90: Peptides & Metabolism - Fat Loss, Muscle Growth, and Hormones Explained with Dr. Bikman

Welcome to the metabolic classroom. I'm Professor Benjamin Bickman, a biomedical scientist and professor of cell biology. Today we're diving into the fascinating world of peptides. What we're going to be discussing in this mini lecture is what they are. So we'll define them, how they influence various processes that we're all interested in, like metabolism, of course, no surprise coming from me. But also some other aspects that the peptides have where there are claims that they support and help, but also how they are increasingly being used in various strategies to overall improve health and in some instances, improve physical performance. We'll also. I added something to also cover a different aspect of peptides where you wouldn't expect it, but namely collagen peptides. There are actually aspects of collagen peptides that I don't think have been discussed. And so as much as the conversation is going to focus on the, the kind of more clinically based peptides that you're hearing about, I wanted to include some of the more common ones that you might not be aware of, like the collagen peptides. Okay, first, let's start with the first question. And as a reminder, if you have questions about any of this, please go to Ben Bickman.com B I K M A N Ben Bickman.com and consider becoming an insider. Those of you that buy that is that people with various colors of melanin across an ethnic spectrum have various degrees of appetite regulation. That's not what this touches on, but that there's in fact an overlapping of the pathways that are involved in melanin production and satiety signaling, where one of the these are all uncommon, one of the more common of all of the uncommon forms of what's called monogenic obesity, and this ought to be a topic for another time where there is like one mutation in the person and this one mutation creates substantial weight gain and obesity. In one of these forms of monogenic obesity, these people are invariably born with very, very pale skin and bright, bright orange hair. So a very quirky twist of melanin that results in a particularly unique and striking profile. All right, now let's just do one more in this family. Another noteworthy peptide is one called sermorelin, which, like CJC 1295, will stimulate the release of growth hormone from the pituitary gland. Sermorelin is often used as a more natural approach for elevating growth hormone levels since it encourages the body to regulate its own growth hormone. Now, this is like the other ones I've mentioned where it's stimulating the body to make more of its own rather than say someone going and injecting themselves with growth hormone. But there's some evidence to suggest that sin, like the others, can facilitate fat metabolism while also in some instances improving sleep and overall sense of energy, which of course are going to be critical for you feeling healthy and, and great. All right, let's move on to another category of benefit which of reported benefit which is muscle growth and recovery. Now spec that I bet you've heard of some of these if you have your finger on the pulse of this space at all. But let's talk, let's go into talking about some of the most popular peptides as well as their metabolic effects. Okay. Peptides have been really gaining a lot of attention and a lot of medical based entities and companies are really looking to take advantage of them as well as other just people interested in fitness. One of the main targets is metabolism. So let's explore some of the most widely used peptides and the scientific evidence supporting these effects. So within that broader topic, let's just start with fat loss. One of the most well known peptides in this category is one called CJC 1295. CJC 1295, it's a growth hormone releasing hormone analog. Now growth hormone releasing hormone is a peptide that comes from the hypothalamus to tell the interior pituitary to make more growth hormones. So this is a molecule that's kind of mimicking what the hypothalamus is doing. But the end result of course is going to be an increased signal that to, to stimulate some growth hormone. And indeed that's the, the priority and that's where the evidence is. Studies have shown that CJC 1295 can increase levels of growth hormone and a growth hormone product called insulin like growth factor 1 or IGF 1. I've mentioned that before in various top previous metabolic classrooms. But both of these have been shown to enhance fat breakdown, which of course is going to promote a leaner physique. What's so important about them, about that strategy is that you have this very selective shrinking and growing of tissue where in particular if you're increasing this growth hormone pathway, while you are shrinking your fat cells, you are potentially growing other tissue, like lean tissue, like muscle, most especially one of these. Another one is called Tessamorelin. Tessamorelin, that's another GHRH analog has been extensively studied for its ability to reduce visceral fat. Now sometimes these are animal reports and so those of you that are insiders, please look at the show Notes. I'm not getting into too much of the detail of the experimental model in these, but rather just providing a general overview as a part of this mini lecture. So, so a reduction in visceral fat, especially in models that are looking at metabolic disorders. So that's pretty powerful. Further research has demonstrated that there is a significant decrease in also abdominal fat, which is not the same necessarily as visceral. Visceral being deep abdominal being what you can pinch and jiggle, all while improving insulin sensitivity. So that was the Tessamorelin, a different one of these growth hormone releasing hormone analogs or mimics. But suffice it to say, it makes this last one a pretty exciting potential tool for metabolic health. Another one is Melanitan 2. Melanitan 2, primarily known for its ability to increase melanin production, has also been found to suppress appetite. Some studies suggest that it interacts with the central melanocortin system, which regulates hunger and energy balance, making it a potential aid for weight management. Now, just as a little endocrinology tangent here, I can't help myself. There are very few instances where, like you may be, I'm inclined to go on this little tangent because you hear me describe this melanotan 2, which is known to have an influence in melanin, and you're thinking, what on earth does melanin have to do with appetite? It's actually a stronger connection than you think. Now, what I don't mean by that is that people with various connections, colors