As the Food and Drug Administration cracks down on compounded versions of popular weight loss drugs Wegovy (semaglutide) and Zepbound (tirzepatide), Americans who rely on these cheaper medications may be drawn to a dicey sector of the dietary supplement market.
From colorful patches and fruit punch-flavored gummies to prebiotic powders and under-the-tongue tinctures, dietary supplements that claim to “complement” or “supercharge” the body’s levels of the gut hormone GLP-1 are a dime a dozen. While compounded drugs require at least a virtual consultation with a clinician to get a prescription, supplements are available over the counter.
At best, such products are misleading, said Jamie Alan, an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine. So-called GLP-1 supplements, named to echo the class of glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist drugs that includes Wegovy and Zepbound, are likely to be ineffective for weight loss.
“If you can buy it without a prescription, it’s not an actual GLP-1 drug,” Alan said. “It is something else that’s marketed to support your endogenous GLP-1 production. These things are just older weight loss [supplements] that are rebranded, and there’s really no scientific evidence for these.”
Ashwagandha and green tea extract are among the natural ingredients that have been recycled in diet products for decades, Alan said. Ashwagandha is often advertised as a stress reliever, and though the stress hormone cortisol is tied to weight gain, there’s little proof the evergreen shrub directly helps shed pounds. Green tea and green tea extract may have a “possible modest effect on body weight,” according to mixed research cited by the Office of Dietary Supplements, some of which links the extract to liver damage.
“We’re coming back to these products that have been ineffective in the past,” Alan said. Ingredients popping up on GLP-1 supplement labels include everything from berberine to chromium to saffron extract, which have a minimal body of research supporting their effects on weight loss.
What’s missing from the ingredient lists is also of note.
The brand Kind Patches indicates its GLP-1 adhesive “does not contain synthetic GLP-1 and is not a GLP-1 agonist drug.” Lemme, Kourtney Kardashian Barker’s wellness brand, features an identical disclaimer for its GLP-1 Daily Support Capsules. Trim Biome GLP-1, manufactured by Inno Supps, boasts “clinically studied ingredients” but not the hormone in the product’s name.
Lemme declined to comment; Inno Supps and Kind Patches didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Jeff Ventura, the vice president of communications for the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade group for the supplement industry, said in a statement that there are “no direct comparators” for GLP-1 drugs in the dietary supplement industry.
“While some supplement ingredients have shown promise in limited studies related to metabolic health and weight management, they do not have the same effects as GLP-1 drugs,” Ventura said.
“It is very tricky, because they’ll put that big ‘GLP-1’ on there and it makes you think, ‘Well, maybe this is the drug,’ if you’re not thinking about how to read these labels or if you don’t know how to read these labels,” Alan said.
The FDA doesn’t regulate dietary supplements for safety or effectiveness before they hit the market, whether they’re a daily multivitamin or a post-workout protein powder. For that reason, the agency advises consulting a health care provider before adding any supplement to your regimen.
“There could be harm in some of these,” Alan said. “There are going to be some people who might have a significant drug interaction, who might have a significant medical condition. In most people there’s probably minimal risk of harm, but that’s not true for everyone.”
Why are compounded GLP-1 drugs going away?
GLP-1 drugs aren’t new, having been used to treat Type 2 diabetes since 2005. Demand soared after the FDA approved Wegovy and Zepbound for weight loss in 2021 and 2023, respectively. The ensuing shortages made it legal for compounding pharmacies to step in.
Compounding pharmacies typically mix, alter or combine drug ingredients to meet a patient’s specific needs. For example, a pharmacy may make a liquid version of a drug that only comes in pill form for a patient who has trouble swallowing. During drug shortages, they’re also authorized to craft medications that are “essentially copies” of commercially available drugs.
Compounded versions of Wegovy and Zepbound skyrocketed in popularity — in part because they were generally sold for far less than their brand-name counterparts. Wegovy, for instance, has a list price of $1,349.02 for a four-week supply, though some insurance plans cover it. Meanwhile, WeightWatchers offers compounded semaglutide starting at $129 a month.
That’s coming to an end: The FDA declared the tirzepatide shortage over in December and did the same for the semaglutide shortage in February. Compounders must now pull their products. The grace period for tirzepatide manufacturers is over, and semaglutide producers have until Tuesday or May 22, depending on whether they’re a state-licensed pharmacy or an outsourcing facility.
That leaves a huge opening for GLP-1 supplement sellers to flood the $49.3 billion global market — and convince consumers a $15 pack of unproven patches will yield the same results as brand-name drugs that have undergone comprehensive clinical trials, said Dr. W. Scott Butsch, director of obesity medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Bariatric and Metabolic Institute.
Butsch, who has previously consulted for Novo Nordisk (maker of Wegovy) and Eli Lilly (maker of Zepbound), said he was already concerned about the ubiquity of compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide in recent years.
“The FDA states very clearly: These compounded versions are not the same,” he said. “They don’t have the same ingredients. They have not been tested.”
Worse still, Butsch said, compounders and now supplement companies are using lower pricing to target an already vulnerable clientele. Walmart, for example, sells a variety of GLP-1 supplements under $50.
Blair Cromwell, the director of global communications for Walmart’s U.S. Marketplace, said in a statement that dietary supplements are sold by third-party sellers on its Marketplace.
“Our policy allows the sale of dietary supplements if they comply with applicable regulations as well as federal, state and local laws, and FTC guidelines,” Cromwell said, adding that the company would be likely to review products marketed as GLP-1 supplements and “remove them if found to make inappropriate or inaccurate claims.”
“[The wellness market] has continued to prey on the desperate, and these are people who have poor access,” Butsch said. “Patients with obesity have always had poor access to obesity medications.”
He added, “You have some optimism among people who think that they can save some money and still get the benefit. But it’s a bigger carrot that they’re carrying in front of the horse now.”
‘No simple dietary fix’ can match GLP-1 results
Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and the director of Tufts University’s Food Is Medicine Institute, said, “There’s no simple dietary fix that’s going to do what these drugs do in a short amount of time.”
Still, the metabolic mechanism the supplements claim to achieve — boosting natural GLP-1 production — isn’t without merit.
“The food I’m eating is biologic information that’s activating hormones in my body, including GLP-1,” Mozaffarian said, noting that healthy fats and high-fiber foods have been shown to trigger GLP-1 production. But its natural release into the bloodstream is fleeting; GLP-1 drugs work by mimicking the hormone and keeping it around longer, which can aid in appetite suppression.
“It’s too early for [GLP-1 supplements] to have science behind them,” Mozaffarian said. “But I do think in the future we will be able to give people more clear recommendations on what’s a natural, lifestyle way to boost your GLP-1 function.”
For now, he said, “I wouldn’t spend money on these supplements, I would spend money on healthy food.”
Alan, of Michigan State University, was blunt.
“It’s snake oil at this point,” she said. “You’re really wasting your money.”
