You feel like you’re doing all the things right, and it’s not working. You’re not losing weight. Your blood sugar is still all out of whack. Being told to lose weight is not helpful when that’s what you’re already trying to do.

As a registered nurse and holistic health educator, I love understanding how our bodies work and finding things we can actually do with that information. Your body already makes GLP-1. There are everyday choices that may help support that production.

What GLP-1 does for hunger and blood sugar

I’ve heard GLP-1 called the “unhunger hormone.” That’s kind of catchy, because it helps explain what it does.

In your brain, GLP-1 affects the reward you anticipate from food. Thinking about food. Wanting food. Always looking forward to eating something. That’s the food noise.

It also affects the reward you feel while eating. That “oh yes, I’m eating, I’m so excited” response can keep you eating beyond what you need. GLP-1 plays a role in both of those responses.

Your gut makes most of your GLP-1, and your brain makes some too. Your brain also has GLP-1 receptors.

In the rest of your body, GLP-1 helps:

• Regulate blood sugar.
• Slow stomach emptying.
• Reduce appetite.
• Increase satisfaction after eating.

You do not have to have diabetes to need blood sugar regulation.

And when food leaves your stomach, you want a Goldilocks range. Slowly enough for the digestive process to work, but not sitting there forever. Food moving through your digestive tract helps trigger hormones, including GLP-1, GIP, PYY, and CCK.

The research I reviewed described lower GLP-1 with aging and weight gain, along with greater resistance to its signals in people with obesity. That can make this feel like a frustrating cycle. You’re trying to manage your weight, and the signals involved in hunger and satisfaction may not be working in your favor.

For the medication discussion, you can also read about my post about Hashimoto’s and semaglutide. In that post I discuss what GLP-1 is, what it does, and the benefits and risks of medications.

How to increase GLP-1 naturally through everyday habits

Exercise regularly

Moderate- or high-intensity exercise can increase the amount of GLP-1 your body makes. Have you ever finished a workout and noticed you weren’t very hungry? GLP-1 can be part of that response.

The research I reviewed also described exercise helping with resistance to GLP-1. Another reason to put regular movement on your list.

Lower stress and slow down at meals

Stress affects your hormones, your immune system, and your digestion. It is also one of the triggers I talk about with Hashimoto’s. In the research I reviewed, high stress was connected with reduced GLP-1 production.

Chew your food well. Eat at a moderate or slow pace. Slower eating can help with the release of GLP-1 and PYY, two hormones involved in your response to a meal.

Before you eat, take five to 10 deep diaphragmatic breaths. Breathe with your belly instead of lifting your chest and shoulders. That helps you shift toward rest and digest instead of fight or flight.

There was another connection that fascinated me when I was preparing this teaching. I read about GLP-1 production in the olfactory bulb, the part of your brain involved in processing smells, and how smelling food could begin a GLP-1 response before eating.

Taking a moment to breathe through your nose while you sit with your food gives you a chance to slow down, too.

Eat your vegetables first

The order you eat your food can affect your blood sugar response. Vegetables first, then protein, then carbohydrates.

The research I reviewed also connected eating vegetables before carbohydrates with higher GLP-1 levels.

I’ll be honest. Sometimes I look at my plate, and I do not want the vegetables first. But sometimes we need an extra reason to do the thing we already know we want to do.

Address sleep apnea if you have it

Sleep apnea does not apply to everybody. But the research I reviewed connected it with lower GLP-1 production.

If you have sleep apnea, use the CPAP or other prescribed treatment that helps you keep breathing at night.

Weight can become part of a catch-22 here. You’re trying to work on your weight, while sleep apnea may be interfering with the signals involved in that process. Just saying “lose weight” is not helpful when you are already trying.

There are other places to start, including what you eat.

Bitter foods and fiber-rich foods to consider

Bitter foods

We tend to eat a lot of sweet and salty foods. Not as many bitter ones.

Bitter foods can stimulate taste receptors in your gut. Those receptors can signal hormone-producing cells, including the L-cells that make GLP-1.

Examples I found in my research included:

• Arugula and dandelion greens.
• Dark leafy greens and bitter melon.
• Green tea and yerba mate.
• Coffee and dark chocolate.

Yay for coffee and dark chocolate, right? That does not mean go out and binge on them. It is good to know they can have a place.

I’ve found that dandelion greens get really bitter after the plant flowers. The younger leaves are not quite as bitter. Still bitter.

Chicory root and inulin fiber

Chicory root is high in inulin, a soluble fiber that feeds beneficial gut bacteria. You can find chicory in some teas and coffee-style drinks, and you can also get it on its own. (Fun fact; chicory root was the coffee substitute used during the Civil War.)

Inulin appears to promote GLP-1 secretion. It also feeds the bacteria that are part of this whole process.

Chicory is not the only food that contains it. Other examples include:

• Jicama.
• Jerusalem artichokes, which are different from regular artichokes.
• Dandelion greens.
• Garlic, leeks, onions, and shallots.
• Asparagus.

