Look out “Google Doctoring” here comes “TikTok doctoring”.
Questions on “oatzempic and ricezempic” are on the rise in my office.
Makes sense when Ozempic aka Wegovy or it’s friend Mounjaro aka Zepbound are over $500 or $800 for a vial if you’re not blessed with magical insurance that doesn’t ask questions.
Getting “regular” insurance to cover these things when you don’t have diabetes, aren’t exactly in the class 1 obesity category and you haven’t “failed” a trial of the blood sugar medication Metformin has the same odds as winning the lottery.
But they don’t tell you that on their commercials with people living it up walking down streets in groups, painting and dancing around happy with their medication.
And don’t get me started about the “policies” supposedly coming out for those struggling with their weight.
Why some folks have insurance where no questions are asked while others have to shell out the crazy prices is beyond me.
This phenomenon isn’t rare, it’s longstanding and you’re waiting till patents run out for the price to go down.
Novo Nordisk has the patent on Ozempic till 2033 and Eli Lilly and Company has it till 2036 for Mounjaro – it’s going to be a while till prices go down.
So budget savvy folks have come up with “Oatzempic” and “Ricezempic”.
The “ricezempic” process promotes increased uptake of arsenic, commonly found in rice and a known appetite suppressant to mimic the effects of Ozempic.
No thanks.
Now the “oatzempic” has some merit because these molecules called beta-glucans in cereals like rice and barley can slow gastric emptying plus added bonus of binding up the LDL cholesterol too (why Oats & Cheerios were touted for elevated cholesterol – not a fan of Cheerios as a solution).
You could eat your oats and not mess around with making the “oatzempic” oat drink.
Sure you’ll get more carbs.
I’m pretty sure eating 1 cup of oatmeal never caused anyone’s obesity or diabetes for that matter.
It’s what you put into the oats to make it palatable and why I’m a fan of savory oats.
What else has the b-glucan effect? Mushrooms (not the tripping kind…sorry😂).
Can you get a 2 for 1 effect if your mushrooms are grown on oat or barley grain medium and the mushroom “roots” aka mycelium are harvested with fruiting body (the part you know as the mushroom)?
Maybe.
B-glucans are also great for…
- resilience to infections
- balancing blood sugar (slow the gut down a bit)
- reducing hunger
- pre-biotics aka food for beneficial bacteria aka probiotics
- anti-tumor properties
My theory – if finances aren’t there to spend on the GLP-1 peptide meds Ozempic/Wegovy or Mounjaro/Zepbound you could go back to using targeted foods as medicine.
Sure it doesn’t have the food noise appetite suppressant effects of the meds but you could work on taking the time to meal prep, mixing mushrooms and oats into savory mixes as a side dish or the main dish with protein and see how it goes.
You want to learn this stuff anyway because once your off the meds your cravings and food noise will come back.
To be clear – I’m not anti-Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro or Zepbound – I prescribe them regularly.
They are game changers and mood boosters for those who’ve tried everything to drop weight.
Like anything they do not magically fix all your food issues so having a savory mushroom oats habit may benefit you in the long run.
I love this recipe with steel cut oats by Foxes Love Lemons – check it out HERE
Here’s to blood sugar balancing the old school way,
Dr. J
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