Peptalk: Peptides Unpacked

#8 Ten Peptide Myths That Cloud the Truth (And What to Believe Instead)

• Dr. Kylie Burton & Jessica Briecke • Season 1 • Episode 8

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Peptides are everywhere right now—but hype isn't the same as truth.

In this episode, Dr. Kylie Burton and Jessica Briecke tackle the 10 biggest myths clouding the peptide conversation and replace confusion with clarity. If you've been hesitant, skeptical, or overwhelmed by conflicting information, this is the episode that cuts through the noise.

Peptides aren't magic. They're not steroids. They're not shortcuts. They're clean, targeted signals that help your body repair, reduce inflammation, and restore metabolic balance—when used responsibly.

What We Cover:

  • What peptides actually are and why they're not the same as hormones or steroids
  • The 10 myths keeping people from exploring peptide therapy—including fear of needles, the "too good to be true" mindset, and misunderstandings about safety
  • Jessica's deeply personal why: brain health, family history of stroke and dementia, and the neuroprotective power of peptides
  • How Dr. Kylie connects insulin resistance, visceral fat, and cardiovascular risk to peptide therapy
  • Benefits that go beyond weight loss: neuroprotection, better sleep, calmer appetite signals, improved recovery, skin and hair support, and gut repair
  • Dosing strategy demystified: why microdosing often wins, when to cycle, and how to taper once your system stabilizes
  • How to protect muscle, preserve skin quality, and build sustainable momentum
  • Safety and sourcing: how to vet telemedicine partners and compounding pharmacies, why "research-only" sites are a red flag, and what transparent pricing and clinician support actually look like
  • The habits that make peptides work: hydration with minerals, one gram of protein per pound of ideal body weight, and a slow climb to 25–35 grams of fiber daily
  • Why better sleep and stress balance help peptide signals land cleaner and last longer

For Anyone Interested or Navigating Peptide Therapy: Peptides aren't magic—they're modern tools that amplify the direction you're already going. This episode gives you the truth, the science, and the practical steps to use them wisely and successfully. 

Want to connect more with the hosts? We'd love it! Connect with Jess at B2BwithJess.com or on Instagram @JessB_LMT_NC. Connect with Dr. Kylie at her other podcast Unshakeable Brain where new episodes are posted weekly.

Ready to explore peptide therapy for yourself? Visit the company we recommend for advanced peptide therapy and one-on-one support at drkylieburton.com/peptides

Want to offer peptide therapy in your business? Whether you're adding it to your existing practice or building something new, learn how to get started—and how we'll help you make the sales and marketing much easier—at drkylieburton.com/peptides

Legal Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before starting any new health protocol. Dr. Kylie Burton and Jessica Briecke are affiliates and may receive compensation for referrals. Individual results may vary.

You have the science. You have the tools. Now it's time to take the next step.

This is PepTalk: Peptides Unpacked—science made simple, results made real.

SPEAKER_01:

Right now, more than 60% of functional medicine and longevity clinics in the U.S. already use peptide therapy, which means if your wellness or health expert isn't talking about peptides yet, they probably will be soon.

SPEAKER_00:

And when something gets this popular, the myths come out of the woodwork. We've heard it all thyroid cancer fears, gastric paralysis rumors, even claims that peptides are just celebrity quick fixes.

SPEAKER_01:

So today we're separating science from clickbait. What's true, what's twisted, and what you actually need to know. I'm Jessica Brickie. And I'm Dr. Kylie Burton, a chiropractor who hates adjusting. And this is Pep Talk, Peptides Unpacked. Let's bust some myths. But first, why peptides?

