Oh, ho, ho, it’s magic…

Never believe that it’s so.

Many of you may remember the 1974 song Magic from the Scottish pop rock band, Pilot. This memorable tune has, in the past year or so, been repurposed and remade for advertising. The new lyrics? “Oh, oh, oh, Ozempic, oooooh, ooooohooohooohoooh.” Novo Nordisk even recruited the original singer, David Paton from Pilot, to perform the vocals for a version of the commercial.

As much as people are always looking for that magic solution to weight control, Ozempic isn’t magic. It’s just another pharmaceutical trying to fill a niche, one that has been filled by many before: Fen-Phen, REDUX, Meridia, Orlistat, Belviq, Qsymia, Contrave, Wegovy, not to mention myriad nutraceuticals.

While Ozempic is technically a medication intended for use in treating type 2 diabetes, it has become popular for off-label use as a weight loss drug, and many are touting it as magic. Claims are that it can lead to up to 15% weight loss in a year. Of course, Ozempic isn’t the only drug in its class. Wegovy, which is actually FDA-approved for weight loss, contains the same active ingredient as Ozempic: semaglutide.

Semaglutide is what is called a GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1 agonist). In plain English, it helps lower blood sugar levels by stimulating the release of insulin from the pancreas. Additional effects are slowing the emptying of the stomach and suppressing the production of glucagon in the pancreas during times of elevated blood sugar levels.

The slowing of the digestive process, delaying the emptying of the stomach, also has the effect of making a person feel full longer, so they eat less. In this sense, it performs an appetite suppressant.

This drug has seen so much “success” in helping people lose weight that even Elon Musk touted it as a inexpensive wonder drug to overcome the health detriments of obesity, and he minimized the drug’s side-effects.

Yes, Ozempic can help someone lose weight. And perhaps when compared with the dangers of type 2 diabetes (which actually can be managed fairly well with diet alone), it could be useful for some. As a weight-loss aid, however, you’d be safer using cocaine.

According to the Ozempic website, the following are the most common side-effects of using Ozempic: “nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach (abdominal) pain, and constipation.”

There are, however, potential serious adverse effects to consider: “Possible thyroid tumors, including cancer,” “inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis),” “changes in vision,” “low blood sugar (hypoglycemia),” “kidney problems (kidney failure),” “serious allergic reactions,” “gallbladder problems,” and “food or liquid getting into the lungs during surgery or other procedures that use anesthesia or deep sleepiness (deep sedation).”

These are hardly “minor side effects” as Musk also described them.

If that wasn’t bad enough, a recent study found that, while someone may lose up to 15% bodyweight in a year while taking this magic medicine, some of what is being lost is skeletal muscle and cardiac (heart) muscle.

Loss of skeletal muscle would impede any attempts at using exercise to aid or accelerate weight loss. Such a side effect could even make everyday activity more difficult. And this isn’t a potential side effect - it is, according to the study, a consistent effect.

Worst of all, however, is the loss of heart mass that was seen, as, according to the study, “the reduction in cardiac size induced by semaglutide occurs independent of weight loss.” This can lead to catastrophic outcomes, especially since the heart is generally already stressed in a person carrying too much extra weight.

Contrary to the implication in the use of Pilot’s song, semaglutide isn’t a charmed concoction conjured by the likes of Merlin. No, it is an illusion akin to the sleight of hand performed by Criss Angel. Such illusions are based on distraction, like watching your body weight drop while you are unaware that your heart is losing mass. And some of them, like Ozempic, are quite dangerous.