British scientist develops ‘all pure’ Ozempic PROVEN to shift weight with out negative effects… however is it too good to be true?

A British scientist claims to have created a ‘natural Ozempic’ pill that controls the appetite without the debilitating side effects of weight loss jabs.

Taken twice a day, Elcella capsules contain just three ingredients, linseed oil, also known as flaxseed, coconut oil and MCT oil, which is also derived from coconuts.

Together, these trigger the release of hormones in the gut — glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, and peptide YY — that cause feelings of fullness.

Slimming drugs like Ozempic, Wegov and Mounjaro work by mimicking GLP-1 — but also cause nausea and other distressing, and even life-threatening side effects.

Meanwhile, a clinical trial for Elcella showed obese patients reduced their calroie intake by 18 per cent on the pills and reported no complications.

Elcella inventor Dr Madusha Peiris and her colleague Dr Rubina Aktar from Queen Mary University, London, hope the discovery will ‘solve the global obesity epidemic’.

Dr Peiris added: ‘The tragedy of obesity is that you lose much of your ability to tell when you’re full. 

‘We found a combination of nutrients triggers hormones that control appetite, so you eat less and lose weight.

‘Our discovery means we have a new way to help people get healthy again.’ 

Elcella is not available yet to purchase but is expected in launch in April 2025. 

At present, it is available to eligible patients as part of a controlled clinical trial — and would-be volunteers can find out more on the Elcella website. 

So are the claims too good to be true?

According to a 2022 review, flaxseed oil is a rich source of alpha-linolenic acid, which may support body weight reductions in people with obesity.

Another review, in the same year, suggested flaxseed supplements caused a significant decrease in hunger perception and appetite, reduced food consumption and feelings of fullness.

MCT — which stands for medium-chain triglycerides — is derived from coconut oil, and may also help with weight loss according to some preliminary research.

A 2013 study found consuming MCT oil increased the level of hormones responsible for feelings of fullness in males who had obesity. 

This feeling of decreased appetite led to participants in the study eating less food.

However experts say more research is needed before it’s possible to say for sure these compounds can be compared to weight loss jabs.

In trials, patients who took semaglutide — the drug in Ozempic and Wegovy — shed around 15 per cent on their bodyweight, and this was maintained for as long as the drug continued to be taken. 

Tirzepatide — also known as Mounjaro — triggers a 20 per cent or more weight loss. 

The news comes as UK health chiefs warned those buying weight loss jabs from social media sites risked purchasing dangerous counterfeits.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulator Agency said unregulated beauty salons and ‘fake’ online pharmacies were selling the medications, leaving patients vulnerable to potentially contaminated versions.

Health officials have already seized more than 600 fake weight loss injection pens across the UK since the start of 2023.

These often contain the hormone insulin — a drug that can cause palpitations and hypoglycemia, a potentially fatal reaction when blood sugar levels drop dangerously low, if taken wrongly. 

Doctors have previously reported that patients have suffered seizures and have even been left in life-threatening comas as a result of using the fake jabs.

Elcella founder Dr Peiris added: ‘We differ from weight-loss drugs in that Elcella releases your own naturally occurring appetite-reducing hormones rather than replacing them with synthetic hormones.

‘Because it releases a natural process, we’ve not seen any side effects in three clinical trials. 

‘Weight-loss drugs can cause nausea, insomnia and high blood pressure — among other unpleasant side effects. 

‘It’s also given via a twice-daily pill, whereas weight-loss drugs are usually injected.’

Weight loss jabs are available only on prescription and while they are offered on the NHS, waiting lists are long.

It means the majority of people pay privately, spending upward of £2,000 a year. 

Elcella’s makes insist their product will be available over the counter at less than half this price.

Dr Peiris has more than 15 years of research experience focusing on understanding the complex interplay between what we eat and the gut, brain and microbiome — the multitude of bacteria and other beneficial microbes that are a vital part of our digestive system.

Dr Aktar, who has a PhD in enteric neuroscience from Queen Mary University, said: ‘With the soaring popularity of drugs like Ozempic, the market is ripe for disruption. 

‘Those drugs have proved their efficacy, but there’s never been a natural alternative like Elcella that works with the body’s natural processes.

‘Our product is an important new strategy that will help tackle the growing global crisis of obesity, and alleviate pressure on the NHS.’