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Will You Get Scurvy If You Use A GLP-1 Drug?

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

GLP-1 drugs have revolutionized the weight loss industry. Total spending on GLP-1 drugs in the United States exceeded $71 billion in 2023, a 500% increase in just 5 years.

Currently, there are around 33 million Americans (12% of the adult population) on GLP-1 drugs at any one time. And most of this increase has been driven by the weight-loss market.

Let me be clear. These drugs work. For people with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes or severe obesity-related health issues, they can be a godsend. But like any “quick fix” weight loss drug they are overprescribed.

And when you have millions of people taking a drug, you need to take a serious look at side effects. I have covered these in a previous issue of “Health Tips From the Professor”.

In that article I emphasized two side effects that I thought had not received sufficient attention:

• The first is depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.

• • These are symptoms that many patients may not associate with the drug, especially if they already have these tendencies.

• • And the consequences can be life threatening. There have already been reports of suicides of people on GLP-1 medications.

• The second is loss of muscle mass.

• • This is a particular concern for seniors because they struggle to maintain muscle mass as they age.

• • And this is a silent symptom. Most seniors don’t realize they are losing muscle mass until it significantly affects their quality of life.

However, since I wrote that article these side effects have received more attention. Your doctor may have warned you about them.

But there is another concern about GLP-1 drug use that your doctor has probably not told you about.

What Your Doctor Didn’t Tell You About GLP-1 Drugs

The miracle of GLP-1 drugs is that they suppress appetite, which makes it much easier to lose weight.

• Snacks are no longer appealing.

• Large portion sizes leave you feeling bloated.

• It’s tempting to skip meals because you just aren’t hungry.

You no longer have to struggle to eat less. It just comes naturally. But this miracle is also a snare. The issue becomes not how much you eat, but what you eat. The issue becomes not how many calories you eat, but how many nutrients you eat. And your doctor probably hasn’t talked to you about that.

Weight loss diets often result in nutritional insufficiencies. However, GLP-1-aided weight loss is worse.

That’s because GLP-1 is a drug, not a diet plan. It’s dispensed like any other drug.

• Your doctor gives you a GLP-1 prescription. If you are lucky, they may give you a “one-size-fits-all” handout on how to lose weight while you are using it. For example, in a recent study:

• • Only 51% of patients received information from their doctor on how to manage side effects of GLP-1.

• • Only 20% were referred to a dietitian. The other 80% received no information on how to change their diet and lifestyle.

• When you pick up the drug from the pharmacy, you get a package insert listing the side effects but no information on how to change your diet.

The results are predictable:

• As I discussed in a recent issue of “Health Tips From the Professor”, a recent study found that the diets of the GLP-1 users were deficient in fiber, healthy fats, 10 essential vitamins and minerals and did not contain enough protein to prevent loss of muscle mass.

It’s All About Nutrient Density

Years ago, when I was researching the adequacy of the American diet I was surprised to discover that the USDA statistics showed that the diets of teenage women were suboptimal for many nutrients, while the diets of teenage boys were suboptimal for only a few.

You might ask, “What was the difference?”

• It wasn’t that teenage boys ate a better diet.

• If you have raised a teenage boy, you probably already know the answer. They have bigger appetites.

The message is clear, even with a lousy diet you can meet the recommended intake of most nutrients if you eat enough calories.

So, the analogy I will use is that going on GLP-1 drugs is like going from the caloric intake of a teenage boy to that of a teenage girl. Your diet will become nutritionally insufficient unless you change it.

This is where the concept of nutrient density comes in. You need to change your focus from how many calories there are in each serving of food you eat to how many nutrients there are in each serving of food you eat. You need to make every bite count.

And, just in case you were wondering where to find high nutrient density, low calorie foods:

• Whole, unprocessed foods with no added fat or sugar are high in nutrient density and low in calories.

• On the other hand, highly processed foods are low in nutrient density and high in calories.