of melanin across an ethnic spectrum have various degrees of appetite regulation. That's not what this touches on, but that there's in fact an overlapping of the pathways that are involved in melanin production and satiety signaling, where one of the these are all uncommon. One of the more common of all of the uncommon forms of what's called monogenic obesity is, and this ought to be a topic for another time where there is like one mutation in the person and this one mutation creates substantial weight gain and obesity. In one of these forms of monogenic obesity, these people are invariably born with very, very pale skin and bright, bright orange hair. So a very quirky twist of melanin that results in a particularly unique and striking profile. All right, now let's just do one more. In this family, another noteworthy peptide is one called sermorelin, which, like CJC 1295, will stimulate the release of growth hormone from the pituitary gland. Sermorelin is often used as a more natural approach for elevating growth hormone levels since it encourages the body to regulate its own growth hormone. Now this is like the other ones I've mentioned where it's stimulating the body to make more of its own rather than say someone going and injecting themselves with growth hormone. But there's some evidence to suggest that sin, like the others, can facilitate fat metabolism while also in some instances improving sleep and overall sense of energy, which of course are going to be critical for you feeling healthy and and great. All right, let's move on to another category of benefit, which of reported benefit, which is muscle growth and recovery. Now let me just say I don't mean for any of this to be you thinking that Ben is a drum beating advocate of these. I do think there's a place for peptides in overall health. Absolutely. But there needs to be a very studious awareness that you got to be careful with what you're getting and who you're getting it from. All right, so next topic, muscle growth and recovery. For those looking to improve some muscle repair and performance, like including people with having sustained some tissue damage or injury, BPC157 has shown some promising results. BPC157. This peptide has demonstrated some significant regenerative properties in animal studies, particularly in healing muscle and tendon injuries. The research suggests that it enhances recovery by reducing inflammation, although there's a good form of inflammation and bad, but this must be blocking the bad because it is accelerating tissue repair. In these models, making it pretty popular among athletes and individuals recovering from injuries. Within that same family is another one called ipamorelin. Ipamoralin is another selective growth hormone secretag. So it's going to drive this increase in growth hormone, but it's more selectively used to promote muscle growth without affecting any of the other pituitary hormones. This does make it an attractive option, of course, for those looking to increase lean muscle mass without some of the undesirable side effects generally associated with just injecting with growth hormone. And then one I mentioned earlier, which is Sinorelin, is also relevant here as its ability to increase growth hormone could contribute to some enhanced muscle recovery and lean mass gains, especially in individuals who may be experiencing some age related decline in growth hormone production. That is a particularly noteworthy comment if I do say so myself, because it is natural for growth hormone production to reduce over time and indeed so much so. And the benefits of growth hormone metabolically are so relevant that some people suggest that one of the primary concerns with or one of the primary causes with aging is the reduction in growth hormone. All right, let's Talk about one last category discussing these synthetic peptides before transitioning into natural peptides. And this last one is. Might be funny coming from a guy who has looks like me, but that's anti aging and skin health. I joke because of my freckled visage here, but there are peptides also play a key role in supporting tissue regeneration and some vitality of the skin. One in particular, thymosin beta 4, has been widely studied for its ability to enhance wound healing and reduce inflammation. So the wound healing part is relevant to the skin. Of course, research indicates that it aids in cellular repair and supports the formation of new blood vessels, helping tissues regenerate more effectively. Meanwhile, the growth hormone releasing peptides that I described earlier have been found to maintain collagen production, which of course is essential for skin elasticity and overall youthful appearance. Now, there are so many other peptides. I've highlighted some of the main ones that have the most support. So if there's a peptide that you have in mind and you're thinking, well, why didn't Ben mention that one? One, I might not know about it, there are so many, but two, it could be that it's one that has little or no support within the published realm of reports that I like to rely on. All right, now I just mentioned collagen. Let's talk about it. Because there are peptides that we consume called collagen peptides, and they, they do have some interesting effects that most people don't think of. Collagen peptides are of course, obviously and often associated with skin and joint health. But recent research does highlight an important role in metabolism as well. Let me make a comment on this. There has been some concern in the past that collagen peptides of two or three amino acids are useless because people think of them like they would a full protein. And protein is a long string of amino acids. And when we eat protein, it will get snipped up. So a longer peptide bond, which is just what protein is. But if you had a series of peptide amino acids, rather so a peptide, but wasn't long enough to really be a protein, it would get split apart by these proteolytic or protein cutting enzymes through the digestive tract. Collagen peptides have in fact been shown to stay intact. That wasn't a point I was intending to talk about, but there are studies where you put a little radioactive tag, you radio label, it's called, you radio label the peptide it's consumed, and you see that it in fact does go to tissues that you'd Expect like skin and joints, and it does in fact stay intact. So let's just make that clear. So that's one aspect which is pretty obvious and clear, that collagen peptides remain intact. Now, the degree to which there are benefit benefits, that's a different issue. Let's touch on it now. So a study was published in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules