GLP-1Glucagon-like peptide-1
A gut hormone released when you eat that signals fullness to the brain.
GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) is an incretin hormone released by cells in the intestine in response to food. It prompts insulin release when glucose is rising, suppresses glucagon, slows the rate at which the stomach empties, and acts on appetite centres in the brain.
It matters because that combination is the body's own satiety signalling — and it is the biology the modern weight-management medicines borrow. Your own GLP-1 is released naturally after eating and breaks down within minutes, which is why the drug versions are engineered to last far longer.
In practice, GLP-1 is a hormone, not a supplement: products marketed as 'natural GLP-1 boosters' are not the same thing as the prescribed medicines, and protein and fibre-rich meals influence the natural signal only modestly.
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Written and reviewed by Mathew Beale, MSc Biotechnology, University of Reading.
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