A gut hormone (glucagon-like peptide-1) that stimulates insulin release, slows digestion, and reduces appetite; the target of drugs like semaglutide and liraglutide.
Updated Sep 26, 2026
GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) is a hormone your gut releases within minutes of eating. It does several jobs at once: it prompts the pancreas to release insulin when blood sugar rises, dials down glucagon (the hormone that raises blood sugar), slows how quickly the stomach empties, and signals the brain that you're satisfied. Together these effects help your body handle a meal and tell you when to stop eating.
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Related terms
DPP-4 — Dipeptidyl peptidase-4, the enzyme that rapidly breaks down the body's own GLP-1 within minutes.
Gastric emptying — The rate at which the stomach passes its contents into the small intestine, which GLP-1 medications slow down.
Related guides
Can you boost GLP-1 naturally? How food and lifestyle compare to the medications — You can raise your own GLP-1 with protein, fermentable fiber, and exercise, and that part is real. What doesn't hold up is the implied equivalence with the medications. This guide covers what nudges your natural GLP-1, why your body clears it in minutes while the drugs hold it for a week, and why "natural boosting" works as a foundation for treatment and can't replace it.
Gastric emptying on a GLP-1: how much slower, how long it lasts, and what it means for gastroparesis — GLP-1 medications slow the stomach, but the trials show the effect is smaller and fades more than most people assume, especially with the long-acting weekly drugs. This guide covers how much slower, whether it lasts, how gastric emptying is measured, how it differs from gastroparesis, and why the "food ferments in your stomach" claim has no evidence behind it.
A new pancreas study on GLP-1 drugs: what it actually shows — A March 2026 Salk Institute study found a molecular switch, phosphorylation of a protein called Med14, that helps pancreatic beta cells carry out a broad gene response to prolonged GLP-1 exposure. It's a peer-reviewed finding from rat cells and mouse islets, with no human confirmation yet. What it found, what it means, and what it doesn't tell us.