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Calocurb Blog

Woman smiling as she's about to take her GLP-1 support capsule

Is Calocurb Safe? Everything you need to know

Unless you've been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard all the buzz about those weight loss medications like Wegovy/Ozempic or Zepbound/Mounjaro. They've absolutely exploded in popularity over the last few years, and for good reason – they put GLP-1 right in the spotlight. So, what exactly is GLP-1? It's a gut hormone (glucagon-like-peptide-1, if you're curious) that your body naturally releases when you start eating. As those levels go up, your brain gets the memo that you're getting full, and your stomach slows down its emptying. The end result? You feel satisfied and hopefully put down that fork!

However, these GLP-1 mimicking medications don’t follow your body’s normal biorhythms; instead, they flood your system with super high levels of the synthetic hormone and stick around so long that you only need to inject Wegovy and Zepbound once a week. These drugs definitely work, but they come with a laundry list of side effects — which can be so intense that many people stop taking them. In fact, in one study, a whopping 65% of people taking them for weight loss had given them up within a year, and by two years, 84% had stopped.1

So what are the side effects associated with Wegovy and Zepbound?

The most common complaints are all gut-related, and they're not fun: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation.2,3 To add insult to injury, for some people, these symptoms don't just occur when they're starting out; they can last for the entire time they’re getting those injections.

But wait, there's more! There have been other more serious gut side effects too: bowel obstruction, pancreatitis, or occasionally, stomach emptying completely stops.4

There have been other non-gut side effects seen too, including changes in mood or even suicidal thoughts (especially in people taking antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications),5 hair loss (related to the speed of weight loss), and just recently, researchers have found an increased risk of a particular type of age-related vision loss.6 If that all sounds alarming to you, you’re not alone!

Enter Calocurb: a natural alternative

Not surprisingly, many people are looking for an alternative to the injectable medications, whether it’s because they can’t tolerate them, or for other reasons (like cost, or fear of needles, for example). That's where Calocurb® comes into the picture.

It’s an all-natural supplement containing Amarasate®, a purified extract from bitter hops flowers grown in New Zealand with some serious scientific backing: it’s the result of over US$15M’ worth of research that the New Zealand government funded over 15 years.

How does Calocurb® work? TLDR: It makes you feel full faster.

Calocurb® capsules are designed to pass through the stomach intact and then break down and release Amarasate® in the small intestine. The Amarasate® then activates bitter taste receptors that are present on specialized cells down the length of the gut; in response, those cells release your body’s own GLP-1.

The results of all that scientific research are pretty impressive too. In a study where people took Calocurb® an hour before eating, their natural GLP-1 levels doubled compared to the usual rise you'd see with food and hit six times their baseline levels.7 What did that mean in practical terms? People ate almost 20% less at their next meal and subsequent snack!7

Calocurb® also proved effective during fasting. During 24-hour water-only fasts with Calocurb®, women saw their hunger drop by 30% and cravings by 40%.8 In the men’s study, their hunger was 25% less.9

But what about side effects with Calocurb®?

Calocurb® is very well tolerated by most people. In the fasting studies, some people experienced loose stools — about 7% of women and 10% of men8,9 — and around 5% of people report this when they first start taking Calocurb®, but it's usually just a temporary effect. (Starting with a low dose and gradually increasing it helps reduce the chance of this side effect.) Compare that to how many had diarrhea in the injectable studies: 32% of people with Wegovy and 21% with Zepbound.2,3

Occasionally, people experience mild heartburn when they take Calocurb®; however, in the five years it’s been available, there have been no reports of other alarming side effects reported with the injectable weight-loss drugs.

The experts are on board

It's not just its users who are fans of Calocurb® — it's getting a thumbs up from healthcare practitioners across the board, from integrative medicine, obesity and naturopathic doctors to dietitians, chiropractors and wellness coaches. In fact, some obesity doctors use it alongside the injectable medications. Why? Because it lets them lower the dose of Wegovy or Zepbound, which means fewer side effects, while still getting fantastic results.

So is Calocurb® safe? Yes!

Here's what’s really important to understand about Calocurb®: it works with your body's natural biorhythm. It raises your natural GLP-1 for about 4–6 hours after you take it — not for an entire week like the injections and not with a synthetic version that’s much greater than what your body naturally produces. And if you don’t take it? Your GLP-1 levels will just be what they normally are… almost zero until you start to eat.

References

  1. Rodriguez PJ, Zhang V, Gratzl S, et al. Discontinuation and reinitiation of dual-labeled GLP-1 receptor agonists among US adults with overweight or obesity. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Jan 2;8(1):e2457349. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.57349. PMID: 39888616; PMCID: PMC11786232.
  2. Jastreboff AM, Aronne LJ, Ahmad NN, et al. Tirzepatide once weekly for the treatment of obesity. NEJM. 2022;387(3). doi: https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa2206038
  3. Wilding JPH, Batterham RL, Calanna S, et al. Once-weekly semaglutide in adults with overweight or obesity. NEJM. 2021;384(11):989-1002. doi: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2032183
  4. Sodhi M, Rezaeianzadeh R, Kezouh A, Etminan M. Risk of gastrointestinal adverse events associated with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists for weight loss. JAMA. 2023;330(18). doi: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2023.19574
  5. Schoretsanitis G, Weiler S, Barbui C, Raschi E, Gastaldon C. Disproportionality Analysis From World Health Organization Data on Semaglutide, Liraglutide, and Suicidality. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(8):e2423385. Published 2024 Aug 1. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.23385
  6. Shor R, Mihalache A, Noori A, et al. Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists and Risk of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration. JAMA Ophthalmol. Published online June 5, 2025. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2025.1455
  7. Walker EG, Lo KR, Pahl MC, et al. An extract of hops (Humulus lupulus L.) modulates gut peptide hormone secretion and reduces energy intake in healthy-weight men: a randomized, crossover clinical trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2022;115(3):925-940. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqab418
  8. Walker E, Lo K, Gopal P. Gastrointestinal delivery of bitter hop extract reduces appetite and food cravings in healthy adult women undergoing acute fasting. Obes Pillars. 2024;11:100117. Published 2024 Jun 20. https://doi:10.1016/j.obpill.2024.100117
  9. Walker E, Lo K, Tham S, et al. New Zealand bitter hops extract reduces hunger during a 24 h water only fast. Nutrients. 2019;11(11):2754. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11112754
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