios

One of the quickest ways I’ve found to balance blood sugar is by increasing healthy fat intake. I know it sounds strange, but often you need to eat more fat to lose fat! Of course, that fat has to be the anti-inflammatory kind - think guacamole and canned coconut milk, not potato chips and fried chicken.

Part of the reason that increasing your intake of healthy fats helps you lose weight is because unsaturated long-chain fatty acids strongly stimulate the release of GLP-1 from the gut. These types of fats can be found in nuts and seeds, olive oil, certain types of fish, and avocados!

One study found that found GLP-1 concentrations went up following the addition of 85.0 g of pistachios to a carb-heavy meal in overweight and pre-diabetic adults - that’s about a quarter of a cup of delicious, crunchy, GLP-1 support directly from food!

Another study showed that eating a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil for 28 days resulted in significantly higher GLP-1 blood concentrations after each meal.

Remember - increasing your body’s own GLP-1 hormone is helping increase post-meal satisfaction, decrease appetite (so you are better able to control your portions), and help you keep your blood sugar level…all leading to healthy, sustainable fat loss, not to mention prevention of metabolic syndrome and diabetes!

Eggs & Plain Yogurt

Similar to healthy fats, research has found that meals with higher amounts of protein stimulate GLP-1 secretion better than those with mostly carbs. Eggs are high in unsaturated fats, protein, and a unique and helpful micronutrient called choline, which helps balance blood sugar.

And another study found that eating plain yogurt significantly increased the gut’s production of GLP-1. While not everyone tolerates these foods, the general rules apply - getting enough whole-food protein in your diet supports GLP-1 hormone and weight loss.

Besides calories from fat, protein and carbohydrates, foods contain micronutrients and bioactive compounds that can increase their impact on GLP-1.

Flavonoids

These are a family of compounds that have been shown to be particularly effective at increasing GLP-1 hormone production from the gut, and they might already be in your diet! Here are a few flavonoids you might be familiar with:

• Curcumin, the primary chemical in turmeric, is a delicious spice that’s often used in Indian cooking and is a well-known anti-inflammatory as well as a GLP-1 booster.
• Cinnamon and Rosemary are two other spices with flavonoids.
• Green tea contains EGCG (epigallocatechin-gallate), which is another GLP-1 supporting flavonoid. 

You might be wondering why your morning cup of green tea isn’t helping you drop some pounds. Well, flavonoids need to be concentrated in order to boost your GLP-1 hormone to noticeable levels - which is why most folks who use them for weight loss take them in supplement form…so you can get a high enough dose.You can find my favorite GLP-1 boosting supplements HERE. 

Berberine

One of the natural GLP-1 boosting herbs that’s getting a lot of attention is Berberine. This plant-based phytonutrient is already well-studied as a treatment for metabolic syndrome, which is a blanket term that describes a collection of diseases including high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels.

Metabolic syndrome is a precursor for 9 of the 10 top causes of death in the United States, so you can imagine that scientists are on the hunt for safe and effective treatments like Berberine.

As it turns out, one of the ways it helps lower blood sugar is by boosting GLP-1, which has earned it the title “Nature’s Ozempic” in many publications. One meta-analysis showed that just 1 gram of concentrated berberine significantly lowered cholesterol, BMI, weight, fasting glucose, HbA1C and other metabolic markers! Here is a link to my favorite practitioner-grade Berberine product.

Perhaps the most impactful and root-cause way that you can influence your gut’s GLP-1 production is by balancing your microbiome.

Your microbiome is the friendly bacteria and yeasts that live in and on your digestive tract.  These healthy bugs make compounds called postbiotics - one category being short-chain fatty acids. One of these SCFA’s is called butyrate, and butyrate raises GLP-1!

So, if you want more GLP-1, you want to encourage the growth of the bacteria that produce butyrate, and one of those bugs is called Akkermansia. One study found that Akkermansia also increased thermogenesis - one way that your body “burns” off fat.

So, how do you invite more Akkermansia into your life and gut? Well, you can take these strains as a probiotic, which is something I recommend frequently - especially if we find low levels on comprehensive stool analysis.

You can support the growth of Akkermansia in your intestines with a type of prebiotic called polyphenols.  The ones found in pomegranate are especially good at supporting Akkermansia.  Check out these Dr. Kate-approved pre and probiotics to help you drop some body fat!

The beauty of working with your body using natural GLP-1 boosters is that you can stack these strategies to maximize your weight loss and blood sugar balance.

Because they come from food, supports like Berberine, Flavonoids, and special probiotics are remarkably safe and have a very low incidence of side effects.  Will they magically transform your brain and body in mere weeks, or kill your cravings overnight? 

Of course not - but they do support healthier weight at the root cause, and alongside a personalized healthy diet and lifestyle, they do deliver sustainable weight loss. 

If you feel like you’re doing everything right, but you still can’t lose body fat, consider using nature’s GLP-1 boosters!

Check out Dr. Kate’s approved GLP-1 boosting supplements here: https://www.drkateld.com/glp-1-support