Q. Is it okay to just start taking trendy diet injections like Ozempic or Saxenda?
While they offer significant short-term weight loss, there is a risk of severe yo-yo effects and side effects if your individual constitution and metabolic state are not considered.
📝 Detailed Answer
It is understandable why you are considering these injections, as they have become quite a hot topic. From a clinical perspective, their mechanisms are impressive, but the problem is that every person's body responds differently.
In Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM), rather than simply suppressing appetite, we first examine the constitutional issues (physical form) that cause overeating. In particular, if appetite is forcibly suppressed while a patient is in a state of Spleen Deficiency (Bi-heo, 脾虛)—where digestive function is already weak—vital energy (Qi) can drop precipitously.
- Digestive Impairment: Gastrointestinal distress, such as nausea and vomiting, may intensify.
- Risk of Muscle Loss: Imbalanced nutritional intake can lead to muscle loss, which in turn lowers the basal metabolic rate.
- Yo-yo Effect: Once the medication is stopped, suppressed appetites often rebound, frequently leading to more weight gain than before.
💡 Treatment Goal
The core objective is not simply to reduce weight, but to remove metabolic waste such as Phlegm-Accumulation (Dam-jeok, 痰積) to improve metabolic efficiency and create a body capable of self-regulation.
Therefore, rather than following a trend, I recommend first assessing your current metabolic capacity and the state of Blood Stasis (Eo-hyeol, 瘀血) to determine the right direction for your health.
Expert Verified
Dr. Yeonseung Choe
Chief Director