GLP-1 Medications and Digestion: 5 Things Women Should Know About Mealtime Comfort

The conversation around GLP-1 medications has moved from clinics into group chats, Facebook, and Instagram. Some of the medicines in that conversation are approved by the FDA. Retatrutide is not one of them.

This page is an advertisement by Gutly. It explains how GLP-1-based medicines can affect digestion, which symptoms should be discussed with a clinician, and how a digestive enzyme supplement is a different kind of product. It does not assume you take any of these medicines, and it is not personal medical advice.

How to read this page

1. Medication effects. Statements about GLP-1 medicines and retatrutide come from prescribing information and published trial reports, linked below.
2. General digestion. The explanations of enzymes, probiotics, and prebiotics are everyday education. They are not findings from a Gutly study.
3. Digest+. Digest+ is Gutly’s digestive wellness supplement: enzymes, probiotics, and prebiotics in one capsule.
4. What is not established. Digest+ has not been shown to help digestive symptoms from GLP-1 medicines or from retatrutide.

Why GLP-1 medications can change digestion

GLP-1 is a hormone released in the gut around meals. It is one of the signals involved in appetite. Medicines designed to act on the GLP-1 receptor can reduce appetite and slow the pace at which the stomach empties.

Those effects are described on the labels of specific approved medicines, and the details differ by product. Wegovy (semaglutide) is an FDA-approved GLP-1 receptor agonist. Its prescribing information states that Wegovy delays gastric emptying. The same label lists nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, and abdominal pain among adverse reactions reported at an incidence of at least 5%. Other approved medicines in this class have their own labels. Those labels, and the clinician who prescribed the medicine, are the right source for that product.

Retatrutide is not an approved version of those medicines. Eli Lilly, the company studying it, describes retatrutide as an investigational once-weekly molecule that activates three receptors: GIP, GLP-1, and glucagon. A phase 2 trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2023 studied retatrutide for obesity. In that trial, the most common adverse events were gastrointestinal. They were dose-related, and most were mild to moderate.

Lilly states that retatrutide is not approved by the FDA, is not available for public use, and should not be taken outside a Lilly-sponsored clinical trial. Because it is still investigational, it does not have an FDA-approved label describing its risks the way Wegovy does. A product sold online as “retatrutide” is not the same thing as an approved medicine. Lilly has warned that unapproved products sold under that name are not the molecule being studied in its trials.

Understanding common digestive symptoms

Nausea, constipation, diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, vomiting, and a strong feeling of fullness are described with some GLP-1-based treatments. They are not a list of what every person will feel. They are also not a reason to diagnose yourself from an article.

These symptoms are not always minor, and a supplement is not a plan for managing them. If digestive symptoms are persistent, painful, or getting in the way of eating and drinking, contact the healthcare professional who knows your medicines.

Digestive enzymes vs. slower stomach emptying

Digestive enzymes help break food into smaller parts. Proteases work on protein, lipases on fat, and amylases on carbohydrates such as starch. Lactase breaks down lactose, the sugar in milk. That is a chemical step in digestion.

Medication-related delayed gastric emptying is a different process. It is a change in motility: the stomach holds a meal longer and releases it more slowly. The Wegovy label describes this delay and notes that it can affect how some oral medicines are absorbed. A feeling of fullness can follow from that slower emptying. It does not mean the body is short on enzymes.

An enzyme capsule does not undo that delay. Digestive enzymes have not been shown to treat side effects of GLP-1 medicines or of retatrutide.

An enzyme supplement does not reverse delayed gastric emptying. It is not a treatment for side effects of a GLP-1 medicine or of retatrutide.

Probiotics, prebiotics, and everyday digestive wellness

These three words show up on a lot of supplement labels. They are not interchangeable, and putting them in one capsule does not create a new kind of evidence.

Digestive enzymes, as described above, help break down parts of food. They are not live bacteria, and they are not fiber.

Probiotics are live microorganisms. A useful description names the specific strain and the amount, because different strains are studied for different purposes. The word “probiotic” on a front label does not establish what a capsule will do.

Prebiotics are ingredients, often types of fiber, that microbes in the gut can use. They are food for microbes, not microbes themselves.

A formula can include enzymes, probiotics, and prebiotics together. Combining them does not show that the product helps symptoms related to a GLP-1 medicine or to retatrutide. Before you rely on any digestive supplement, check the exact formula, the serving directions, whether you tolerate it, and what evidence exists for those ingredients. If you are pregnant, nursing, or taking a prescription medicine, ask a clinician before you add one.

Choosing a digestive supplement

Digest+ is Gutly’s digestive wellness supplement. It combines digestive enzymes, probiotics, and prebiotics in a 60-capsule bottle.

That is a description of the formula, not a clinical result. Digest+ has not been shown to improve digestive symptoms from GLP-1 medicines or from retatrutide. It has not been tested for that use. It is not a substitute for medical care, and it is not a weight-loss drug.

Read the Supplement Facts panel on your bottle, then compare the current offers on the product page.

Explore Digest+

Digest+, 60 capsules.

From Gutly

Digest+ — Digestive Enzyme Complex

Digestive enzymes, probiotics, and prebiotics in one capsule. 60 capsules per bottle. Packaging is labeled Premium Choice.

• 1 bottle, one-time $39.99 $4.95 US shipping
• 1 bottle, Monthly subscription $31.99 $4.95 US shipping
• 2 bottles, one-time $69.99 Free US shipping
• 2 bottles, Monthly subscription $55.99 Free US shipping

Prices are the current Digest+ prices in Shopify. Choose one-time or monthly on the product page. This page does not start a checkout.

Read the Supplement Facts note on the product page

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References

1. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Wegovy (semaglutide) injection and tablets. DailyMed. Prescribing information (opens in a new window). Delayed gastric emptying, and nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, and abdominal pain among adverse reactions reported at an incidence of at least 5%.
2. Eli Lilly and Company. What to know about retatrutide (opens in a new window). Describes retatrutide as an investigational GIP, GLP-1, and glucagon receptor agonist that is not FDA-approved and is not available for public use.
3. Eli Lilly and Company. What is retatrutide? (opens in a new window). States that retatrutide is investigational and is not currently approved in the United States.
4. Jastreboff AM, Kaplan LM, Frías JP, et al. Triple–hormone-receptor agonist retatrutide for obesity — a phase 2 trial. New England Journal of Medicine. 2023;389:514-526 (opens in a new window). The most common adverse events were gastrointestinal.
5. Federal Trade Commission. Health Products Compliance Guidance (PDF) (opens in a new window). Health-product advertising must be truthful and substantiated before it runs.