Nutrition & Metabolic Health

Articles

Bariatric surgery for weight loss
Treatment

Bariatric surgery for weight loss

Bariatric surgery is the name given to a major operation that’s performed to treat obesity. It’s designed to change the anatomy of your gut to ensure you can only eat smaller meals, and so you take in less calories as a result. It requires a great deal of commitment pre-surgery to lose weight, and sticking to certain rules after surgery to ensure success. The upsides are long-term reduction in weight, improvement to aches and pains in your joints, and improvement or reversal of factors such as Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure that carry a risk of stroke, heart attacks and early death. It’s life-saving but it isn’t any kind of quick fix, and must never be undertaken lightly.

Mounjaro: uses, how it works & side effects
Treatment

Mounjaro: uses, how it works & side effects

Mounjaro is the brand name for tirzepatide, a new class of drug called a GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist. It is designed to lower blood sugar levels in the body in adults with type 2 diabetes when combined with regular exercise and dieting. GIP is short for glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, and GLP-1 stands for glucagon-like peptide-1, both of which belong to a type of body hormone known as incretins which help to regulate blood sugar. Some people who take Mounjaro may also lose weight because of its effect on the body and although it is not approved as a weight loss drug, doctors may prescribe it ‘off label’ (when an approved drug is used for a purpose other than the one it has been approved for). In November 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved tirzepatide under the brand name Zepbound specifically for weight loss. You can read about Zepbound here. How does Mounjaro work? By imitating the effect of the incretin hormones GIP and GLP-1 in the body, Mounjaro activates certain receptors in the body linked to these, and as a result lowers blood sugar levels. It does this in three main ways: Making your body extra sensitive to the sugar-regulating hormone insulin Making your pancreas gland (where insulin is made) release more insulin after a meal Stopping your liver from making additional sugar It also slows down the speed at which food passes through your stomach after a meal, which can make you feel full for longer than normal. If you have type 2 diabetes and take other medication for this condition, Mounjaro is used: By itself if you are unable to take metformin With metformin With metformin and a sulfonylurea With metformin and a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) With basal insulin (with or without metformin) How to use Mounjaro Mounjaro is a drug that you inject subcutaneously (under the skin) once a week. It comes in single-dose prefilled pens, and you will be shown how to use these by a healthcare professional. The drug also comes with step-by-step instructions and there are also instructional videos available online. Mounjaro is injected into the abdomen or thigh (or the upper arm if someone else is giving it to you). A different injection site should be used every week, as using the same place all the time can cause irritation in that area. If you also use insulin, Mounjaro and insulin can both be given at the same time as long as they are not both given in exactly the same spot - give them a few centimeters apart.

Orlos
Treatment

Orlos

Orlos is a branded product that contains the medication orlistat, which is used for weight loss. However, in the US, the over-the-counter brand of orlistat is Alli. You can buy it from your pharmacy, although it is only suitable for overweight adults with a BMI of 28 kg/m2 or above who will commit to a reduced-calorie and lower-fat diet. Exercise and other healthy choices should also be essential to your weight loss plan. The medication can help those who are overweight to reduce their increased risk of developing a range of health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and even some cancers.

Orlistat
Treatment

Orlistat

Orlistat is a medication used for weight loss. You can buy it from your pharmacy under the brand name Alli. It is only suitable for overweight adults with a BMI of 28 kg/m2 or above who will commit to a reduced-calorie and lower-fat diet. Exercise should also form an essential role in the weight loss plan. Weight loss is crucial if you are overweight, as excess weight puts you at an increased risk of developing a range of health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and even some cancers. There is also a higher-strength version of orlistat that is only available on prescription.

