Pharmacy team member Alex is approached by customer Kam, asking for advice about juice cleanses for weight loss.

Kam: Hi, I’m hoping you can help me. I’ve seen online that juice cleanses are actually more effective for weight loss than injections like Wegovy and Ozempic. I’m thinking of giving one a go. What do you think?

Alex: Thanks for coming in to ask. You’re right that there’s a lot online about natural alternatives at the moment – it can be hard to know what to make of it all. Can I ask, what have you heard about how they work? And what are you hoping they will do for you?

Kam: Well, the idea is you drink only fruit and vegetable juices for several days. It apparently detoxes your system and people are saying the weight just drops off.

Alex: I can see why that sounds appealing, but it’s really important to understand what’s actually happening there. Any kind of rapid weight loss in a short space of time isn’t fat loss – it’s mostly water and glycogen, which is the stored carbohydrate your body holds onto for energy. Once you go back to eating normally, that weight tends to return quickly. In fact, the restriction can sometimes trigger rebound eating, where people end up consuming more than before, which can leave you worse off than when you started.

Kam: Oh, I hadn’t thought about it like that. But surely they still have some benefits?

Alex: Some of these products may have modest effects as part of a broader healthy routine, but they’re not comparable to medicines like GLP-1 treatments, which have been studied in large clinical trials involving thousands of patients over years.

That’s a very different level of evidence. So if something is being talked about online as working just as well as a prescription treatment, but without that same evidence behind it, I would be being cautious.

Kam: That’s fair enough. I suppose I worry a bit about the medical route as it feels quite serious.

Alex: That’s a completely understandable concern, and it’s good that you’re thinking it through. The strongest evidence we have is still for sustainable lifestyle changes you can actually stick to long-term, alongside any appropriate licensed treatment.

We can absolutely look at options that are safe and realistic for you. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, and the goal is finding something that works for your life.

Kam: That sounds much more reassuring, honestly. Yes, I’d really like that.

Alex: Great. Let’s find a quiet spot and have a proper chat about what might suit you best.