Should I Be Taking Peptides? (An Honest Investigation)

If you've opened Instagram, listened to Joe Rogan, or stood next to a guy at the gym for longer than 10 minutes, you've probably heard about peptides. Today we are discussing peptides. Where, where are we at right now on peptides? I'm a big fan of peptides. Rogan talks about injecting something called BPC-157 to fix his elbow. Bryan Johnson, who is the guy who spends like millions of dollars on himself trying to reverse aging, and there are other celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Khloé Kardashian, Gwyneth Paltrow who are using injectable peptides for glowing skin and just overall well-being and longevity. And then of course there's the targeted ads that you cannot escape from. But here's the thing, as somebody with a hard science background, I'm naturally pretty skeptical of anything that's kind of new and trendy out there. But then again, some of the most respected people I know swear by peptides. So I have to ask the honest question, should I be taking peptides too? So let me back up for a second and share with you guys why I'm even asking this question. I'm in my mid-30s now and things are starting to change with my body. My energy just isn't as bulletproof as it was in my 20s. My recovery from my training days is starting to feel like it's happening a little bit slower, and my body composition seems like it's fluctuating much more easily. Hormones, metabolism, and sleep all starts to feel like it's quietly renegotiating the terms of the contract. And on top of that, I'm an athlete, so I'm very sensitive to things fluctuating and changing because it shows up readily in my performance. I play volleyball, I cycle, I lift weights, I train regularly, and I train hard. And my body has the receipts for it— the injuries, the aches, the wear and tear. Lately I've been fighting this like nagging neck pain going on from this like nerve issue that's coming somewhere from my shoulder, and it's just genuinely getting in the way of training how I want to. And when you can't train the way that you want to, you start obsessing over making the most of the training that you can actually get in. And you start thinking like, how can I recover faster? How can I maximize the training I'm doing now? And when I do get injured, how can I bounce back like I used to? And that is exactly the headspace that these peptide companies are counting on, because every week, like clockwork, I am getting a DM them or an email into my inbox promising that this new peptide company has the thing that's going to heal me and speed up my recovery and turn back the clock of aging. Oh, and they're saying if I take these peptides and promote them to my audience, I will get a commission. But getting money from these companies aside, that's a whole other conversation. The temptation to get onto the peptide bandwagon is real. If something can actually make me feel like my best athletic self again, of course part of me wants to believe that. But before I decide anything on if I want to go the peptide route or not, I need to actually understand what we're actually talking about when we are talking about peptides. So what even is a peptide? At its simplest level, peptides are just a short chain of amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. Your body makes thousands of them, and they actually serve as great messengers in the body, telling your cells what to do, helping regulate your hormones, manage metabolism, repair tissue. Peptides are not fringe science. For example, insulin is a peptide. GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are peptides. Now, those ones that I mentioned are FDA approved and they are well studied in tens of thousands of people and they're prescribed by doctors, so they're legit. But that is not what this particular conversation is actually about. The peptides that are blowing up right now on the internet, you know, the ones that are being pushed by most wellness influencers and celebrities, are things like BPC-157 and TB-500, the longevity and healing stacks. And most of those particular types of peptides live in a completely different world. They are not FDA approved for humans to use. A lot of them sold online are labeled as for research purposes only, which if you think about it is a pretty wild thing to read on a vial that people are injecting into their own bodies. That label isn't something that people are seemingly taking very seriously. It's more of a loophole for most. And that particular gray market space around peptides is what this whole video series is going to be digging into and the particular peptides that I'm questioning if I should be taking myself. Now I am primed to be skeptical about these gray market peptides. I have a really hard time trusting the biohacker and bio-optimizer corner of the internet. You know, the guys that are always 3 steps ahead of the science because mainstream medical doesn't want you to know this. But here's the problem with being ahead of the science. Sometimes the science catches up and tells us that the thing that we've been doing for the past 2 years is actually a really bad idea. New and cutting-edge science is not the same as good for you in