Other foods that may help

One of the papers I used was Nutritional Modulation of Endogenous Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Secretion. That title is a long way of saying foods that help your body make more GLP-1.

My research included fiber, short-chain fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids in the discussion of GLP-1 secretion. Food examples included high-fiber grain products, oatmeal, nuts, avocados, eggs, and olive oil.

For oatmeal, I prefer old-fashioned or steel-cut oats. Quick oats are not as friendly to your blood sugar. I do not know what that difference means for GLP-1. The information I read did not say.

Old-fashioned oats take a little longer to make. But when that is a possibility for you, that is what I would choose.

Another study I read compared three eggs for breakfast with a bagel and reported a better response with the eggs. That study involved healthy men. Those were the people tested, so it does not tell us for sure what the response would be in women with Hashimoto’s.

Your gut bacteria need a place to grow

Think of your gut like a garden. You need good soil, and you need seeds.

Prebiotics are like the soil. They feed your beneficial bacteria. Probiotics are like the seeds. You need an environment where those seeds can grow.

Inulin is one of the soluble fibers that helps feed that garden.

Akkermansia

Akkermansia is a bacterium found in the mucus lining of your intestine. I’ve heard so much about it that Dr. Ruscio described the interest as “Akkermania.” Everybody wants to increase their Akkermansia.

The research I reviewed described its potential to support the gut lining, increase GLP-1, and influence energy use in fat tissue. I also read that levels can decrease as we age.

You can get Akkermansia in supplement form, but it may already be in your gut. Feeding your gut bacteria with inulin and other fiber-rich fruits and vegetables helps create a beneficial environment for them.

You do not automatically need another supplement. You may already have the seeds. Give them a place to grow.

Intermittent fasting and exercise were also among the approaches I found for supporting Akkermansia levels.

Lactobacillus gasseri

Lactobacillus gasseri was another bacterium I researched for its connection with GLP-1.

Gut bacteria ferment dietary fiber and produce short-chain fatty acids. Those short-chain fatty acids can signal your L-cells to make GLP-1. That is the chain reaction I find so interesting: what you eat feeds bacteria, and those bacteria make something that sends another signal in your body.

That connects your gut bacteria with blood sugar regulation and the processes involved in weight management.

I could not confirm which foods reliably provide L. gasseri. Fermented foods such as yogurt, sauerkraut, kefir, sourdough, and kimchi came up in my search for Lactobacillus, but I could not confirm that particular strain in them. I would not promise that eating one of those foods gives you L. gasseri.

I did find a yogurt starter on Amazon that has L. gasseri. I’ve been using that one and adding this inulin powder before incubating. My “recipe” is 2 half-gallons of cream-top milk, 1 cup inulin, and 2 sachets of freeze dried yogurt. I let it incubate for 36 hours. My family likes it. (Affiliate links)

Supplements and plant compounds need a closer look

Berberine

Berberine is not a probiotic or prebiotic. It is a compound found in plants, and most people get it through supplements.

I’ve talked about berberine for years because of the blood sugar research. Some of the research I reviewed reported results that compared favorably with metformin, including reports of better blood sugar results and fewer side effects.

I also reviewed research on berberine’s role in inflammation and the release of GLP-1, GLP-2, and PYY.

This is something to discuss with your healthcare professional in the context of your own health and medications.

Cinnamon

I love cinnamon, especially with breakfast.

In the trial I discussed, three grams of cassia cinnamon increased GLP-1, while one gram did not. At the same time, you can get too much cinnamon.

I would not make cinnamon my first choice for trying to increase GLP-1. I enjoy it in food, but I am not going to use more and more in an attempt to get a bigger hormone response. I want to do things safely.

Gardenia

When I hear gardenia, I think of flowers and perfume. The research I found was about a small molecule from the fruit of the gardenia plant and its effect on GLP-1-producing L-cells.

This was a supplement-related option in my research. I did not find a practical food source to suggest.

Resveratrol

Resveratrol was another plant compound I researched for GLP-1 release.

Food and drink sources I discussed included red grapes, blueberries, peanuts, grape and cranberry juices, red wine, and port. Those are examples of sources, not a recommendation to drink alcohol or juice to increase GLP-1.

Pick one place to start

On Dr. Ruscio Radio, when Dr. Ruscio was talking about “Akkermania” he said it is more helpful to think about your microbiome as a whole ecosystem that needs nourishment and balance than to focus only on raising one microbe.

That is how I want you to approach this, too. You can breathe before meals. You can chew slowly. You can eat your vegetables first. But please do not go hog wild buying every product mentioned here.

If you would like a simpler way to bring several of these approaches together, read about the MindBody GLP-1 System.

This information is for educational purposes only. Please discuss questions or concerns with your healthcare professional. Supplements and probiotics may not have been tested in pregnant or breastfeeding women. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, discuss them with your provider.