Peptides: My favorite, little-known, natural longevity tools!
Disclaimer: This is not medical advice and is for informational purposes only. I am in no way endorsing that you use peptides unless under the supervision of a trained medical professional.
What the heck are peptides??
LOVE my peps!
"Peptide" is just a fancy term for a small protein.
In this context, the peptides I’m talking about (read: obsessed with) are natural 'master regulators' of the body, much like hormones. Many are essential for life.
Your body produces hundreds of them in varying amounts according to your biological needs and age.
Well known examples are insulin, oxytocin, glucagon, growth hormone…and more recently, the world’s most famous peptides, the Glp-1 agonists (ie. semaglutide, AKA Ozempic).
(Collagen is a peptide too, but it’s a structural one that doesn’t have the master signalling functions that the ones I’m speaking to here have.)
In a therapeutic sense, peptides act a bit like stem cells in the way they heal and rejuvenate the body.
Some experts even think peptides beat stem cells in utility!
This because stem cells must "land" in the correct tissues/locations in the body to have the desired effect most of the time, but peptides are so small that they can diffuse throughout the body quickly and so act "systemically"…
This also means they work wherever they are most needed in the body when you use them!
Coolllllll!
I use 8-9 different peptides in my practice according to what a person’s unique needs (usually only 1-3 at once). There are about 60 in the therapeutic space I’m speaking to, but only about 15-20 of them are widely used.
I personally rotate through about 5-6 of them myself for longevity purposes…or if I get really sick, injured or need circadian rhythm correction following travel across a heap of time zones.
Why use peptides?
Like many wonderful things in our bodies, we produce tons of them when we’re young, but production drops off with age…boo!
However, we can reintroduce them later in life and the body “remembers” the signal and responds in kind. It’s like sending your body a molecular “youth” signal. Like taking supplemental hormones.
Medically, as an adjunct therapy to healthy lifestyle, peptides can slow, stop or even reverse many conditions that traditional allopathic medicine cannot, such as traumatic brain injury, neuropathic pain, IBS, Crohn's and many others.
They can also massively accelerate healing from injuries, help reinstate healthy sleep, boost energy and hormones, and prompt incredible weight loss in those who have been weight loss resistant for many years!
Remarkably, some peptides have even been found to reverse cellular aging in human and animal studies.
For this reason, many longevity experts, biohackers and health optimizers are using them as anti-aging medicine and for performance enhancement and aesthetic purposes.
When I started using them myself over 5 years ago, I noticed significant improvements in a number of aspects of my health, despite already being in very good shape. Some changes happened quickly, others gradually.
Read on to learn more on what one can potentially expect.
(Reminder: I am in no way endorsing that you use them and this is not medical advice.)
If they’re so amazing, why has no one heard of peptides??
They're big in European Functional Medicine, and have been for at least 50 years. They were originally pioneered by a brilliant Russian Scientist named Khavinson way back in the 1970s...and they’ve made their way into the best institutions in Functional Medicine globally only more recently.
They are not a thing in standard allopathic medicine, at least not in North America. Doctors, nurses and even naturopathic physicians are actually NOT even allowed to talk about them in practice according the their certification boards…
It’s pure insanity.
Why?
If you ask most experts in the field, it’s about politics and the dominance of Big Pharma. Gross.
(Don’t get me started, I will just say this: being naturally occuring molecules, peptides aren't patentable unless a change is made to their structure. This is what happened with the Glp-1s, like Ozempic. The only reason they were patented, classified as “drugs”, sold in doctor’s offices and cost exorbitant amounts of money is because brilliant scientists figured out a clever modification to their sequence that allows them to hang around in the bloodstream for much longer, requiring administration just once a week rather than daily.)
Practical things about peptides:
Peptides are totally natural: these exact molecules exist in your body throughout life, but simply decline with age. So, unlike pharmaceutical drugs, when used correctly and at the right dosages, there are no risky side-effects or off-target effects associated with using the peptides I will speak about. (Like anything, the dose makes the medicine/poisoning.)
They are an adjunct therapy for use in combination with healthy lifestyle. You can take all the peptides you want but if you don’t support your body to heal / perform with the rest of it, they won’t do that much for you.
They act on varying timescales: sometimes the effects are notable in days, other times, it takes weeks or months. (I noticed just 5 days into using a peptide called Epitalon, that I was sleeping better than I had in years. When using BPC-157, I feel better and more energetic daily.)
