GLPs have many interesting health benefits that go beyond weight loss and glucose control.
We have seen reduction in fatty liver, sleep apnea, knee osteoarthritis, heart disease, dementia progression. Now we can add lower rates of peptic ulcer disease to the list of GLP benefits.
We know GLPs have effects on the gastrointestinal system.
When GLPs were first used for weight loss and diabetes, there was a lot of talk of how it slows gastric motility. Your stomach doesn’t move as quickly, so it feels “full” longer. This is probably one of the benefits, as slower digestion may make you eat less. There are some negative effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, but many of these if they happen are mild and may resolve, and you can minimize the risk of these by doing a slower, gradual upramp of dosing. This is one reason we believe in medical guidance during your weight loss journey. There are many other things we incorporate to improve your weight loss journey and minimize complications and side effects. Rare pancreatitis has also been described. Some cases of gastric paralysis and ileus have been seen, but again these are rare. But are there other GI effects?
Study on GLP effects on peptic ulcer disease 
This was a recently published study, “Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists are associated with a lower risk of peptic ulcer disease: a nationwide cohort study”, published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology (fancy way of saying the stomach, intestines, and liver). They wanted to see if GLPs had an effect on the mucosal lining of the GI system.
Study:
- 66,000 participants with Type 2 diabetes who used GLP.
- There was a subgroup who needed dual therapy, and the second line was GLP or insulin as a second line therapy for their diabetes.
- Retrospective review
- They adjusted for use of insulin, NSAIDs, steroids, and proton pump inhibitors (used to treat ulcer disease)
- Findings? GLP was associated with significantly lower odds of peptic ulcer disease by 44%. For the second line therapy, GLP had a 56% lower rate of ulcer disease vs. insulin.
- “Switching to a GLP as a second line therapy was associated with a significantly lower hazard of peptic ulcer disease compared to switching to insulin.”
- NSAIDs and steroids were associated with higher risk of peptic ulcer disease
Biohackr Health GLP and blood sugar treatments
We at Biohackr Health do medical weight loss advising in our San Francisco and Palo Alto Clinics. We also do a lot of advising on how to age better, and good blood glucose control is important. In our modern American diet, many people are pre-diabetic and insulin resistant, which leads to a host of issues, from weight gain, heart disease, dementia risk, and diabetes. In our focus on healthspan- that is that length of your life where you are healthy and able to do the activities you want- we continue to be amazed by the long list of benefits of GLPs. (See our blogs on GLPs.)
As for what we offer,
- Medical weight loss
- Glucose testing- labwork, continuous glucose monitors, telehealth visits
- Don’t know where to start? Come in for a consultation.
Medical references:
As always, we at Biohackr Health bring science based advice to treatments where possible. For more in depth, please read the original sources listed below.