After two or three alternative medicine podcasts, the idea that Ozempic can cure social anxiety starts to sound almost reasonable. Sandwiched between claims that Justin Bieber is a blue-eyed, blonde-haired extraterrestrial called a Pleiadian, and musings about people with purple auras instead of yellow ones, why shouldn’t a weight-loss drug also save us from loneliness?

These kinds of claims are part of a growing trend among alternative medicine and wellness influencers, who suggest that GLP-1 injections – a class of drugs originally developed for type 2 diabetes, including semaglutide (sold as Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy) – can “heal” everything from chronic illness and infertility to neurodivergence.

Semaglutide is one of a group of peptides (short chains of amino acids) naturally produced in the body and replicated through medication. In both the US and UK, semaglutide-based drugs – also used for weight loss – have surged in popularity in recent years, particularly among under-35s. As of September, an estimated 1.5 million people in the UK used GLP-1s, with over 90 per cent paying privately. Many prescriptions are available online, allowing people who don’t qualify for the drugs on the NHS to access them for non-traditional reasons, such as chronic pain or recreational weight loss. A black market has also sprung up in response to rising demand.

Within the alternative medical world, the embrace of the drug hinges specifically on its experimental consumption in microdosed quantities. Microdosing GLP-1s is an ‘off-label’ practice, meaning they can be prescribed outside their licensed use, as long as doctors adhere to official “good medical practice” guidelines. It also, however, means that there is very little scientific research and evidence to show that the practice is effective or even safe.

Still, wellness influencers – primarily based in the US – have been promoting the benefits of experimentally injecting GLP-1s. Dr Tyna Moore, a naturopath, chiropractor, and internet personality, claims that microdosing Ozempic can “heal” a wide range of conditions, including arthritis, acne, PCOS, neurodivergence, brain fog, infertility, and even alcoholism. On a recent episode of Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast, she shares anecdotes of the drug’s positive impacts on mental health, despite widespread concerns that it can induce suicidal ideation and depression. “I’m seeing people who are more of a hermit who don’t want to go out in the world, suddenly venturing out, being more social”, she says, suggesting Ozempic’s anti-inflammatory effects on the brain may be responsible. Meanwhile, Jordan Younger – the controversial influencer behind ‘The Balanced Blonde’ – has credited GLP-1s and peptide injections with improving her own inflammation, chronic illness, mold exposure, and Lyme disease.

Without discrediting developing research into semaglutide’s alternative benefits, not everybody is as unquestioningly accepting of its adoption beyond regulated treatment for diabetes and obesity. Dr Sean Noronha, a consultant endocrinologist and specialist in diabetes, hormones and weight loss at The Clinic Holland Park, explains: “People living with obesity often experience chronic, low-grade inflammation, and reducing this inflammatory burden through weight loss can significantly improve general wellbeing. However, we cannot extrapolate these effects to individuals with a normal BMI, and there is currently no evidence that GLP-1s improve symptoms of autoimmune or chronic disease in this context.”

The lack of empirical evidence surrounding Ozempic’s ‘healing’ properties is not an issue for advocates of alternative medicine, who are outspokenly sceptical of mainstream medicine and ‘Big Pharma’. In an episode dedicated to peptide stacking – an experimental biohacking trend involving the injection of personalised amino acid blends – podcaster Bizzie Gold includes a segment titled “Why FDA approval is not the gold standard – and never has been”. Gold credits GLP-1s and other peptides with alleviating her lupus symptoms, restoring hormone balance (improving period regularity and fertility), and even claims they reversed her lipedema, a chronic fat accumulation condition that is commonly understood to be incurable.

It might seem contradictory to endorse an unregulated, injectable medication while championing holistic and lifestyle-based treatments. But proponents justify it through the familiar blend of new age spiritualism and wellness rhetoric that has long underpinned anti-vaccine and science denialist movements, emphasising ‘natural’ solutions, intuition, and self-love. In the case of semaglutide, naturopathic advocates point to the fact that peptides occur naturally in the body, even as the ones used in supplements and medications are synthetically produced. “Your body already makes peptides naturally. They are natural!!! And we need them to survive!” writes Younger on her Substack.

Younger’s sentiment is echoed across TikTok comment sections, where anti-vax Ozempic users defend their self-medication by emphasising its ‘natural’ origins – often in direct opposition to ‘manufactured’ vaccines. It is online, where anti-vax and wellness discourse is rife, that the increasing ideological weaponisation of alternative medicine is at its most evident. Within these communities, a science-sceptical, pro-Ozempic mindset is worn like a badge of honour. However, these beliefs can have real consequences. As demonstrated by the recent death of Paloma Shemirani, who passed away after refusing cancer drugs – reportedly under the influence of her ‘natural healer’ mother – searching for treatments outside of mainstream medical practices needs to be approached with caution. 

Dr Omar Babar, the medical director of the Healand Clinic in Leicester – one of the few medically supervised sites in the UK to offer GLP-1 microdosing – emphasises the importance of medical oversight when undergoing experimental treatments. “I never recommend coming off any other drugs that you are on for autoimmune diseases when microdosing Ozempic”, he says. “I see it as an adjunct, rather than a replacement”.

Dr Noronha is also explicitly cautious. “GLP-1s are generally a very safe class of medicines,” he explains, “but serious adverse events – including anaphylaxis – can still occur. Any off-label treatment should be undertaken with medical supervision, and medications must be sourced from reputable, regulated suppliers.” He emphasises that the consumption of medications experimentally should be a last resort: “I always emphasise the fundamentals of good health: 7–8 hours of high-quality sleep, regular exercise with a focus on resistance training, a minimally processed diet rich in protein and fibre, alcohol moderation and effective stress management.  Very few people can honestly say they are meeting all of these consistently.”

Until more empirical data is available on Ozempic’s effectiveness beyond treating diabetes and obesity, its wider ‘healing’ potential remains largely anecdotal. In the world of alternative medicine and wellness influencers, it’s also worth being mindful of potential ulterior motives – for example, many of those promoting these ‘cures’ are also selling the supplements they endorse.) Whether Ozempic can really ‘heal’ beyond its regulated purpose is almost beside the point – for the time being, its experimental use should be marked as exactly that: experimental.