Does ricezempic mimic the weight-loss effects of Ozempic?

If you spend much time viewing diet and lifestyle posts on social media, you will probably have come across plenty of weight-loss “hacks”.

One of the latest is a homemade drink known as ricezempic. It involves soaking uncooked rice, then straining it and drinking the starchy water left behind. Appetising, isn’t it?

Supporters say it promotes weight loss by keeping you full for longer and reducing appetite, supposedly acting in a similar manner to the much-sought-after drug Ozempic – which is where its name comes from.

But can this drink really reproduce Ozempic’s weight-loss effects?

The short answer is probably no. Here is what the evidence says.

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How do you make ricezempic?

The precise recipe differs a little according to the person sharing it, but ricezempic is most often made as follows:

1. Soak 120 ml of unrinsed white rice in 240 ml of warm or hot water, for up to overnight.
2. Pour the rice mixture through a strainer into a clean glass.
3. Throw away the rice, while retaining the starchy water.
4. Add the juice from half a lime or lemon to the starchy water, then drink it.

TikTok users suggest that drinking this mixture once daily, first thing in the morning before food, produces the best results.

The claim is that the longer ricezempic is consumed, the greater the weight loss will be. Some people say that adding the drink to your diet can result in losing as much as 27 kilograms within two months.

Resistant starch

People promoting ricezempic attribute its alleged weight-loss effect to the resistant starch in rice. Resistant starch is a form of dietary fibre that is also considered a prebiotic. Although there is no strong evidence that it keeps you fuller for longer, it does have established health benefits.

Research indicates that eating resistant starch may support blood-sugar regulation, help with weight loss and benefit gut health.

Studies have further linked resistant-starch consumption with a lower risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other chronic conditions.

A wide range of foods contain resistant starch, including beans, lentils and wholegrains such as oats, barley and rice – especially brown rice. It is also present in bananas, particularly green or under-ripe ones; potatoes; and nuts and seeds, notably chia seeds, flaxseeds and almonds.

The 120 ml of uncooked white rice specified in the ricezempic recipe contains about 0.6 grams of resistant starch. For the greatest health benefits, the suggested daily intake is 15–20 grams of resistant starch.

There is no firm evidence showing how much resistant starch moves from rice into water. However, it is likely to be considerably less than 0.6 grams, because the rice grains themselves are not eaten.

Ricezempic vs Ozempic

Ozempic was first developed to help people with diabetes control their blood-sugar levels, but it is now widely used for weight loss.

Like comparable medicines including Wegovy and Trulicity, Ozempic is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist. These medicines imitate the GLP-1 hormone produced naturally by the body. As a result, they slow digestion, helping people remain full for longer while suppressing appetite.

The resistant starch in rice might produce a few effects resembling those of Ozempic, such as fullness that may reduce energy intake. However, no scientific research has tested ricezempic using the recipes circulated on social media.

Ozempic has a lengthy half-life and stays active in the body for around seven days. By comparison, eating 240 ml of rice produces fullness for only a few hours. Soaking rice in water and drinking the starchy liquid also will not be as filling as eating the rice grains.

Other ways to get resistant starch in your diet

You can increase your resistant-starch intake in several ways while obtaining more nutrients and vitamins than ricezempic provides.

1. Cooked and cooled rice

Allowing cooked rice to cool increases the amount of resistant starch it contains. Warming it again does not substantially lower the resistant starch created during cooling. Brown rice is a better choice than white rice because it contains more fibre and extra micronutrients, including phosphorus and magnesium.

2. More legumes

Legumes are rich in resistant starch, and regular consumption has been shown to support weight management. For tonight’s dinner, why not choose a recipe containing pinto beans, chickpeas, black beans or peas?

3. Cooked and cooled potatoes

Preparing potatoes and leaving them to cool for at least several hours raises their resistant-starch content. Completely cooled potatoes are a good source of resistant starch, as well as essential nutrients such as potassium and vitamin C. A potato salad served as a side dish is an excellent way to gain these benefits.

In a nutshell

Despite the benefits reported by many people on social media, there is no scientific evidence that drinking rice water, or “ricezempic”, works for weight loss. Drinking ricezempic without making any other dietary or lifestyle changes is unlikely to produce meaningful changes in your weight.

Although the drink may contain a small residue of resistant starch from the rice, along with hydration from the water, eating foods containing resistant starch in their whole form delivers far greater nutritional benefits.

More generally, be wary of the weight-loss hacks displayed on social media. Sustainable weight loss depends on gradually building healthy eating patterns and exercising regularly, so that these changes become lifelong habits.

Emily Burch, Accredited Practising Dietitian and Lecturer, Southern Cross University and Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.