SPEAKER_00:

Jess for you, why peptides? Yeah, so the first thing for me was about the neuroprotective benefits. I am the daughter of a stroke survivor who is the daughter of a stroke survivor. And when I learned that peptides were going to help protect my brain, that they were going to lower the inflammation and the risk factors that are associated with stroke, Alzheimer's, dementia, I was all in. Nothing scares me more than the idea of potentially having a stroke like my mom did, or remembering what it was like when my grandfather did, and he was paralyzed completely on his right side and could no longer speak, or the long goodbye with Alzheimer's and dementia. I just find those to be the saddest, probably diseases that we have out there. And anything that was going to protect me from that, I was all in. Any other benefit to me at that point was going to just be icing on the cake. I wanted to protect my brain.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. And I remember I'm seeing your social media post. I'm like, girl, what the heck are you doing? And then I started asking people about peptides. Oh yeah, I'm taking a peptide. They like so many people are taking it, they're just not talking about it verbally. So it's like when they the book, The Millionaire Next Door, it's like the peptide user next door. Like, we really don't know how many people are taking them, but a lot of people are taking them because of all these benefits. And the number one response I've received when people say, Oh, I'm taking peptide therapy in some way, shape, or form, is because of the neuroprotective components. They care about their brain. And which is also why I host the Unshakable Brain Podcast, because we only have one brain, and you have stroke in your family. I have major cardiac problems in my family, but also Parkinson's runs brain.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. You know, that's the thing, though. They are cardiovascular protective too. So we're finding because it one of the things that it does is it helps to lower inflammation in the body, um, but it lowers visceral fat, which is the most dangerous fat we have when it comes to cardiovascular disease. So there are a lot of factors that are lowering that are using the peptides help to lower that risk factor. But cardiovascular protection, neuroprotection, yes, please. And people do use peptides more often than they think because even taking a collagen supplement, that's a peptide. People don't realize collagen, that collagen you're putting in your drink every day, that's a peptide.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I didn't realize that either. And then on the previous episode, so was insulin. Yeah. Insulin's a peptide, and we've been using it to help people stabilize their blood sugar for years. Yeah, a hundred years to be exactly. So I just had to laugh when I've when I talk to these people, and the wife's like, oh yeah, I inject him with X and X like peptide every single day. He gets his testosterone shot, he gets his GLPs or his peptide therapy, that combination of it for him. And he started it. This particular guy, he was in his like mid-40s and he's as fit as can be. But he wants the neuroprotective component. His mom has dementia. And so we're seeing it like in your generation, and then I'm in the younger, the like the it's my grandparents. We only have one left, and we actually celebrated his 90th birthday yesterday. Um, but he he's somewhat there. I wouldn't say he has Alzheimer's, but dementia, yeah, because he gets lost on where he is. So we've now learned like you can't leave grandpa by yourself. We call it grandpa duty. I'm on grandpa duty, and we just see these in the elderly population, and now we're gonna you know preventing.

SPEAKER_00:

Accepting it, by the way. We're accepting it. We're accepting that as part of the aging process, which we don't need to do because we can live longer better. We don't have to have that fear hanging over our head, or who's gonna take care of us in our later stages because we can't remember everything. We don't remember to feed ourselves, or we don't remember to turn off the stove, things that are unsafe, let alone remembering who our family members are.

SPEAKER_01:

Let's roll with that because I know on your platform on social media the last few months has been like, I just turned 54 and I feel the best I've ever felt in years. And so why do we have to accept that this and this and this comes with age? Because we don't.

SPEAKER_00:

