Nutrient-Dense Low Carbohydrate Diets Outperform GLP-1 Drugs for Weight Loss
In a nutshell
A low carbohydrate diet led to a 16% average weight reduction, compared to 15% from GLP-1 drug mimics
Long-term health is more likely with a diet-based approach due to the required lifestyle change
GLP-1 drugs often cause muscle loss and don’t support sustained weight loss
Regular readers of this blog (and I’ve seen evidence of a recent doubling—thank you!) know that I like to spotlight well-reasoned insights about diet and health when they appear in mainstream outlets. If the pair of you read my last post of this type, A Lack of Vitamins and Minerals from Food Increases NHS Hospital Admissions, you might appreciate this addition.
This time, I’m highlighting an article by influential English GP Dr. David Unwin, recently published in the Daily Mail. Drawing on both his clinical experience and a newly published paper [1], Dr. Unwin makes a strong case that low carbohydrate diets provide better and more sustainable weight loss than the currently popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs.
Cutting to the chase
Dr. Unwin co-authored a study involving 50 patients who followed a low carbohydrate diet [1]. After 12 months, 41 of them had lost an average of 16% of their body weight. That compares favourably with results from a separate study on semaglutide, a widely used GLP-1 drug mimic, which achieved a 15% weight loss over a similar period.
It’s encouraging to see mainstream media highlighting alternatives to the modern, carbohydrate-heavy dietary recommendations. Even more important is the recognition that a low-carbohydrate approach requires people to engage with the idea of lifestyle change. That’s the real driver of long-term health improvements.
From what I’ve seen, GLP-1 drugs do cause weight loss—but much of it is from lean muscle mass, not fat. Unless users counter this with strength training, they risk worsening age-related muscle loss, leading to problems later in life.
Why low carbohydrate diets work
I’ve written extensively about this, most recently in It’s the Starch That Gets Us – It’s Simply Sugar Holding Hands. Dr. Unwin’s article reinforces that low-carb eating offers advantages far beyond the scale.
GLP-1 is produced naturally by the body
GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) is a hormone that regulates appetite and blood sugar. A nutrient-dense low carbohydrate diet—swapping sugar and starches (like bread, rice, pasta) for vegetables, healthy fats, and protein—triggers several beneficial effects:
GLP-1 is produced naturally in response to real food
Protein increases satiety
Food cravings reduce as insulin levels stabilize
GLP-1 drugs: What they do and don’t do
GLP-1 mimics, like semaglutide, are synthetic versions of the body’s natural hormone. While they can deliver dramatic weight loss, they come with drawbacks:
Much of the weight lost is muscle rather than fat—particularly harmful for older adults
Common side effects include nausea, constipation, and sometimes severely slowed digestion
When drug use stops, weight is often regained due to no underlying behavioural change
The cost—around £200/month—is not sustainable for most people
Summary
This is another welcome example of mainstream media spotlighting the benefits of real food over pharmaceutical fixes. With some effort, a low-carbohydrate, nutrient-dense diet can match or even exceed the effects of popular weight-loss drugs—without the cost, side effects, or muscle loss.
References
Buchanan L, Calkins M, Kalayjian T, Norwitz NG, Teicholz N, Unwin D, Soto-Mota A. TOWARD, a metabolic health intervention, demonstrates robust 1-year weight loss and cost-savings through deprescription. Front Nutr. 2025 Feb 14;12:1548609. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1548609. PMID: 40028226; PMCID: PMC11868080