In this video Dr. Ashley Frazee, a primary‑care physician who runs a direct‑primary‑care clinic in Mesa, Arizona, explains the differences between NAD+ supplementation and peptide therapy, helping viewers decide which (if either) fits their health goals. She describes NAD+ as a cellular “battery charger” that supports mitochondrial function, energy, focus, and possibly neuro‑protection, noting that levels decline after age 40‑50. Delivery options include IV infusions, oral precursors (e.g., NMN), and injections, with IVs costing $200‑$500 per session and oral NMN $30‑$60 per month. She then outlines peptides as short chains of amino acids that act as signaling messengers, citing examples such as ipamorelin, CJC‑1295, semaglutide, tirzepatide, BPC‑157, MOTS‑c, and others. Peptides can stimulate growth‑hormone release, aid muscle growth, strength, fat loss, wound healing, and other niche effects, but most are not FDA‑approved and are sold as “research‑use‑only.” Injectable peptides typically cost $100‑$300 per vial, and oral forms are often ineffective due to digestion. Dr. Frazee stresses the importance of matching the supplement to a clear goal—NAD+ for immediate energy and cognitive clarity, peptides for longer‑term strength, body‑composition, or healing—while warning against hype, over‑priced clinics, and unverified claims. She also promotes her direct‑primary‑care model, explaining that she does not accept insurance, allowing her to discuss topics patients care about. The video ends with a call for comments, likes, and subscriptions.
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Feel old, tired, foggy? I'm a real primary care doctor with real patients, and today we're gonna talk about 2 things that most people wanna talk about, but most doctors won't. Why? Because your doctors work for your insurance companies. They don't work for you. I don't take insurance. I don't want their money because I'd rather talk to you about things that you wanna talk about because it's your health. And honestly, if we talk about the things that you wanna talk about, then you might trust me more, and then I can tell you, hey, it's time to talk about your cholesterol or your blood pressure or whatever. Just because I don't take insurance doesn't mean I want you to have a heart attack. But let's get back to the fun stuff. Now there's a lot of buzz Lately about injectable wellness. NAD+ is really popular, but so are peptides, and they're not quite the same thing. But here's the problem I hear a lot: you don't know what to go for, and all of this stuff is expensive, so you have to pick one lane. So the goal of this video is to help you get really clear on what your objective is, what your goals are, so that you can choose the thing that's right for you. Let's get started. So just to explain some things in a nutshell, NAD+ is like a battery charger for your cells. Using NAD+ is like charging the battery on your phone. Peptides, depending on which one you're going for, are kind of like upgrading the operating system. I know that updating the system sounds more appealing up front, but you kind of need your battery charged, so it can be a little tricky to decide what you need. And hey, if you can do both, why not? So let's break down the differences in both of these so you can decide what to do. Let's start with NAD+. NAD+ stands for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. I'm not going to pretend like I walk around saying fancy things all day. I don't. All right, NAD+ is in every cell of your body, and you need it to power your mitochondria, the Tiny engines in your cells that make your energy. But here's the thing, as you age, your NAD levels decline, especially after 40, 50 years old. And researchers think that declining NAD with age leads to more fatigue, brain fog, slower recovery, and the aging process itself. And in fact, declining NAD levels have been heavily researched in the role of developing dementia. They've even done some studies on mice and shown that supplementing with NAD can boost their memory and prevent dementia. They don't know, but benefits appear to be coming from lowering oxidative stress, reducing inflammation, and boosting mitochondrial health. So that's why you're seeing NAD offered so much in wellness clinics and online. You can do IV infusions. That's going to boost your levels the best and the fastest. You can take oral precursors like NMN, or you can do injections. Sometimes people who try NAD report a boost in clarity and energy, or sometimes even better sleep. And it can last for days, but it doesn't last forever. Just like unplugging your phone doesn't allow the battery to stay charged forever. We really don't know yet if supplementing with NAD actually slows down the aging process, but research is pretty promising. Okay, time for an upgrade. Let's talk about peptides now. I have a couple of videos referencing different peptides, like the top 6 peptides that I