So what’s the scoop with peptides? Are they steroids? Are they growth hormone and are they harmful? Shoot are they even legal? Well I suppose this all boils down to context! When it comes to peptides we have to first dissect which ones we want to discuss, there are a bunch of varieties for different purposes from anti-aging, muscle growth and performance to repair, gut health, neurological function and so much more.

Let’s start with WHAT is a peptide shall we? When we have 2-50 amino acids we call them peptides. Basically it can be 2 or it can be 50, however growth hormone is 191 and yet we do still refer to it as a peptide of sorts so this can get a little tricky when defining. Usually any more than 50 are considered a protein.

Some of my favourite peptides are BPC 157 and TB 500 -but let’s start with BPC 157, also known as body protection compound 157. I recently had a bit of an accident, Canadian icy winters don’t mix well with summer shoes and a set of stairs – just ask my back and neck! So I immediately knew the fastest way to recover was to jump into peptide therapy with BPC 157. This isa naturally occurring peptide, it’s made up of human gastric juices. Which is liley why it’s used for gastric distress, healing ulcers and those with IBS/ IBD like Crohn’s. Welcome to the world of regenerative medicine.

You have a couple of options with this peptide but my favourite are oral (great for gut related issues) and subcutaneous injections for muscle repair. I go into some neet details about this in my youtube video below.

With oral you are going to need to basically double your dose of injectable, but it also depends on what you want to use it for.

As for side effects there are not any real issues, unless you overdo it, like anything if you abuse it you could be at risk. I do like to preface this with the statement that if you have cancer, are concerned you may have or have a tumor that taking something like this might not be ideal. We still don’t know everything there is and more studies are needed, if you really want to dig into the science look for European studies – they are leaps ahead of us here that’s for sure.

When we look at peptides that have to do with nootropics I want everyone reading this to realize that you are playing with your brains chemistry – you may want to be careful messing with that shit. Our brain is insanely complex. Personally I like to caution even when using supplements like 5-HTP. I’ve seen patients react in a psychotic sort of way to even the smallest of doses which is why I don’t typically use it much within my own clinical practice. Yes it’s good for mood and serotonin (not long term though please), but for some they react in some adverse ways yet their practitioners still seem to think taking it is a good idea. Please stop if that is the case (and fire your clinician)

Both BPC 157 and TB500 increase the rate of cellular division, this is the reason they are so beneficial for repair but also can be concerning (not really though) for cancer. It basically all boils down to what pathway is it engaging? The pro cancer or the anti cancer? Our anti- cancer pathway has a threshold and when we reach that (in dosage) we tend to continue on to the pro cancer pathway so overuse is never encouraged. Stay within the recommended dosage and you will be just fine.

If you have an injury cellular division happens naturally, adding in BPC 157 will speed this all up. You will get more cellular division but for a shorter division since the healing is faster. If you have an injury that would normally take 3 months to heal but you decide to add in peptides you might cut that healing time in half. So you are going to have more cellular division but healed in say 4-6 weeks not 3 months. That means less risk if you look at the data. That is just how the natural repair process works folks.

Something else to be concerned about is the source, you can pretty much guarantee that unless it comes from someone you trust (like a licensed medical professional or compounding pharmacy) that you are getting something most likely from China. 99% of what is on the net is from China, even the stuff that says make in the USA – because of the laws as long as they bottled it there they can legally call it product of the USA and even in Canada it’s a murky water. These HPL machines are around half a million dollar machines (USD) so you know not everyone has one, that being said the stuff out of China has these fake papers stating content but when you get it here you see that it’s either completely fake or the potency is NOT what is on the bottle – trust me I’ve seen it. Something else we have seen is that the peptides were not only not what was advertised, but also contained bacteria! I have no interest in injecting bacteria into my body thanks… hello infection! Speaking of injections when you reconstitute your peptides in most cases they will be clear after a minute or so. If you get a cloudy mixture after mixing with your BAC water you are not getting the good stuff. Of course some peptides do look cloudy (like A0D9604) but ones like BPC157 and TB500 will definitely be clear.

Want to discuss peptide therapy, the benefits and if it’s right for you? Let’s chat