Speaker 1 (00:05):
Peptides are the hottest anti-aging word on the internet right now. But here’s the honest truth. Most people don’t actually know what a peptide is and I don’t blame them. The word gets used for everything from collagen powders to skincare to injections to supplements. So it’s no wonder it feels confusing. In the next few minutes, I’m gonna simplify peptides into a framework you can actually use. What peptides really are, why they matter as you age, what type and what to look for if you’re considering one. So peptides are short chains of amino acids. Aino acids make peptides which then make proteins. So what are peptides main job? Well, these are cell signaling molecules. They communicate information to cells to our DNA about what that peptide wants us to do. Biohackers and anti-agers are now obsessed with peptides. One of the reasons for this is that the GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic or Wikobi have now made peptides a mainstream word.

(01:37):
Yes, GLP-1 is a peptide. Now, skincare has also trained people to equate peptides with renewal and you can’t hear anything about skincare without the words peptides. So what’s the big truth? So people mix up four categories of peptides all the time. Let’s break them down, Shawy. So collagen peptides we take orally. So collagen peptides are building blocks for collagen. And collagen is one of most critical molecules, structural molecules of our skin, of our muscles, of our bones. And it’s really important. So naturally we’d be interested in collagen peptides. Number two, skincare peptides. Now, obviously these are usually topical. They give, we think, local support. Well, how do they give local support? Well, just remember that skin, the epidermis is actually a barrier. However, we now know that skin is capable of absorbing multiple compounds. But how big those compounds are depends on whether you can absorb them and whether they’ll actually have any local or systemic effect.

(03:15):
We’ll talk more about that later. Now, the injectable and research peptides. This is still not ready for prime time in my experience. Why? We don’t really know the fate, the long-term fate of taking these different peptides. And just to be clear, many peptides that influencers are using, super rich people are getting injected with have never received FDA clearance for the lowest bar of safety, which is called generally recognized as safe or GRAS, G-R-A-S. And that’s rather important because like I said, generally recognized a safe is a very low bar that has to be met for the FDA to say, “Yeah, you can use that. ” And amazingly, most of the peptides that influencers that the super rich that the Hollywood stars are taking have never met that low bar. So buyer beware, as I tell my patients. Now, how about the oral peptide style longevity formulas?

(04:40):
Again, what we’re trying to do is use peptides as signaling molecules, signaling molecules to increase energy, signaling molecules to improve neuron health to build more neurons, signaling molecules to support circulation. Remember, peptides are actually messengers. Now, what does that mean? Again, this is on cell sending another cell or multiple other cells, what that cell would like these other cells to know or what this cell would like a particular cell or many cells to do. So one of the sad things is we make peptides all the time. Again, these are how we communicate, how we give information, how we tell a cell what to do, how we tell a cell to make more of something or for that matter, make less of something. And our immune system uses peptides to send notices to other immune cells in our body. For instance, if our immune system in our gut feels that they are under attack, they’ll use peptides to send messages to the immune system of your brain to stand noticed.

(06:11):
All of this is done by signaling molecules, peptides. What happens when you get older is that these signaling molecules in general fade. Yo make a less of them. So you tend to notice that you don’t have as much mental snap as you used to. You don’t have as much stamina and maybe more importantly, you’re much slower to recover from an incident.

(06:41):
Now, a word of caution and I do this every day in my clinics. Please don’t confuse the internet peptide trends with well-formulated nutritional support. With injectables and online peptides, remember there is no approval status and quality control can vary widely. You really don’t know what you’re getting. Sadly, I’ve had a number of my patients try this route. And while some people have not had an issue with these injectable peptides, several of my patients have had really impressive negative reactions so much so that a couple had to go to an emergency room. Several other were bedridden for several days with what appeared to be like flu-like symptoms. So this is not ready for primetime. And again, the FDA has a really low bar to jump over to qualify as generally recognized as safe and these supplements have never cleared that bar and that ought to really warn us that it’s not ready for primetime.

(08:00):
So what really does matter in a peptide support supplement? Well, number on, circulation and oxygen delivery. Peptides can be useful to improving blood vessel dilatation, improve what literally happens at oxygen delivery in the capillaries. Number two, peptides can either boost cellular energy, tell mitochondria to make more energy, or conversely, peptides can be a signaling molecule to tell mitochondria to not make as much energy, surprisingly enough. Peptides can bring brain signaling to make more neurons, to make better functioning mitochondria in the brain and can actually improve focus. So that’s exactly why I made peptide vitality. Now, it’s built around these three buckets. First of all, blood flow and circulation support using a proprietary product called PeptiPump. Plus I use a cellular energy support called Tribasin. Finally added brain support with alpha GPC and CognicQ and a smooth energy stimulator called Theocrine. You just take two capsules a day, morning, early afternoon.

(09:33):
Peptides aren’t magic. They’re messaging systems. You pick the right lane and focus on what actually supports important signaling as you age. And the exciting thing about peptide vitality is we’ve got all those lanes covered to help you age well well into the future. I’m not telling you to buy my peptide supplement, although I’d like you to, but I’m telling you what to look like when you’re confronted with all this information about peptides. Be careful. There’s a lot of information out on the internet that just doesn’t jive with what real research does. And that’s my hope today to give you something to base your decision making on.

(10:32):
That’s a wrap on today’s episode. And before you go, I wanna leave you with on task. If anything you heard today made you think made you wanna dig deeper or gave you something you’re going to pass along to someone you care about, please take 15 seconds and leave a five-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. I know that sounds small, but those reviews are how Apple and Spotify decide which shows to surface to new listeners. And this show only grows when people who’ve never heard of it suddenly find it. That person finding this podcast today could hear something that genuinely improves their life or the life of someone they love. Maybe even saves one. Everything I share here comes from my research when writing my next book and my clinics where I’ve been seeing patients six days a week for over 25 years working with nutrition and supplements as the primary treatment.

(11:35):
This is real world medicine. Help me get it to more people and thank you. Truly thank you. I’m Dr. G and I’m always looking out for you.