Peptides·5 min read·March 2026
Peptides 101: what they are, what they're not
A grounded primer on peptide therapy — what's well-studied, what's promising, and what's hype.
What peptides actually are
Peptides are short chains of amino acids — smaller than proteins, large enough to act as signaling molecules. Your body makes thousands. Insulin is a peptide. So is oxytocin.
In therapeutic medicine, we use peptides to *signal* tissues to do specific things: repair, regenerate, sleep, build, recover.
What's well-supported
- BPC-157 / TB-500 — tissue repair, GI healing, soft-tissue recovery
- Sermorelin, CJC-1295/Ipamorelin — growth hormone optimization (more physiologic than synthetic GH)
- Tesamorelin — visceral fat reduction
- GHK-Cu — skin, wound healing, hair
- DSIP, Selank — sleep and stress
What's promising but newer
- MOTS-c — mitochondrial function
- Epitalon — longevity and pineal regulation
- Thymosin Alpha-1 — immune modulation
What's hype
Anything claiming to single-handedly reverse aging, replace exercise, or work without a real protocol. Peptides are powerful tools — not magic.
How we prescribe
Sourced from licensed US compounding pharmacies, dosed by your provider, monitored over time. We don't recommend research-grade peptides from internet vendors. Quality, dosing, and supervision matter.
ST
Dr. Shirel Toren
DNP, FNP-BC · Founder of Luma