Over the past few years, the impact of so-called GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro has been, in a word, massive. Chances are, you, or many people you know are considering taking them, that is, if you or they are not already on them. GLP-1s are making news and changing millions of lives for the better every day.

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Originally developed to combat type 2 diabetes, GLP-1s – like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, etc. – have been extraordinarily successful at pushing insulin production up – and driving too-high blood sugar levels down. Better yet, GLP-1s were also found to deliver among the most powerful and, quite possibly, the least dangerous weight-loss results ever seen, further securing their rep as a pretty close to miraculous development. But there’s a lot more to the story.

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Beyond the blood-sugar control and weight loss benefits, GLP-1s are also producing a startling number of additional healthspan-enhancing benefits. From animal studies to troves of patient data analysis to actual clinical “interventional” trials, GLP-1s are also showing themselves to be exceptionally useful tools in the war on aging. They may, quite possibly, become the most powerful anti-aging, longevity-promoting drugs ever. Talk about a shot heard ‘round the world!

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So, how are GLP-1s changing the longevity game? Let us count the ways. Here’s what you need to know about this truly game-changing drug which is poised to change aging – and how well we do it – for generations to come:

GLP-1s in a nutshell.

Their superpower: to mimic the action of a particular hormone, technically, a peptide hormone, glucagon-like peptide-1 or GLP-1. 

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Taken as a weekly injection, the GLP-1 ‘shots’ help regulate digestion and metabolism, meaning, how the food we eat gets turned into energy. For those with diabetes, the drugs stimulate the pancreas’ production of insulin which brings down blood sugar to healthier levels. And for anyone, diabetic or not, the drugs slow down the transit of food through the stomach, prolonging a feeling of fullness as well as acting on GLP-1 receptors in the brain to tamp down appetite, promoting weight loss in a different way. 

GLP-1s take aim at the big diseases of aging – and helps stop them.

What really makes the GLP-1 drugs so interesting to us in the longevity world is that they address the interrelated physiological processes behind many, if not all of, the most common “diseases of aging.’ Their success refutes the standard medical “whack-a-mole” approach where diseases, or rather their symptoms, are treated as if they had nothing to do with each other. So, what are the multiple diseases that these singular drugs are disrupting in the best sense of the word? The big scary life-shortening ones, like metabolic disease; cardiovascular disease; neuro-degenerative diseases; kidney and liver disease; sleep apnea; and even cancer.

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In fact, the age-related, disease-taming, potentially life-lengthening results we’ve seen to date are so promising, I’m putting GPL-1s into real-life practice – from taking the shots myself, to prescribing them for certain patients with risk factors and/or age-related medical issues (even if they’re not overweight or diabetic).

GLP-1s push back hard – against many of the supposedly unstoppable “Hallmarks of Aging.”

Researchers have recently come to appreciate that GLP-1 receptors, once thought to be located mostly in the gut, are distributed throughout the body. That helps explain the numerous health improvements that have turned up in the past few years that don’t have an obvious connection to digestion, weight or metabolism.

Scientists then embarked on the basic animal research to determine if the drugs’ active ingredient, most commonly, semaglutide, could affect the physiological processes responsible for aging itself. The evidence has come back as a resounding ‘yes.’ Turns out, these GLP-1 “agonists” were actually pushing back at a cellular or molecular level against the “hallmarks of aging,” like oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence and the big trouble-maker – inflammation. GLP-1s were also found to offer health-enhancing benefits in anti-aging areas such as:

1. Metabolic health -- helping to improve metabolism by regulating blood sugar levels, stimulating insulin secretion, and regulating appetite.
2. Cardiovascular health -- GLP-1s may help reduce risk for major adverse cardiovascular events, stroke, death and myocardial infarction in older adults with type 2 diabetes. Less heart trouble equals healthier aging.  
3. Neuroprotection -- helping to prevent cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress in the brain. Recent animal studies also suggest that GLP-1s may provide protection from Alzheimer's and age-related cognitive decline.
4. Inflammation reduction -- here the evidence seems especially strong, with GLP-1s fighting inflammation in three important ways, via weight loss, improved blood sugar levels and by interacting with immune cells that have GLP-1 receptors, a direct inflammation-taming effect.
5. Mitochondrial function -- helping to enhance mitochondrial function, which in turn keeps energy and cellular function humming.
6. Cell rejuvenation -- helping to promote cell survival and growth and help cells maintain vitality.

GLP-1s ‘shut down the noise’ – on less-than-stellar behaviors that can age you quick.

GLP-1s impact on addictive and/or compulsive behaviors is a powerful one, with many patients remarking on GLP-1s ability to tame cravings, enabling them to pay considerably less attention to the siren call of poor food choices. In addition to curbing food noise, we’ve also heard from many patient reports saying that GLP1-have helped blunt the lure of certain addictive substances and habits, like alcohol, drugs and even gambling. 

Smart strategies for harnessing GLP-1 anti-aging benefits.

To preserve your health, reduce disease risk and stave off trouble down the line, GLP-1s are an excellent tool to have in your anti-aging corner. To move forward with a GLP-1 – under a doctor’s supervision, of course – you’ll want to do it in the healthiest, most beneficial way possible, so here are a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Stick to micro-dosing or low dosing. Typically, for anti-aging and longevity support, I recommend 1.0- 2.0 mg of ‘Tirzepatide,’ the generic name for Mounjaro and Zepbound. This will enable you to tap into the potential longevity benefits while keeping side effects to a minimum. Note that at higher doses, we tend to see more problems with side-effects like nausea, diarrhea, stomach upset, etc., so why put yourself through that.
2. Amp up your protein: With GLP-1use it’s absolutely essential to eat a high protein, low carb diet, not only to maintain healthy function and prevent fatigue, but more importantly to reduce muscle loss, which is especially important in the over-50 crowd. Protein is essential for the health of every cell in the body as it provides important amino acids. It also plays a role in muscle synthesis, helping with growth and maintenance. Research indicates that a decrease in muscle mass is linked to a reduced ability to sustain weight loss and can also accelerate biological aging – certainly a must to avoid!
3. Supplement with a scoop of creatine: Another way to minimize muscle loss? Add 5grams of creatine to your mix. It will provide the energy your muscles need to power through your workout routine and keep muscles intact.
4. Get a helping hand: Even if you are relatively knowledgeable when it comes to eating right, I’d still recommend adding a nutritionist who is well-versed in GLP-1s to advise and guide you on food choices and develop a specific eating plan. Paying close nutrition and protein needs will further help you minimize muscle loss. 
5. Work it – and build it: Possibly the most important adjustment you’ll need to make to limit muscle loss on a GLP-1 is to add resistance exercise, at least three times a week. The muscle loss associated with GLP-1 drug use is particularly concerning in older adults (50+) whose muscle mass and bone density is typically declining due to aging anyway, increasing the risk of fractures and falls, even fatal ones. Adding more muscle loss on top of the standard aging-related loss can be a very dangerous game, so I can’t stress enough how important it is to slow the slide with strength training or resistance work.