The problem is that highly processed foods account for 60-70% of the calories in the typical American diet. So, if you are like most Americans GLP-1 use will result in nutritional insufficiencies unless you change your diets to focus on nutrient dense foods.

And the bonus is that that same focus on nutrient dense foods will help you keep the weight off once you quit the GLP-1 drug.

But your doctor probably hasn’t told you this.

Will You Get Scurvy If You Use A GLP-1 Drug?

The short answer is, “No”. It’s highly unlikely that you will ever develop scurvy while on GLP-1 drugs. You would need to have a truly horrible diet and never take multivitamins to develop a nutritional deficiency disease like scurvy.

Headlines like that are simply meant to draw you in, so you will read the article. But there are real concerns about the long-term effects of nutritional insufficiencies. For example:

• Long term inadequacies of calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D increase the risk of osteoporosis.

• Long term inadequacies of healthy fats, magnesium, vitamin D, and antioxidants may increase the risk of heart disease.

• Long term inadequacies of antioxidants and phytonutrients can accelerate cellular aging.

• Long term muscle loss due to inadequate protein intake leads to frailty and metabolic diseases as we age.

You get the point. GLP-1 drugs are not a panacea for weight loss. Unless you switch to a whole food, nutrient dense diet you may end up leaner and sicker – not healthier.

What Does This Mean For You?

The take-home message is clear. GLP-1 drugs may seem like a weight loss miracle. Your appetite decreases. You eat less. And the pounds just melt away. But the health benefits of losing weight with GLP-1 drugs may be a mirage rather than a miracle.

That is because what you eat is critical. If you just eat less of what you were eating before, you may end up leaner and sicker.

Forget calories. Instead, focus on the nutrient density of the foods you are eating. And that means eating whole, unprocessed foods that are low in fat and added sugar.

But the ads don’t tell you that. The drug labels won’t tell you that. And chances are that your doctor won’t tell you that either.

The Bottom Line

GLP-1 drugs may seem like a weight loss miracle. Your appetite decreases. You eat less. And the pounds just melt away. But the health benefits of losing weight with GLP-1 drugs may be a mirage rather than a miracle.

That’s because what you eat while you are on GLP-1 drugs may be critical to your long-term health. And your doctor probably didn’t tell you about that when they were prescribing GLP-1.

For more details about the dangers of GLP-1 drugs, read the article above.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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My posts and “Health Tips From the Professor” articles carefully avoid claims about any brand of supplement or manufacturer of supplements. However, I am often asked by representatives of supplement companies if they can share them with their customers.

My answer is, “Yes, as long as you share only the article without any additions or alterations. In particular, you should avoid adding any mention of your company or your company’s products. If you were to do that, you could be making what the FTC and FDA consider a “misleading health claim” that could result in legal action against you and the company you represent.

For more detail about FTC regulations for health claims, see this link.

https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/health-products-compliance-guidance

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About The Author 

Dr. Chaney has a BS in Chemistry from Duke University and a PhD in Biochemistry from UCLA. He is Professor Emeritus from the University of North Carolina where he taught biochemistry and nutrition to medical and dental students for 40 years.

Dr. Chaney won numerous teaching awards at UNC, including the Academy of Educators “Excellence in Teaching Lifetime Achievement Award”.

Dr Chaney also ran an active cancer research program at UNC and published over 100 scientific articles and reviews in peer-reviewed scientific journals. In addition, he authored two chapters on nutrition in one of the leading biochemistry text books for medical students.

Since retiring from the University of North Carolina, he has been writing a weekly health blog called “Health Tips From the Professor”. He has also written two best-selling books, “Slaying the Food Myths” and “Slaying the Supplement Myths”. And most recently he has created an online lifestyle change course, “Create Your Personal Health Zone”. For more information visit https://chaneyhealth.com.

For the past 54 years Dr. Chaney and his wife Suzanne have been helping people improve their health holistically through a combination of good diet, exercise, weight control and appropriate supplementation.