By: Jerome Brookshire

The wildly popular GLP-1 drugs that have reshaped waistlines across America — including household names like Ozempic and Wegovy — may also be reshaping how the body processes alcohol. According to a small but compelling new study from Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, these medications appear to dampen the effects of alcohol, delaying intoxication and potentially curbing cravings for heavy drinkers.

As The New York Post reported on Wednesday, the discovery could have profound implications not only for social drinkers but for the estimated one in ten U.S. adults struggling with alcohol use disorder — a chronic condition that devastates health, families, and careers. Scientists say the same mechanisms that make GLP-1s so effective for appetite control might also rewire how the brain perceives alcohol’s reward, offering a long-sought medical tool to help people reduce drinking or quit altogether.

“Using a drug that’s already shown to be safe to help people reduce drinking could be a way to get people help fast,” said Dr. Alex DiFeliceantonio, study co-author and interim co-director of the Fralin Institute’s Center for Health Behaviors Research, in a statement quoted in The New York Post report.

GLP-1 drugs — short for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists — are synthetic versions of a natural hormone that regulates blood sugar, digestion, and appetite. As The New York Post report noted, the medications work by slowing gastric emptying and signaling to the brain that the stomach is full, effectively reducing hunger and helping users eat less.

But researchers have increasingly observed that the same drugs may influence the brain’s dopamine reward pathways, which govern cravings for food, alcohol, and other addictive substances. “These medications affect not only the gut, but also the mesolimbic system — the part of the brain involved in pleasure and reinforcement,” DiFeliceantonio told reporters.

The Virginia Tech team’s new study, published this month in Nature Metabolism, sought to explore that neurological connection. Their findings, though based on just 20 participants, are already raising eyebrows — and hopes — across both the medical and addiction-research communities.

As The New York Post report detailed, the study recruited 20 obese adults in Virginia, half of whom were already taking maintenance doses of GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic or Wegovy. The participants fasted before each testing session, eating only a small snack bar to keep calorie levels consistent.

Then came the test. Each participant was given a standard alcoholic beverage and instructed to finish it within 10 minutes. Researchers measured blood glucose levels, breath alcohol concentrations, heart rate, and subjective feelings of intoxication at multiple intervals over the next hour.

The results were striking.

Those taking GLP-1 drugs reached the same 0.08% blood alcohol concentration — the U.S. legal limit for driving — but their alcohol levels rose more slowly than in participants who were not medicated. More significantly, the medicated group reported feeling less intoxicated and less euphoric overall.

“The rise in blood alcohol levels was delayed in those taking GLP-1s,” DiFeliceantonio told The New York Post, suggesting the slower absorption might also delay how quickly alcohol reaches the brain. “Why would this matter? Faster-acting drugs have a higher abuse potential,” she explained. “If GLP-1s slow alcohol entering the bloodstream, they could reduce the effects of alcohol and help people drink less.”

While the trial was small, researchers said the findings were robust enough to warrant larger, longer-term clinical trials testing whether GLP-1 drugs could serve as a new treatment option for alcoholism.

As The New York Post report observed, this is not the first time GLP-1 drugs have shown surprising side effects that extend beyond the scale. Users have reported decreased cravings for nicotine, opioids, and even impulse behaviors such as gambling or compulsive shopping.

Last year, a study found that opioid users on GLP-1 drugs had a 40% lower rate of overdoses compared to those not taking them. In another trial, alcoholics treated with GLP-1 medications were significantly less likely to be hospitalized for alcohol-related complications, outperforming traditional anti-craving drugs such as naltrexone and acamprosate.

The key, researchers believe, lies in how GLP-1 drugs interact with dopamine — the neurotransmitter that produces feelings of pleasure and reward. In people with substance use disorders, dopamine circuits are often overstimulated, making it difficult to resist addictive behaviors. GLP-1 agonists appear to moderate those dopamine surges, reducing the “high” that reinforces drinking or drug use.

“This is an exciting discovery,” addiction researcher Dr. Markku Lähteenvuo told The New York Post. “I see so many patients who do not have good outcomes on the medications we currently have and who are desperate for help with their addiction. We really do need more tools in the toolbox.”

Beyond brain chemistry, the Virginia Tech study suggests that GLP-1 drugs also alter alcohol’s metabolic path in the body. By slowing the rate of gastric emptying — the process by which food and liquids pass from the stomach into the small intestine — the medications cause alcohol to be absorbed more gradually.

That means a person’s blood alcohol concentration climbs more slowly, potentially dulling the euphoric rush many drinkers chase. “It’s not that people are immune to alcohol — it’s that the timing and intensity of its effects are changed,” DiFeliceantonio explained.

However, the findings have a more complex implication for casual drinkers. As The New York Post report noted, for people who enjoy the occasional cocktail, the blunted effect could mean needing to drink more to feel the same buzz — a potential risk factor for overconsumption or accidental intoxication once the drugs wear off.

But for those struggling with alcohol dependence, the change could be life-altering. “We’re not saying these drugs are a cure for alcoholism,” DiFeliceantonio cautioned. “But if they can make alcohol less appealing or less rewarding, that gives people a better chance to stop.”

According to the information provided in The New York Post report, approximately 29.5 million Americans — about one in ten adults — meet the clinical criteria for alcohol use disorder (AUD). The condition contributes to nearly 140,000 deaths annually and costs the U.S. economy more than $249 billion per year in healthcare, lost productivity, and crime-related expenses.

The physical toll is equally staggering. Long-term heavy drinking is linked to heart disease, liver failure, stroke, high blood pressure, and certain cancers. Alcohol is now considered the third-leading preventable cause of cancer, behind tobacco and obesity.

Given those numbers, even a modestly effective new treatment could have enormous impact. As The New York Post report pointed out, existing medications for alcoholism often produce limited success, with adherence rates low and relapse common. GLP-1s — already prescribed to millions for diabetes and obesity — could offer a ready-made therapeutic alternative, requiring only modest adjustments in dosage and monitoring.

The pharmaceutical industry has been quick to take notice. Analysts told The New York Post that if GLP-1 drugs prove effective in treating addiction, it could reshape the landscape of mental health and addiction medicine — much as they already have for metabolic disease.

Still, experts urge caution. The Virginia Tech study was small, and its participants were all obese adults — a population that may metabolize both alcohol and medication differently from the general public. Larger, more diverse trials are needed before regulators or physicians could consider recommending GLP-1s for addiction therapy.

For now, the findings offer a tantalizing glimpse of what might lie ahead: a single class of drugs addressing both the body’s physical cravings for food and its psychological cravings for substances.

“Addiction and obesity share a lot of the same biological underpinnings,” DiFeliceantonio told The New York Post. “If we can safely target those pathways, we might finally make progress in both.”

The cultural ripple effects of GLP-1 medications have already been immense, transforming everything from restaurant economics to fashion. But now, as The New York Post report observed, they may be changing nightlife itself. Bartenders across New York and Los Angeles have reported that some patrons on Ozempic drink far less — or skip alcohol entirely — saying it “just doesn’t hit the same.”

Whether that’s a side effect or a hidden virtue depends on perspective. For some, it’s a buzzkill. For others, it’s liberation.

As one addiction counselor told The New York Post, “If these drugs can make alcohol less powerful — less seductive — then maybe they can give people their lives back. That’s not just a side effect. That’s a miracle.”