You don't need to take them on an ongoing basis. 1 course is generally 4-12 weeks, depending on the peptide, which can often be sufficient for the intended outcome. It can take 6 months+ to heal from difficult or debilitating conditions like chronic lyme, mold, CFS, fibromyalgia, etc. For longevity / optimization purposes, many experts use them either on cyclically 4-6 or more times a year, which is what I do.
Administration - Peptides are generally taken as injections (don’t freak out!) to avoid digestion in the gut. Injections sound scary, but they’re super easy and the teeny tiny diabetes needles are not even painful. Excitingly, oral forms of a few of them are now available - BPC-157 and TB500, for instance. Hooray!
Sourcing is crucial. It's hard to find a reliable source for these, and there are only a few companies I trust in North America. It's important NEVER to source cheap peptides or take from an unknown source, as many are impure and may cause awful side-effects and potentially permanent damage.
What to expect using peptides:
Since they act systemically through the entire body, a huge bonus of peptides is that they can help treat all sorts of issues at once, regardless of where they are injected.
This includes things people might not be conscious of, like old scars or injuries that cause pain, and general wear-and-tear on the heart, liver, kidneys, digestive system, etc that we don’t actually feel at all. (We ALL need this!)
When using them to treat wounds or immune issues, depending on the situation and peptide used, this degree of broad-scope healing can cause:
Some degree of fatigue and even dull aches/pains temporarily as tissues heal (common with "healing reactions").
For immune-regulating peptides, it's common to feel a bit under the weather or tired for the first few days, depending on what pathogens one is harbouring and the peptide dosage.
When using them for general health optimization, most people don't notice much at all by way of physical sensation, but with some, they can feel a bit of a “boost” in mood or energy.
It can be weeks or months later that someone realizes they have better skin / sleep / energy / mobility, their blood work improves, etc.
For instance, semaglutide (Ozempic) is a literal miracle for many people with high blood sugar, cholesterol and cognitive health concerns when combined with the proper lifestyle measures (remember, peptides are an adjunct therapy), and while taking it, they may or may not feel a difference (asides changes in hunger) but they’ll almost certainly notice profound differences in their blood work 3-6 months later!
How to get the most out of peptides:
It's important to dial in and maintain healthy habits and keep stress low to maximize the benefits of peptides.
Like little construction workers, they cannot build and repair tissues if we don't give them the proper materials (nutrients) and energy (sleep/rest) to do so while keeping road blocks (inflammation/immune dysregulation) low.
What are my favorite peptides?
Stay tuned, cause I’m creating a Peptides Showcase series in which I’ll be highlighting each of my faves and why I use them.
And in my next post, I’ll share with you my “greatest hits list,” a lightning quick overview of each of my favorites.
Want more info in the meantime?
There’s a LOT of garbage on the internet on the topic. Reader beware. Don’t do it.
But there are some great resources too. Asides the podcasts and articles linked above, here are some goodies - from many perspectives:
The BEST of the best in Functional Medicine use peptides all the time in their practices and many of my favorite people to learn from have incredible free educational resources / IGs / books: Dr Elizabeth Yurth, Dr William Seeds (wrote THE book!), Dr Kent Holtorf and many others.
Nathalie Niddam is an excellent “biohacker” and longevity expert who has a podcast and a whole biohacking community full of very knowledgable people - including Drs and experts in the field.
Here’s a great podcast to introduce you to the concept of peptides and how they can be used in clinical practice from Dr Matt Cook. The intro provides a nice analogy on how peptides work, then they get a bit technical, but it's worth listening to at least the intro. As he says, everyone can benefit from them.
For a short, written primer on peptides and bioregulators, see this short article from professional biohacking and longevity expert, Ben Greenfield, who offers a good, unfiltered perspective. (He's annoying, but this is a good article.)
Finally, an article + podcast from Dr Michael Ruscio, who is a pioneer in digestive, thyroid and immune health in the US.
If you’re a women in her late 30s - early 50s and want to learn how to support your metabolism, health, hormones and lose weight permanently in your 40s and beyond, this blog and my social media are for you - they’re all about education and empowerment.
If you want to go deeper and get my personal support, accountability and step-by-step guidance along the way, my program, The Better Beyond 40 Formula might be ideal for you. 💃🏼
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