This year you will no doubt hear more and more marketing phrases such as “fiber-maxing” and “added fiber.” The focus on fiber coincides with rapid increases in GLP-1 use and the gastric issues that accompany it in many users.

Inadequate fiber intake is common among GLP-1 users, as well as most Americans, and because GLP-1 medications slow gastric emptying, gut issues tend to be one of the most common side effects for patients.

GLP-1 users have to manage side effects such as constipation and bloating that come as a result of altered gut motility and an imbalance in the microbiome. Important bacteria strains are often missing or low in samples found in GLP-1 users:

• lactobacillus rhamnosus, bifidobacterium lactis lactobacillus acidophilus

These bacteria are ones that assist in digestion, immune support and gut regularity.

Less than one third of Americans get the recommended eight hours of sleep each night. Yet sleep is arguably one of the best gifts you can give your body and your brain. It’s where the brain processes the day’s events, clears toxins, and where immunity and muscle is preserved and enhanced.

With research connecting a lack of sleep to greater risks of obesity, sleep is crucial for GLP-1 users. Melatonin is often touted as the “go-to” sleep aide, but recent studies suggest that long-term use is associated with a great risk of heart failure and worsening insomnia. There is a better option.

If I personally had to pick one supplement I could not live without, it would be hard not to consider creatine. I recently had to forgo my daily creatine pending upcoming lab work, and I noted two very distinct and annoying daily changes: I was tired, and I was sore.

At its core, creatine is about energy. Your body runs on a molecule called ATP (adenosine triphosphate), your body’s immediate fuel source.

Research consistently shows the micronutrients most commonly lacking among GLP-1 users, and they are ones essential for energy, joint and muscle protection and fighting inflammation. The combination of reduced food intake and a poor diet lead to deficiencies in vitamin B12, D, iron, magnesium and omega fatty acids.

When you are training hard and on a GLP-1, physiological needs increase rather than decrease. Here’s where individual supplements in vitamin form come into play: you have a know deficiency through testing, you have a symptom pattern, such as fatigue, or you are trying to improve performance.

testing. Look for NSF Certified for Sport.

• Thorne Creatine (my personal favorite)
• Momentous Creatine.
• Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine

• Bioavailable forms meaning the body is able to effectively absorb and use the nutrients included
• The presence of methylated B vitamins: activated B vitamins that can immediate by absorbed rather than synthetic forms
• Transparent, third-party testing Best Options:
• Thorne Multivitamin…but it is expensive
• Naturelo Whole Food Multivitamin