We don't have to. I mean, I will say, and I think a lot of people listening can relate to this. How many of you have walked into a room and got into that room and said, Oh, what did I come in here for? You don't remember. That's part of that, that is part of that brain fog that is happening when our body's not using insulin and our brain is inflamed. That silly little thing that we make fun of all the time is it's a whisper. It's a whisper that something is not going right in our body. And that was happening to me in my 30s. Now, I could have related it to being overtired and having babies at home, and that is true. But really, was it just signaling that my body was already in trouble? And I'm gonna tell you yes. And I know now, you know, fast forward 20 something years, yes, those were my whispers that I was just accepting as kind of, yeah, we get older, we get busy, we get forgetful. No, that's not because now that I am doing this, that no longer happens. I'm not searching for words, I'm not forgetting why I'm walking into a room, and I'm 20 years older than I was when that started happening to me. It's amazing.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. One of the one of my most favorite effects to see is I work with patients and I work with practitioners. Um, I don't work with anybody one-to-one anymore or even in as a client, periodic. But one of my favorite things to see is the confidence boosting. And that's what caught my attention on your posts was like, it's close up to something. What is she up to? And I've known you for so long now that it's like, okay, if you're in, I want I want in. And then we started having this conversation about peptides. And I'm like, I don't even know what a peptide is. I have to go look it up. And as a chiropractor and as a functional medicine specialist, why do we not know what a peptide is? Right. And what the peptide therapies can do. We don't receive training on that in med school, no matter what type of med school you are going into. Maybe they're going to implement it now because of the word on the street. Um, but I really think that that's one of the reasons why you and I are here is because let's talk about peptide therapy, not from just your experience and what you've seen, but also of these side effects that or these primary effects, we'll say the neuroprotective is a primary effect of peptide therapy and how it's no different than receiving hormone therapy. Right.

SPEAKER_00:

So yeah, I'm ready. Let's let's get into some of the let's get into some of the things about why people are maybe even afraid of peptide therapy, and I will put myself in that category. I gotta tell you, I dove deep into the research to help my clients. I knew that I wanted that neuroprotection. I ordered my peptides and they sat in my refrigerator for two weeks because I was scared. I was scared. I was scared of so many things. Now, 20-something years ago, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's. Pretty common, by the way, that people have insulin resistance and autoimmune conditions and whatever that will also find that they're insulin resistance is like the bottom line for autoimmune conditions and hormone problems. Sure, absolutely. So it's no surprise that you have so many people that are diagnosed with very similar things, right? And that these peptides are striking a mark when they're they're they're striking a chord with so many, they're so successful because that is the underlying thing. And when we have something that can help us remember how to work again so easily, um, it's it's a win. It's a win for everybody. But I was still scared. I knew all the things and I knew what I wanted to have happen to me, and yet I was still afraid of it because I wouldn't even take hormone therapy for Hashimoto's 20 years ago when that was diagnosed. I can do this, I can handle this, I don't need it. I still don't need it, but but peptides found an alternative that's better. That's right. I was just waiting for my my ship to come in here.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, your peptide shipment. I think along this doesn't ever get addressed, but it's true. Because if you have been fighting, say you've been fighting weight loss for 20 years, say you've been fighting Hashimoto's, you've been fighting fatigue, that almost becomes an identity. And now to truly heal, your identity changes. And there's some internal resistance to that in the forefront. But as you're like, I'm scared, maybe that was like, wait a second, what if I lose 20 pounds? What if all of the things I've been doing, anyways, just work better? And now I'm seeing the results that I've been trying to get, anyways. Yeah. You have to give your person yourself permission and to say, okay, that's cool. You know, I'm gonna wear the typical 52-year-old clothing, but now when I'm 54, I'm gonna go change this, change some rules. That's an identity shift.

SPEAKER_00:

Sure. What's it been like? I was also afraid of the needles, if I'm really honest. That scared the heck out of me because I've in my mind, it's like a a shot or a blood draw, or even the finger prick, which really hurts, by the way. A finger prick for blood sugar tests. That hurts. So in my mind, I'm thinking, I'm gonna commit to a needle every week and I'm gonna hurt myself that way. Like, do I really want to do that? I was afraid, which by the way, doesn't hurt at all. It's such a tiny little needle. I was so afraid of it. The first time I did it, I'm like, oh, that was it. I barely even felt that. So I worked it up in my brain to be something that was so much greater than what it actually was. And then it was nothing. As soon as I did it that first time, I'm like, oh, I wasted two weeks of being afraid when this could have been, I could have been already on my road to healing. It's okay.

