According to Gallup, approximately 15 million U.S. adults now say they’ve used injectable prescription drugs to lose weight.

Yet, while these GLP-1 drugs, better known by brand names like Ozempic and Wegovy, are having their moment in the sun, more and more reports of serious side effects are stacking up.

Luckily, recent research has proved that you don’t have to risk the dangers of these drugs to lose weight. In fact, the researchers say that embracing one specific dietary strategy can not only help you shed excess pounds — but also dramatically improve your health.

That’s a far cry from what we’re hearing about GLP-1 agonists…

The dangers of weight loss drugs

But before we take a look at the diet trick that research shows really works, just how bad can those oh-so-popular weight loss drugs be?

It turns out pretty horrible.

Just ask Juanita Gantt, who was prescribed Ozempic and Wegovy and is now suing their manufacturer.

Gantt, who had always struggled with her weight, found herself at 62 weighing 242 pounds. After talking to her doctor about her weight and diabetes risk, she started the drugs.

According to CBS News, a few months later, her husband found her unconscious on the floor.

The problem?

Large portions of her large intestine had died inside of her and required surgery to be removed.

And her troubles weren’t over…

While still in the hospital, Gantt suffered a cardiac arrest. And though thankful, that she lived, Gantt now lives with a daily reminder of her ordeal in the form of an ileostomy bag to collect waste that’s attached to her abdomen.

A safer weight loss option

 Scary stuff, right?

That’s why it’s so important to consider natural options, like diet, for weight loss whenever possible.

And that’s where research from Qilu Hospital of Shandong University comes in.

Researchers there found that “A plant-based diet is a viable option for people who want to control their body weight and improve the quality of their diet to prevent and treat metabolic diseases.”

In fact, they didn’t just conduct a single study.

They reviewed 24 studies, combining data on more than 2,200 people on the effects of a plant-based diet on weight loss.

And they found that not only does going plant-based work, the positive impacts of plant-based diets increase over time.

The researchers found that while a strictly vegan diet leads to the most weight loss, it was not significantly more than diets that included dairy and eggs.

And they say that to grab the most benefits, what matters is eating more raw vegetables — a factor that had the strongest links to a lower risk of obesity and heart problems.

“Raw vegetables contain phytosterols and unsaturated fats that lower blood cholesterol concentrations,” explained the researchers. “They also contain various substances (e.g., tocopherols, ascorbate, carotenoids, saponins, and flavonoids) that can reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.”

An evidence-based strategy that works

The news about regaining weight after stopping GLP-1 agonists is surely disappointing. But reports are mounting that, other than staying on the drug, it offers no evidence-based strategy to maintain weight loss.

Nate Wood, MD, MHS, of Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, told MedPage Today “We generally do expect that when folks discontinue this medication, they’ll gain at least some weight back, if not all of it. And the reason for that is that we really think about obesity as a chronic disease. And chronic diseases require chronic treatment.”

That puts these drugs in the same basket as those people take for high blood pressure or high cholesterol, for example. As soon as the medication stops, the health threat returns. However, the dangers of GLP-1 agonists cast doubt on the safety of taking the drugs for life.

So if you want to lose weight, without facing the possibility of serious adverse effects due to weight loss drugs, adding more vegetables (especially raw veggies) to your diet seems to be the way to go.

Just remember that you can take a raw vegetable diet too far since going 100% vegetarian or vegan can lead to nutrient deficiencies.

Additionally, while eating a plant-based diet is a powerful and healthy weight loss strategy, eating certain foods can give you an even bigger advantage thanks to specific nutrients.

So be sure to check out this shortlist of foods that have been shown to help promote a fat-burning metabolism.

Sources:

Weight loss drugs allegedly landed this woman in the hospital, prompting lawsuit about drug label warnings — CBS News

New Study Backs Simple Weight Loss Strategy That Doesn’t Require Drugs — Sciencealert