A cheap diabetes pill has become the latest craze among tech moguls who claim it can reverse aging and melt body fat.
Metformin – the world’s most common treatment for type 2 diabetes – has been shown to promote weight loss, while preliminary studies in mouse models suggest the medication may improve life and health.
The drug has gained popularity in recent years among Silicon Valley techies and big money men, including Ariel Poler, an accomplished biotech angel investor, and Jim Mellon, a British entrepreneur and co-founder of the biotech company Juvenescence.
Metformin has been eclipsed by other more effective weight loss drugs – Wegovy for obesity and Ozempic for diabetes, which has also been shown to be effective in weight reduction. Still, the low price and widespread availability of metformin have made it a go-to boost for slimming down and improving longevity.
However, it has one side effect that many users suffer from: explosive diarrhea.
Metformin is the gold standard for treating type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, but it’s increasingly being used off-label to improve longevity and promote weight loss
Technology magnate Bryan Johnson, who uses dozens of supplements every day, including metformin, has undergone a significant transformation since he first embarked on his multi-million dollar wellness journey in 2017 (pictured left)
It has also proved popular with leading figures in technology, including venture capitalists Robert Nelsenwealthy software entrepreneur Brian Johnson And .
Mr. Johnson, a well-known biohacker, recently made headlines with the news that he spends about $2 million a year on a team of more than 30 doctors and medical experts trying to reshape his body to that of an 18-year-old .
Its popularity has recently skyrocketed for another promising feature: it can lower your chances of getting COVID for a long time by more than 40 percent.
Metformin is commonly used as a treatment for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. It is generally so effective and affordable that the World Health Organization considers it an “essential” drug for pharmacies worldwide. But it is often used off-label for weight loss.
The mechanism by which metformin causes weight loss is unclear, but doctors have several theories.
Because it reduces how much glucose circulates in the blood, it can reduce how much excess glucose is stored as fat. It has also been shown to reduce hunger signals, which can suppress appetite and thus lead to weight loss.
It lowers plasma glucose and has been shown to do so increase levels of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1).
GLP-1 affects parts of the brain that regulate appetite and reward. A weaker appetite often translates to less calorie intake, which can lead to weight loss.
GLP-1 is also believed to increase the body’s levels sensitivity to leptina hormone produced by fat cells that plays a role in regulating body weight.
While metformin may help shed pounds, scientific evidence shows that the reward is marginal.
In fact, the average number of pounds lost is about five. A comprehensive study of prediabetics conducted by the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) in 2012 reported that those randomly assigned to take metforming lost an average of only 4.6 pounds.
Meanwhile, another study published in 2013 found that the drug might improve both health and longevity of mice.
The main side effect of the drug is diarrhea. Many users report that their daily lives have been significantly hampered by this.
Up to a quarter of all diabetic metformin users experience severe gastrointestinal problems, with about five percent unable to tolerate metformin at all.
While some patients will experience severe seizures when they first start the medication, after which they may try an extended-release formula or a low-carb diet, many patients taking the medication can go years without those side effects.
2016, an 80-year-old man who had been treating his type 2 diabetes for five years, went to his doctor complaining of an eight-month history of chronic painless diarrhea, with six to eight explosive loose bowel movements a day. Although metformin had helped him lose 10 pounds, the side effects were debilitating.
The man’s medical team had recently increased his dose of metformin, and although he had tolerated that higher dose in the past, he could no longer do so.
Doctors in Ontario, Canada who presented the case study said: ‘Because there was no other cause of diarrhea, he was asked to try to stop the metformin, and this resulted in immediate complete resolution of diarrhea. He described it as “a tap had been turned off”.
“Currently, he’s staying off the metformin, his weight loss has stabilized, and he hasn’t had a recurrence of diarrhea.”
Metformin is an overwhelmingly safe drug. Still, it has a black box warning imposed by the FDA indicating that it may contribute to a condition called lactic acidosis, in which excess lactic acid builds up in the blood. The condition can be fatal.