the long run. So my gut reaction to a brand new gray market injectable drug is pretty, eh. But here's a huge reason why I'm even asking myself the question of should I be taking peptides myself? Some people that I respect very, very highly in this industry are taking these peptides. Smart, careful, and well credentialed people in my network that I know and trust who have done their homework, who use legitimate sources, and who aren't reckless. And when people like that swear by something and want to sit me down and educate me more on it, I can't just wave it off as quackery and be intellectually honest about it. That would just be lazy of me. So the real question here isn't, are peptides a scam? That's too easy of a bias to give into. And frankly, it's not true because again, there are a lot of very effective peptides out there. The real question, the one that I actually have to sit with, is there a reasonable version of this equation? Would I be one of those people that something like these gray market peptides would be reasonable for? And if I'm being very honest with myself, what is my actual motivation here? Is it truly recovery, or is it vanity, or is it just fear of getting old? Because the answer to that helps me evaluate if the risk is actually worth it. So where do I land right now at the beginning of this 4-part video series that I'm about to do exploring if peptides are right for me? Well, if you force me to answer right here, right now, my answer would still be no. Not for me, not yet. But I genuinely don't feel like that's a fair answer until I've done the work of working through my own bias and not without talking to experts on both sides. I owe this a fair hearing and fair understanding before I make my decision. So here's the plan. In my next video, I'm gonna argue the strongest case that I can put together for taking peptides. Then in the next video, I'm gonna build the strongest case against taking peptides. And then at the end, I'm gonna share what I've actually decided for myself after giving a full go at exploring both ends of this. Story, but I wanna be clear while I am looking into this peptide research on both ends of the spectrum, I'm not just waiting around for my health and wellbeing to get better. In the meantime, while I'm researching, I'm still gonna be optimizing the things that I know for certain move the needle when it comes to improving my recovery and my health overall. And honestly, one of the biggest ones isn't super sexy and it's definitely not injectable. It's sleep, which is exactly why I'm glad that this video is sponsored by Quints. So here's my honest situation. I'm a very hot sleeper. Quite literally, my husband calls me a human radiator. And in the summer, that is absolutely brutal for me and for him. In the past, I've woken up completely overheated in the middle of the night, and honestly, that tanks your recovery like no other. So I switched out my entire bed setup with all of Quince's cooling fabrics, like their cooling bamboo sheets, their mulberry silk pillowcases, and their organic waffle blanket, which is much, much lighter than a traditional comforter in the summer. And man, did this switch make an impact on my sleep. The bamboo sheets are unbelievably silky and cool to the touch. They feel breathable and like they're dispersing my body heat really well. The Mulberry silk pillowcase feels luxurious and my face feels cold all night, not to mention the benefits for your skin and hair. And I'm gonna be honest, I did not think I was gonna like the waffle blanket. I thought it was going to be way too thin, but it consolidates just enough heat to keep you warm and cozy without overheating you in the middle of the night. I'm sleeping deeper, I'm waking up way more recovered and refreshed, and I'm kind of mad I didn't do this sooner. One of the coolest parts about Quints is that they go factory direct, so they cut out the middleman, and you're getting genuine high-quality sustainably made pieces. I'm talking real materials, not cheap stand-ins, all for a fraction of what you'd pay for at a traditional retailer. So if you want to optimize your bedtime routine with cooling products that will help you to sleep better and wake up more refreshed, then I will drop the links down below in the description. And as a bonus, if you are a new customer with Quince, you get 20% off your first order if you sign up for their emails. So thank you to Quince for sponsoring this video and helping me sleep better. Okay, back to the big question, because before I do video 2, I wanna hear from you guys because that's gonna honestly help me shape how I look at this whole series. I wanna know, would you ever try peptides or are you currently on them? And if so, for what? Recovery, anti-aging, skin health, boosting your athletic performance. Where's your line of what you're comfortable with? Drop your answer down below in the comments, whether you are considering it, not considering it, or currently on it. And if you wanna come along with me on this journey and figure out what I decide in the end, then make sure you subscribe to the channel and hit that notification bell so you know when the next video comes out. See you there and wish me luck. Bye.