Metformin for Weight Loss?

About a week ago I asked here on LinkedIn: "Is there an unbiased health news outlet out there?" I got one really solid response related to the business of healthcare (Becker's), but I never found another that actually spoke virtual truth about health and wellness items.

I wish I had the bandwidth to start something like this, but I do not. Maybe someone else will do it.

But the article linked below highlights why I was asking. Using Metforming for weight loss as a safe alternative to Ozempic/semaglutides.

Many can and will read this and think: "Oh, I have a safe option for weight loss"

The article accurately depicts Metformin as a plant-based derivative, having its original formation come from the Lilac plant. Many of the first medications came from plants, in a pure tincture type compound. But any reader of this can be fooled by the suggestion that today's Metformin is "safe" because it "comes from lilacs". The article suggests that side effects are mild (this is entirely subjective, first of all).

Hey! It might even make you more fertile!

But it leaves out the cellular, hormonal, metabolic and nutrient based impact that are not so great. Metformin depletes B12 and B6, as well as potassium. These are crucial for normal metabolic function, oxygenation, muscle and nerve function. Because of this, it is tied to heart/CV dysfunction, neural dysfunction, cell wall disruption/destruction and folate metabolism (which is crucial in fetal development). B12 deficiency is directly connected to hypothyroidism (could this be negating weight loss, in the long term?)

Does this medication have some good uses? Yes. But to paint it as "safe" or even "relatively safe", knowing that we live in a culture of "what can I take for quick results?" could actually cause more health issues in those who read this and see it as a complete and true report on a health-realted matter.

We need to be better readers/consumers, for sure.

We also need more comprehensive health reporting to empower people for THEIR OWN health.

Here is the link to this story: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/what-is-metformin-the-old-diabetes-drug-some-people-are-taking-for-weight-loss-120007345.html