pep talk
a dive into the peptide research
There are certain things I’m filing under the ‘hit me like a ton of bricks every time I log onto social media’ category. The first, as mentioned last week, is all things toxic diet culture.
Though a very close second (perhaps even a tie!!) is peptides.
Peptides, peptides, peptides!!!
The first time they came across my metaphorical desk, I scrolled right by - an instant eye roll for another fitness industry/functional medicine over-promised and under-researched magic bullet intervention. For that reason, I’ve been (somewhat incredibly) reluctant to learn more about them. They seem to singularly represent the massive chasm between functional and western medicine, most particularly in the privilege department.
Many of my patients don’t have regular access to fruits and vegetables, let alone the ability to pay hundreds (thousands?) of dollars each month for peptides.
Now I’m not entirely unfamiliar with peptides. The GLP-1 medications are peptides. I counsel about these medications on a nearly daily basis. They’ve been studied for diabetes since the mid-80s, and there’s a growing body of research to support their use in certain patient populations.
But what I am entirely unfamiliar with is the peptides being utilized in the fitness/functional medicine world. The ones with letters strewn together in seemingly nonsensical ways. Those are the ones I wanted to do a bit more research on because they don’t seem to be going anywhere.
I’m including the 6 peptides I’ve seen the most on social media, with commentary on:
what they’re used for
a synopsis of the research available (human and animal studies)
limitations
safety profile/risks
contraindications
regulatory status
And a broader / zoomed out perspective on peptides as a whole at the end.
As always, this is DEFINITELY not medical advice. This is such an emerging field that if moving forward with peptides feels like the path for you, I absolutely urge doing so in partnership with a practitioner.
Here we go!