and this is in the show notes. It found that collagen peptides can alleviate hyperglycemia and insulin resistance, and in this case by modulating glucose metabolism. But also they implicated by changes in the gut microbiota, which is an entirely unexpected aspect of collagen peptides. But one of the most exciting findings regarding collagen peptides is their impact on the glucose regulation. Specifically due to its effects on GLP1. There's evidence to suggest that collagen peptides can increase GLP1 levels, which of course is the famous hormone that can enhance insulin sensitivity and stabilize blood sugar, particularly by inhibiting glucagon, but also by regulating appetite and enhancing satiety. Furthermore, these little collagen peptides have been shown to activate ampk, which is an essential energy sensor protein that improves glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity. It also stimulates fat breakdown or lipolysis. AMPK is kind of the ultimate breakdown molecule. When it's time for the cell to break something down, including itself via autophagy. AMPK is an absolutely essential mediator that if AMPK is blocked, all of those things I just mentioned aren't going to happen. And in contrast, if AMPK is turned on, they are going to happen. So collagen peptides are very involved in this. And in particular, the reason I felt to improve, to mention this was because of the known effect of collagen peptides on GLP1. This is something that no one really appreciates when it comes to collagen. Okay, one last comment on the collagen peptides. Because there is an effect beyond metabolism, which is the role in gut health. Research suggests that these collagen peptides promote the production of short chain fatty acids, which are critical for maintaining overall health. They not only can, and this is coming from the the gut microbiome, these short chain fats not only can act as a fuel for various other bacteria within the microbiome, but also the short chain fatty acids are absorbed into our blood and they have remarkable metabolic benefits, many of which I've talked about previously. Okay, now let's transition into another broad topic, which is how do you get the peptides how do you get them? Some of these are a little bigger. And so as much as collagen peptides can be orally consumed, they're small enough that they will just get, they will remain intact and be absorbed as you consume them in that same form. However, all the other ones, the synthetic ones, are bigger than that. And so they can't just be consumed orally because these peptides are going to be broken down, the bigger ones in the digestive system because of that. There are different methods of, of getting them into the, into the bloodstream. The most effective of course is going to be injections. Peptides like the growth hormone secretags, which is just a complicated word of saying they act, they induce the release of growth hormone. They are typically going to be injected subcutaneously so you pinch your skin and this would go for all of these peptides and, and ones I haven't even mentioned. So injected subcutaneously like in the fat or deeper into the muscle to achieve some optimal results. This of course allows rapid inclusion directly into the blood and maximal bioavailability. Another way of getting them is actually through absorption beneath the tongue called sublingual. There are, there is a, there's a precedent for this where other things that don't make it into the bloodstream by swallowing them and exposing them to the acid and the enzymes of digestion, but it can be absorbed directly. So that's another. There is an oral route, but it's not oral like you're swallowing it, it's oral like you put it beneath your tongue and it's slowly dissolving. And then one last method is a topical application where certain peptides, especially those related to skin health, can be absorbed through the skin with a topical application. So this can allow for some more targeted benefits like something on the skin. So this is moving on a very new area of research, all of this area of these peptides for health and fitness. And that while there are a lot of benefits that have been reported, you still want to be a little careful appreciating some of the inherent limitations with the direct effect of these peptides and the long term effects. Some peptides are known to be sufficiently effective that they're actually under prescription. So that's a pretty good sign. It's also good because it does suggest that there would be some monitoring of what's happening. Like some of these peptides have been shown to affect sex hormone production. Well, you don't want those to be too high, right? You need to have a balance to these. So one other comment on that with safety would just be the quality and sourcing. Because of the rising popularity of peptides, this has led to an increase in some low quality and even counterfeit benefit products. So to just really make sure that you are getting that what you want is coming in a safe and effective form, you really have to be mindful of going to reputable sources which are having some evidence of proving the purity. Okay, so what's the future then as we get to the end here? I think it's a bright future actually. So as the peptide research continues to expand, options like Sir Moralin, that's one of the more common ones now, now are becoming increasingly relevant for individuals who are looking for some natural but enhanced, if you will, nature enhanced improvements on overall metabolic health and physical performance. So whether it's fat loss or muscle recovery, or muscle growth or skin health or just longevity, peptides are likely going to play a role in the future of metabolic science, certainly, but also just overall clinical care. All right, in conclusion, the peptides are undoubtedly a powerful tool for improving metabolic health, offering benefits in fat loss, muscle growth and even glucose regulation. The collagen peptides, ones that we've you might have been taking without really appreciating in particular, have emerged as a valuable player in the metabolic space. As much as they've long been taken and consumed for the tissue benefit of skin and joints, but also some apparent benefit for the gut microbiome as well. As the research progresses, peptides are likely going to become even more significant, as I mentioned, and just overall health and even longevity strategies. But of course you need to be responsible with their use. You need to make sure you're getting that you're using them appropriately and getting them from a high quality source. That is essential. Until next time, more knowledge, better health.