What is Semaglutide?
Semaglutide is a Glucagon-like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist that regulates blood sugar and appetite. It does this by mimicking the role of GLP-1 produced by your intestine and binding to GLP-1 receptors primarily in the hypothalamus. It is used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity [1].
Semaglutide is available in two forms approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Ozempic and Wegovy. Ozempic is primarily prescribed to decrease blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. In contrast, Wegovy is prescribed mainly for weight loss in people over the age of 12 who are obese or overweight and have resulting health issues [2]. Ozempic and Wegovy must only be used to lose weight if they have been prescribed by a healthcare provider, as they can lead to health risks.
Taking Semaglutide: Oral and Subcutaneous
Semaglutide can be taken orally daily or injected subcutaneously once a week [1, 3, 4, 5, 6]. It promotes insulin secretion while inhibiting glucagon secretion through a glucose concentration-dependent mechanism, which helps control blood sugar levels and weight [7].
Microdosing Semaglutide: What Does This Mean?
To understand micro-dosing semaglutide, we first need to understand what semaglutide is and how it works in the body—its biokinetics. Then, we can dive into what micro-dosing semaglutide entails and whether it has any benefits, particularly for blood sugar and weight management.
Microdosing semaglutide involves administering small, controlled amounts of this synthetic drug to manage blood glucose levels or modulate the GLP-1 receptor. This means it would only stimulate insulin production and stabilize glucose for several hours after administering the oral pill. Microdosing is an effective way to ensure that the GLP-1 receptors are consistently stimulated in a glucose-dependent way.
What is Microdosing?
Microdosing can take many forms. It can include taking small oral doses of a substance that are not enough to trigger the full therapeutic response alone but accumulate to confer health benefits. Another form of microdosing is through injection under the skin or into the muscle. The downside of microdosing via injection is that frequent injections can damage the skin and lead to bruises.
Benefits of Microdosing Semaglutide
The benefits of microdosing semaglutide over taking sparser, large doses are significant, particularly for individuals with type 2 diabetes.
Microdosing GLP-1 can improve blood glucose control, protect β-cells, and stimulate insulin secretion [8]. It is fair to assume that microdosing semaglutide would have similar effects to microdosing GLP-1, as they share a common pharmacological target - the GLP-1 receptor.
Microdosing semaglutide can also reduce food consumption, improving weight management [9]. Furthermore, continuous stimulation of GLP-1 receptors can significantly reduce fluctuations in blood glucose, which are critical to maintaining energy levels and stabilizing hunger and alertness. [10]
Risks of Microdosing Semaglutide
Microdosing semaglutide has clear risks. These are primarily linked to damage to the skin when taking semaglutide in injectable form, such as Ozempic or Wegovy. Excess injection causes excess pain and increases the risks of hitting a nerve or blood vessel [11].
Summary: Microdosing Semaglutide
Microdosing is a popular practice when taking drugs orally, but as semaglutide is an injectable drug, microdosing semaglutide has more risks than benefits. The current research supports once weekly doses of semaglutide, as marketed by Novo Nordisk, as this has optimal therapeutic benefits for type II diabetes and weight loss.