A brand new weight reduction hack is circulating TikTok. Folks declare this pure drink is a reasonable however simply as efficient model of Ozempic. Medical professionals are skeptical.
What’s Ozempic, and why is it fashionable?
Ozempic exploded in reputation over the previous few years as individuals discovered that the drug, which is definitely prescribed to deal with Sort 2 diabetes, has weight reduction as a typical facet impact.
Whereas Ozempic is way from the primary weight reduction drug to exist, it’s shortly develop into a family identify attributable to its efficacy (one examine discovered that individuals who obtain weekly semaglutide injections misplaced, on common, about 5 kilos per thirty days), FDA approval, capacity to be dosed weekly as an alternative of each day, and being thrust into the social media highlight by celebrities.
Various celebrities, together with Oprah, Kelly Clarkson, Dr. Phil, Chelsea Handler, Sharon Osbourne, Elon Musk (although he took Wegovy, which has the next dose than Ozempic), Amy Schumer, and Heather Homosexual of the Actual Housewives of Salt Lake Metropolis, have talked about the drug (an analogous one) publicly, Folks reported.
The rise within the drug’s reputation has led to shortages for individuals who really need it to deal with their diabetes.
However, with a $935 month-to-month price ticket, attainable negative effects, and the necessity for a physician’s prescription, Ozempic isn’t accessible (or fascinating) for all in search of a fast-acting weight reduction answer.
That’s the place “rice-zempic” has rooted it’s market.
What’s “rice-zempic”?
Once you lookup rice-zempic on TikTok, dozens upon dozens of movies come up, all posted inside the final week or so, signaling the beginning of a development that will quickly make its approach onto your FYP. Earlier than this, oatzempic was the newest weight reduction drink fad.
Beneath the rice-zempic search time period, TikTok has a disclaimer stating “you might be greater than your weight” and gives two hyperlinks with sources for consuming problems.
Whereas the precise rice-zempic recipe varies from individual to individual, it usually contains steeping unwashed rice and lemon juice in sizzling or heat water. Folks let that combination sit 5-Half-hour (or some, in a single day), take away the rice and drink the remaining starchy liquid. Some wait half an hour after consuming the concoction to eat.
A number of customers have additionally identified that the rice-zempic problem isn’t a food plan or cleanse. Not like liquid diets or cleanses that have you ever exchange all of your meals with a juice, shake, or different liquid, rice-zempic is taken along with your common food plan.
@iarahs_utoob I misplaced nearly 6 lbs in 4 days and i used to be not exercising or on a food plan throughout that point, so i do assume it labored however I’m going to maneuver on and take a look at different issues attributable to my issues over the elevated ranges of arsenic within the rice, i dont assume it’s well worth the threat of heavy metallic buildup for future me. On to the following factor! #ricezempic #ricewater #limejuice #cinnamon #science #chorroking💩👑 #weightloss ♬ unique sound – 🔥✨iarahs✨🔥
Actual individuals’s outcomes
Those that’ve posted their journey on-line have shared blended critiques. One lady stated she misplaced six kilos in 4 days (about 1.5 kilos a day), one other misplaced 7 kilos in every week (a couple of pound a day), and after six days, one lady misplaced a grand whole of 0 kilos.
Clearly, the outcomes are blended.
“It’s simply one thing you’re including to your food plan to see if it helps you drop some pounds, and I don’t assume there’s something fallacious with that,” @moonlightxdiaries, who misplaced 7 kilos in 7 days, stated. “Even in the event you acquire all of it again once you cease ingesting the rice water, I don’t assume it’s a giant deal. I do assume it’s fairly cool to see the size go down every single day simply since you’re ingesting rice water.”
TikToker @msnigrinis, who’s on day 10 of the problem, stated she hasn’t misplaced any weight from the problem however has seen she’s much less bloated, so she’s going to proceed with the rice water for some time longer.
@moonlightxdiaries Rice-zempic rice water problem day 5 of seven. Sorry it took so lengthy to add immediately’s video. Its been a worrying day however i did my finest to make the video & reply essentially the most requested questions. ♥️ #ricezempic #ricewater #ricewaterchallenge ♬ unique sound – Moonlight | Meals Diary
The science behind rice-zempic
Medical professionals say there are some advantages to integrating rice water into your food plan, however there’s no science backing it as a weight reduction answer.
Because it’s simply starchy water with some lemon, the drink is low in energy and has some good vitamins, so it received’t do you any hurt. To help in weight reduction, it may be used as a meal alternative or taken earlier than a meal that will help you really feel full sooner.
However that’s about it.
“Whereas rice water might have some dietary advantages, akin to offering a supply of power from its starch content material, there isn’t a proof to counsel it has any properties that will considerably impression weight reduction, particularly within the method that anti-diabetic drugs like Ozempic do,” Scott Keatley, RD, co-owner of Keatley Medical Vitamin Remedy, informed Well being.
Even that feeling of fullness individual would really feel from the starch increasing of their abdomen shall be “very short-lived,” Kunal Shah, MD, an assistant professor within the division of endocrinology on the Rutgers Robert Wooden Johnson Medical Middle, informed Well being.
And in the event you undergo from acid reflux disease, the lime within the concoction might exacerbate your well being points.
Even in the event you do lose some weight from the drink, it’s prone to be non permanent and are available proper again because you’re not making any “everlasting, wholesome, long-term modifications,” Mir Ali, MD, medical director of Memorial Care Surgical Weight Loss Middle at Orange Coast Medical Middle in Fountain Valley, California informed Well being.
“It doesn’t in any approach mimic Ozempic,” Ali stated. “It has no hormonal results like Ozempic to stimulate receptors.”
As an alternative, medical specialists suggest a low-calorie, nutrient-dense food plan that’s excessive in protein and low in carbs. That, plus train, can result in long-lasting weight reduction.
Can rice water be harmful?
A number of individuals in movies or within the feedback sections have introduced up their concern that unwashed rice has arsenic, which might pose a well being threat if consumed in giant portions.
“I did lose nearly six kilos however I made a decision to stop it as a result of…there’s arsenic within the rice. It’s an elevated stage due to the best way that the crop is flooded,” @iarahs_utoob stated in her video.
And so they’re not fallacious; whereas arsenic is present in small portions in lots of meals and drinks, it accumulates essentially the most in rice.
“In reality, it’s the single greatest meals supply of inorganic arsenic, which is the extra poisonous kind,” Healthline reported. Excessive ranges of inorganic arsenic have been present in rice-based merchandise like rice milk, rice cereal, and rice crackers.
To decrease the quantity of arsenic in rice it must be washed earlier than being cooked, this could scale back 10-28% of the arsenic.
Whereas rice is OK to eat moderately (in truth, many of the world depends on it as a primary meals supply), these collaborating within the rice water problem may very well be exposing themselves to pointless arsenic.
The Every day Dot reached out to @moonlightxdiaries through TikTok direct message and remark, @iarahs_utoob through TikTok direct message and remark, and @msnigrinis through Instagram direct message and TikTok remark.