John Lennon sang: "You say you want a revolution/Well, you know/We all want to change the world."
Well, you could say the revolutionary new weight loss and diabetes management medications semaglutide (Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro) are doing just that: Changing the world of disease management in ways that weren't imagined when semaglutide was approved in 2017.
These days, it's approved for managing Type 2 diabetes, weight loss, and to reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications — and research is revealing it (and probably its nephew Mounjaro) has even more powers to improve your well-being.
Semaglutide reduces the risk of stroke and heart attack in people with heart failure by 28%, and causes a 24% reduction in cardiovascular-related death; lowers the risk of kidney failure in people with Type 2 diabetes and kidney disease by 24%; and if you have Type 2 diabetes, it cuts the chance of developing 10 obesity-related cancers.
There's even preliminary research showing it may help treat Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
Add to all that the latest finding: Obese people without Type 2 diabetes who took semaglutide during the COVID-19 epidemic had a 33% lower risk of dying from the disease than those not taking the medication.
If you have Type 2 diabetes or obesity, talk to your doctor about the benefits of taking semaglutide. (Risks vary from minor gastrointestinal upset to mood changes, ongoing stomach pain, and rapid heartbeat.)