Xenical: weight loss medication explained
Treatment

Xenical: weight loss medication explained

Losing weight can be extremely challenging for some people. Being overweight can have significant health risks, so it’s important to try to lose it. If a change in diet and regular exercise hasn’t helped, you may need the aid of a weight loss drug like Xenical. In this guide, we’ll explain what Xenical is, how to use it correctly and how you can get it. Read on to find out more. What is Xenical? Xenical is a weight loss medication that contains the active ingredient orlistat. Xenical 120mg is a branded prescription treatment that comes in the form of a capsule. It’s able to prevent a third of the dietary fat that you consume from being digested. Xenical is the branded prescription version of orlistat. It works in the same way as orlistat, however it is more expensive. It’s used as a weight loss aid when traditional methods like diet and exercise alone are not working.

Wegovy: A Breakdown of the Weight Management Medication
Treatment

Wegovy: A Breakdown of the Weight Management Medication

Wegovy is a weight loss drug that can be used to treat people who are obese or are overweight with other medical conditions. In this article we explain what Wegovy is, who it is suitable for, how it works and possible side effects. What is Wegovy? Wegovy is the brand name for a drug called semaglutide. This is a type of drug known as a GLP-1 analogue and these drugs work by increasing the levels of a group of hormones called incretins. These are important hormones that help your body make more insulin when needed and also reduce the amount of glucose being produced by your liver when it is not needed. They can also slow down your digestion so that sugar (glucose) from your food takes longer to be absorbed into your body, and so they can reduce your appetite which in turn can cause weight loss. This means that most people taking Wegovy also lose weight.

Alli
Treatment

Alli

Alli is a branded product that contains the medication orlistat, which is used for weight loss. You can buy it from your pharmacy, although it is only suitable for overweight adults with a body mass index (BMI) of 28 kg/m2 or above who will commit to a reduced-calorie and lower-fat diet. Exercise and other healthy living choices should also form an essential role in your weight loss plan. The medication can help those who are overweight to reduce their increased risk of developing a range of health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and even some cancers.

Wegovy for weight loss: uses, benefits and side effects
Treatment

Wegovy for weight loss: uses, benefits and side effects

Wegovy is a weight loss drug that can be used to treat people who are obese or are overweight with other medical conditions. In this article we explain what Wegovy is, who it is suitable for, how it works and possible side effects.

Vitamin C
Treatment

Vitamin C

You may have heard that vitamin C helps fight illness, but did you know it is essential for our bodies to function at all? It is required for so many different processes in our body that a deficiency in this vitamin can cause wide-ranging and sometimes serious health problems.

Aviva Accu-Chek Performa machine
Treatment

Aviva Accu-Chek Performa machine

The Accu-Chek Performa machine is a finger-prick blood glucose monitoring system. It is designed to be used with the Accu-Chek Performa test strip to quantitatively measure glucose in fresh blood. It is used for monitoring glucose control. This device is not interchangeable with the Accu-Chek range and will only work with the Performa test strips. This in vitro testing device is suitable for people with diabetes and non-diabetic patients to monitor their glucose levels. It is not a diagnostic test for diabetes but an indicator based on results.

Aviva Accu-Chek Test Strips
Treatment

Aviva Accu-Chek Test Strips

The Accu-Chek Performa test strip is a finger-prick blood glucose monitoring strip designed to be used with the Accu-Chek Performa machine to quantitatively measure glucose in fresh blood. It is used to monitor glucose control. These in vitro testing strips are for people with diabetes and non-diabetic patients to monitor their glucose levels. These test strips are not interchangeable with the Accu-Chek range and will only work with the Performa machine. The test strips alone will not measure the glucose levels. The following items are required to test it: Aviva Accu-Chek Performa machine Accu-Chek FastClix finger prick device Aviva Accu-Chek Performa test strips Accu-Chek FastClix lancets Sharps bin so that you can throw the needles away safely

Ozempic
Treatment

Ozempic

Ozempic is a type 2 diabetes medication that can be used to manage the blood glucose (sugar) levels of people with type 2 diabetes. In this article we explain what Ozempic is, who it is suitable for, how it works and possible side effects.

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