think are worth looking into, and then the top 3 peptides that deal with fat loss, longevity, and muscle mass or strength. And you can go and watch those anytime. To give you a basic breakdown, peptides are chains of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins, and they act like messengers. So if you take a peptide, it's going to go into your body and find a receptor that it fits into, and when it hits that receptor, it signals the next chain of events. And so for some popular peptides like ipamorelin, CJC-1295, or semaglutide, that triggers pulses in growth hormone release, and then you can get increased mass in your muscles or increased strength from that. But there are a lot of peptides that do various things. Those are some of the growth hormone-releasing hormone peptides. There's tesamorelin, ipamorelin, semaglutide, tirzepatide, BPC-157, MOTS-c, melanotan, epitilon, I think I'm saying these things right, but there are a lot. And here's the catch: most peptides are not FDA approved, and human data is sparse. Is sparse? I cannot legally prescribe most peptides, and I don't care who you are. If you get your peptides from a fancy wellness spa that claims that they're for human use, they're probably lying unless it's semaglutide, tirzepatide, PT-141, sermorelin, and maybe a few others. Oxytocin. Those places are treading some murky water, and they know it. So just be clear on that. There's no reason for them to mark up peptide packages to Thousands of dollars when they're selling you things that you can just get online. I didn't tell you that. Okay, so all that to be said, most peptides are not for human consumption. See, like this one, this is BPC-157 TB-500, and it literally says research use only. This product is not for human or animal consumption of any kind. Anyway, now that I've scared you, all of these peptides have different functions or purposes: muscle growth, strength, weight loss, bonding and love, sleep, tanning your skin. You have to know what your goal is before you pick one. And I've said this before, but if you want fat loss or strength gains, you have to do the work while using the peptide for the result to come. They're not magic. Now, a word on cost, because that's going to come into factor here. NAD— if you want to do NAD IVs, it's going to cost you a pretty penny depending on how often you want to do them. They're going to range from $200 to $500 for just one IV session, but it does boost your levels up higher and faster when you do that. If you want to take something like NMN in an oral capsule— that's what I do— you're going to spend $30 to $60 a month. They're not as expensive. Peptides, on the other hand, shop around, but you're going to spend Around $100 to $200, maybe $300 for these vials. And try to stay away from the oral capsules, but most of the oral peptides get digested by the stomach, and the peptides are degraded in the stomach before they hit the system. So that's why people use injectable peptides most of the time. Okay, so I hope I've clarified some things for you. NAD+ is an energy booster, a battery charger. It helps with focus, helps with clarity. It might help with dementia and memory loss. Peptides, on the other hand, are a whole nother ball game. The most common uses for peptides are healing, strength gains, fat loss, and kind of energy boosting, but more in like an exercise capacity. Also weight loss, semaglutide, tirzepatide, etc. Okay, so if your goal is I need energy now, go for NAD+. If it's I need strength gains and fat loss long term, go for a peptide. Just choose wisely and talk to somebody who knows a lot about it, even more than I do. From where I sit, NAD+ is the most fascinating of everything. But all in all, I want you to be careful, you know. Don't just take claims like NAD+ is a miracle or peptides are the answer for what you need. I mean, sometimes they are, sometimes they're not. Just do your research, read the articles if you can understand them. Watch the guys with the bro science and just fact-check them. Not everybody is telling the truth on YouTube. So now I'm curious, which one do you lean into? Is it one or the other or both? Drop it in my comments if you don't mind. And please like this video, subscribe if you like what you're hearing and you want more advice from a doctor who doesn't involve themselves in insurance and gets to play around with fun topics like this. If you have any more suggestions on videos I should do in the future, I'll take them too. I'm Dr. Ashley Frazee. I run a direct primary care clinic in Mesa, Arizona. Direct primary care is basically what I've just been saying, that I don't take insurance. I only work for my patients. That way we can separate what matters to you versus what matters to insurance companies. Not that insurance is bad, I just don't take it for primary care. If you want to know more about direct primary care, there are links in my description. You guys have a good day.
