From curbing your craving for alcohol to boosting fertility, all the surprising health benefits of Ozempic

Semaglutide is well known for its weight loss benefits.

The revolutionary injections, sold under the names Ozempic and Wegovyare proven to help people lose up to 2st.

But slimming shots also have surprising benefits, as MailOnline explains…

Reduces alcohol cravings

It’s not just food that turns you off, Ozempic can also significantly reduce your desire to drink alcohol.

Attention has turned to the possibility that semaglutide may reduce drug cravings and alcohol consumption.

Ozempic works by mimicking GLP-1, a natural hormone that tells the brain it is full. Some experts believe that this internal process, which suppresses the desire to eat, can also curb other cravings.

Rodent studies have supported this theory.

A team of researchers at the US National Institutes of Health published a study in 2023 that found semaglutide discouraged rodents from drinking alcohol.

Semaglutide has also been shown in humans to specifically reduce the symptoms of alcohol use disorders.

Published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, a case series last year described the fascinating results of six patients who received semaglutide during weight loss treatment.

But researchers at the University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine and the Oklahoma State University Health Sciences Center also found that they reduced their alcohol consumption.

Follow-up showed that all six patients reported “low-risk” drinking, indicating they no longer had a problem with their drinking.

However, the study authors stressed that more research is needed.

Reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke

The lean vaccine could also reduce your risk of heart attack, researchers say.

Being a healthy weight can reduce your risk of developing heart and circulatory diseases like stroke and vascular dementia.

Indeed, excess weight can lead to fat buildup in your arteries, warns the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

If an artery that carries blood to the heart is damaged and blocked, it can lead to a heart attack. If this happens to the arteries that carry blood to the brain, it can cause a stroke, according to the BHF.

So it’s no surprise that semaglutide injections that help you lose weight may also reduce your risk of cardiovascular problems.

One study suggested that receiving 2.4 mg injections of semaglutide like Wegovy per week could reduce the risk of “major adverse cardiovascular events” by 20%.

This is what the company behind the drug claims.

The 2023 study by Novo Nordisk, which makes Wegovy, included 17,604 overweight or obese adults over 45 with cardiovascular disease and no history of diabetes.

The researchers divided the participants into two groups: one received the Wegovy injection while the other received the placebo.

May treat kidney failure

It’s not just cardiovascular issues, according to Novo Nordisk, lean injections can treat. The company also believes it could help treat patients with kidney failure.

Chronic kidney disease affects 7.2 million Britons, but this figure is expected to rise by around 400,000 over the next decade, mainly due to rising numbers of high blood pressure and obesity.

But researchers say offering them early treatment with semaglutide would be a revolutionary solution.

In October, Novo Nordisk announced it was stopping its study to determine whether the drugs could effectively treat patients with kidney failure and diabetes because it was confident it would be successful.

The Danish drugmaker was testing whether the diabetes drug could delay the progression of chronic kidney disease and reduce the risk of death from complications.

A separate study, published last year, found that type 2 diabetics who also had kidney disease saw their conditions stabilize after taking semaglutide.

A 2018 study in the United States found that kidney failure patients taking another GLP-1 drug had a significant reduction in a protein called albumin in their urine. A high amount can be a sign of poor kidney function.

It could increase fertility

Many women who previously struggled with infertility say they conceived unexpectedly while using the weight loss vaccines.

Dubbed “oopzempic babies,” the phenomenon has even led some American doctors to prescribe off-label vaccines to treat polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), a leading cause of fertility problems in women.

But experts say losing weight can generally improve fertility.

Professor Adam Balen, consultant in reproductive medicine at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and former president of the British Fertility Society, said: “Many overweight women have reduced fertility and those with PCOS may stop ovulating.

“Losing weight improves fertility and the chance of ovulation.”

Indeed, fat cells produce estrogen which can have a negative impact on fertility, by interrupting the regularity of menstruation and ovulation. This means that by losing just a few pounds, hormone levels can be lowered.

Semaglutide also works by delaying emptying of the stomach, which may prevent oral contraceptives from being absorbed effectively by the body.

The injections can cause vomiting and diarrhea in users, which can reduce the impact of contraceptives, also increasing the chances of pregnancy.

GLP-1 anti-obesity drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy could have an effect on cognitive impairment and even prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

Novo Nordisk is studying the impact of these drugs on cognitive function.

Trials are evaluating the effects of semaglutide compared to placebo in people with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.

But this is not the first time that researchers have studied the benefits of GLP-1 drugs on cognitive disorders.

A 2003 study published in Neuroscience Research found that GLP-1 can reduce the accumulation of amyloid protein in the brain.

The NHS explains that Alzheimer’s disease is caused by a build-up of these toxic proteins, which can form plaques around brain cells.

However, according to the Alzheimer’s Society, obesity may contribute to impaired cognitive function and an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting that it may simply be the slimming effects that give it its disease-fighting benefits.