On TikTok, a lady blends a half cup of rolled oats with a cup of water and the juice of half a lime. She forces a smile after which hesitantly takes a sip. “That,” she says with a colourful flourish, “is nasty.”

The drink isn’t meant to style good; it’s alleged to be a weight reduction hack.

Drink it day-after-day, some influencers on social media declare, and you’ll lose a staggering 40 kilos in two months. “Oatzempic,” because it’s referred to as, is a reference to the diabetes drug Ozempic, which belongs to a category of medicines which have surged in reputation for his or her outstanding capability to assist individuals shed some pounds.

It’s using “on the coattails” of those medicine, mentioned Colleen Tewksbury, an assistant professor in diet science on the College of Pennsylvania.

However whereas oats are actually nutritious, “there may be nothing magical” about them for weight reduction, mentioned Emily Haller, a dietitian within the life-style medication program at Trinity Well being Ann Arbor in Michigan.

What can oats do to your well being?

Oats are a very good supply of soluble fiber, particularly one kind referred to as beta-glucan, which has been proven to decrease blood levels of cholesterol and scale back blood sugar spikes after meals, Ms. Haller mentioned.

Generally, consuming sufficient fiber (which most People don’t) may scale back your threat of creating coronary heart illness and sure cancers, in addition to assist a wholesome intestine and common bowel habits, she added.

A half cup of rolled oats incorporates about 4 grams of fiber; diet pointers advise that adults eat no less than 21 to 38 grams per day.

Fiber-rich meals additionally take longer to digest than low-fiber meals, they usually can sluggish the motion of meals by means of your intestine, which can assist you are feeling fuller and extra glad for longer, Ms. Haller mentioned.

Can a blended oat drink enable you shed some pounds?

Some analysis means that including oats to your eating regimen could also be related to a small quantity of weight reduction, perhaps as a result of they assist us really feel sated. However not all research have discovered this, Dr. Tewksbury mentioned, including that she was not conscious of any analysis particularly testing oats blended with water. There’s additionally no proof that lime juice can assist with weight reduction.

If individuals are dropping important quantities of weight on “Oatzempic,” it’s in all probability as a result of they’re utilizing it to interchange a higher-calorie meal, mentioned Dr. Melanie Jay, an weight problems researcher at N.Y.U. Langone Well being.

One half cup of rolled oats has about 150 energy; in case you are consuming that as an alternative of a better calorie breakfast — an egg and sausage sandwich on a biscuit can have greater than 500 energy for example — you’ll in all probability shed some pounds, she mentioned. It’s much like changing a meal with one thing like a weight-loss shake or a bar, which will be efficient for weight reduction, no less than within the quick time period, she mentioned.

However oats blended with water and lime juice “just isn’t a balanced meal,” Ms. Haller mentioned. A bowl of oatmeal, maybe served with milk, nut butter, fruit and seeds, “could be a extra well-balanced, satiating breakfast,” she mentioned.

Consuming sufficient protein is especially vital in the event you’re losing a few pounds, Dr. Jay mentioned, that will help you keep away from dropping an excessive amount of muscle. A half cup of oats has about 4 grams.

Utilizing the “Oatzempic” shake to shed some pounds can be possible unsustainable, Dr. Jay mentioned. “In case you return to what you have been consuming earlier than, you’ll achieve the burden again,” she mentioned.

A lot of Dr. Jay’s sufferers with weight problems “have misplaced a whole lot of kilos of their lifetime” by means of fad diets and strategies much like “Oatzempic,” she mentioned. However the weight usually returns as a result of their our bodies reply with a slowed metabolism and extra starvation, she mentioned.

The “up and down, up and down” that may include making an attempt stylish weight reduction hacks will be discouraging, she added.

And for some individuals, fad diets can result in an “unhealthy obsession” with unrealistic weight reduction and a adverse relationship with meals, Ms. Haller mentioned.

Are oats something like Ozempic?

“Oats usually are not Ozempic,” Ms. Haller mentioned. “Not even shut.”

Weight reduction medicine are “in such nice demand” as a result of they’re efficient, Dr. Tewksbury mentioned. “It’s nearly Pollyanna to count on the identical impact from oatmeal or oats.”

The drugs work partially by mimicking a hormone referred to as GLP-1, which your physique releases after you eat. The hormone slows the motion of meals by means of the intestine and alerts fullness to the mind. However, Dr. Jay mentioned, the quantity of GLP-1 you launch after consuming oats or any meals is way decrease, and never practically as long-lasting, as that offered by the drugs.

In a number of research, researchers have measured blood GLP-1 ranges after individuals consumed oat or wheat bread, or a breakfast with or with out added oat powder, and located that oats didn’t improve GLP-1 ranges greater than the opposite meals.

The “Oatzempic” craze is “simply one other development,” Ms. Haller mentioned. “That is simply what the web does.” And, she added, the drink’s reputation will possible “be very short-lived.”