What strategies and tactics can physicians use to effectively communicate with their patients about safe and effective diets?
Dr. Laing: Encourage patients to be skeptical of social media trends that seem too good to be true. Many [social media] creators lack the education or professional credentials to offer sound nutrition advice, and their posts could do harm. Explain that individual nutrition needs differ considerably based on age, activity patterns, health conditions, and medications, and one person’s way of eating or success is often not realistic for someone else.
Encourage open dialogue and provide nonjudgmental advice. If the taste of oatzempic intrigues patients, there is likely no harm in experimenting. Work on ensuring their meals are adequate in calories and contain sources of protein and healthy fats to prevent spikes in blood glucose. It’s crucial to communicate that weight loss doesn’t always equate with improved health.
Sharing information from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American Diabetes Association can equip patients with tools they can implement under their clinician’s guidance. A provider’s greatest ally in diabetes care is a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) who is a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist. RDNs will determine specific energy and nutrient needs and provide medical nutrition therapy such as carbohydrate counting, simplified meal plans, healthy food choices, exchange lists, and behavior strategies to help patients manage their diabetes. Many insurance plans cover these services.
What additional comments would you like to share with clinicians whose patients may ask them about the oatzempic diet?
Dr. Passerrello: What we do consistently matters. If your patient likes the taste of oatzempic in one meal a day, it’s a way to get more oats into their diet, if they focus their other meals on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean protein, and unsaturated fats.
Diets are out, and sustainable dietary patterns are in. Diets are one-size-fits-all, whereas a sustainable dietary pattern is individualized based on a person’s goals, medical history, taste preferences, budget, and lifestyle. Visit MyPlate.gov or work with an RDN [visit https://www.eatright.org/find-a-nutrition-expert to find nutritionists near your patients] to determine what a sustainable dietary pattern looks like.
What do clinicians need to know about claims on social media that a related drink — ‘ricezempic’ — aids weight loss?
Dr. Laing: Ricezempic promoters claim that drinking the beverage — typically made by soaking 1/2 cup of uncooked white rice in 1 cup of water and the juice from half a lime, then discarding the rice and drinking the liquid before breakfast — will lead to weight loss because the strained water provides a small dose of resistant starch, which is a source of prebiotics. Studies have shown that ingesting prebiotics may help lower blood cholesterol, improve blood glucose and insulin sensitivity, and benefit digestive function; however, more research is needed to determine specifics and if prebiotics are proven for weight loss.
Does ricezempic work?
Dr. Laing: There is no evidence that this concoction provides the same outcomes as GLP-1 agonists. The diet and the drug are not similar in mechanism of action or strength of scientific evidence to support their role in diabetes and weight management. Even if ricezempic provides a small amount of resistant starch and hydration from the rice water and citric acid from the lime juice, it is missing fiber, protein, healthy fats, and other vitamins and minerals that enhance the nutrient content of a meal or snack and stabilize blood sugar.
What advice do you have for clinicians whose patients with diabetes ask them about ricezempic?
Dr. Laing: I would not suggest that patients rely on ricezempic to support their health. There is no scientific evidence to show that people will lose weight in the short or long term by drinking ricezempic before a meal (or as a meal replacement).
If your patients are aiming to increase their intake of prebiotics, they are naturally found in various vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and seeds and in yogurt and high-fiber breads and cereals. A nutritious eating pattern that includes these foods is most beneficial for health.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.