SPEAKER_01:

When I was an undergrad, I was training to become a dietitian. My bachelor's degree is nutrition, and the next step was going to come become get your master's and become a dietitian. I did a rotation at the hospital, the local hospital, and the dietitian there wanted me to pretend like I was type 1 diabetic. So she gave me an insulin pump. We had to do the insulin injection. Of course, there wasn't insulin in it, it was just, I think it was saline, water with some salt. Um, but it was very similar type thing where you just like stick it in your stomach and then it's just there. Right. Because that's how it pumps in the insulin for those of them, those individuals who need it. But when you when you talk about how, you know, it's it was so terrifying to do it, but I was like, wait, I didn't even feel it. It's the weird thing. It's like the same effect.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh crazy. Well, why don't we hop into some of these myths that people, you know, while we're talking about things that we're afraid of, let's talk about some of these myths that people are hearing. Let's get rid of them, let's just dismiss them and let's explain what they are. That the first one, um, peptides are only injectable since we're talking about that, right? It's not true. Most of them are injectables. Um, the GLP one, the GIP trisepatide blend that I'm doing is an injectable. But it does come in an oral form. It's less bioavailable when it comes in that way because the peptide molecules are large enough that when we're putting them through our digestive tract, um, first of all, some of them are not getting absorbed because they have to go through the whole digestive digestion process. But the way that the molecules are absorbed through that, through that method is a little bit less than it is when it's put in subcutaneously, which means just injecting it into the fat in our belly or our leg or upper arm. Um, however, if somebody is needlephobic, which is a very real thing, and that's the thing that's stopping them, even if that oral form is less absorbable than the injectable, then I would say do the oral form. So what if you're getting 20% less effic efficacy, right? I would rather you do the oral form and have 20% less of an impact than to not do these peptides at all. So while they are more readily available to the body when we are injecting them, largely for most peptides, don't let that be the thing that stops you from using them because even a little bit less absorption is better than no absorption and no availability of the body at all.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. And I want to stress that as we mentioned in the previous episode, when we were talking about what is a peptide, these molecules aren't just a tiny, tiny chemical compound. Like if we actually break it down and break it into the structure of organic chemistry, which I don't ever want to go through again in my life, but they're compounds large enough that you need to get them through the body through an injectable. But if you're like me and sublingual is an option, heck yeah, I'm going sublingual because I'm still gonna benefit from it. We just might have to alter the dose a little bit up there because we are having to absorb it differently. But there are all there are alternative options, and I will say that this one option that we have we have we can provide uh is a sublingual, and it's like a replacement for Viagra.

SPEAKER_00:

How cool is that? It's amazing. It works and it works completely differently than Viagra. Well, we're gonna talk about that in a future episode a little bit more in depth, but it's wild what that is doing for both men and women. That is not uh uh hey, I think I want to get in the mood, let's let's plan for this. It lets you keep your spontaneity and have a completely different reaction than that little blue pill does.

SPEAKER_01:

And can I just throw a throw a balloon out there? Yeah, if you are working with patients in any type of hormone disarray, you have to look into this. It is going to change hormone therapy forever. So stay tuned and let's get into it later. Yeah, you are a practitioner helping people with their hormones. I don't care if they're post um uh postpartum. I was gonna say post pregnancy, but postpartum. If they're 36 like me, if they're postmenopause like just are we postmenopause?

SPEAKER_00:

Uh not I I lost my parts. I I gave those up a couple years ago. The factory got closed and I lost my parts, but I still kept my ovaries. I am still producing, but I did I started HRT, that's part of my stack, and this just adds on to the benefits of my HRT therapy.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so if you are helping people with hormones, you need to look into this. All right, so the myth number one peptides are only injectables. Not true. There are options, but injectables do work best. Yep, right? Yeah, agreed. All right. Myth number two: peptides are steroids. Now, a steroid, as we know, I immediately think I'm in the athletic space. Steroids are a big X, a big no-no. If you get caught on them, you're gonna get busted at some point. Jess, what's the difference between a steroid and a peptide?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, a steroid is really kind of coming in and effectively doing the job of what a hormone is going to do. Whereas peptides are more of a signaling um block of molecules, right? They're gonna help our body make or repair the next phase of healing, whatever that may be, or the next phase of metabolism, whatever that may be. Like in the case of a GLP1, how we use blood glucose after we eat. Um, so they're not steroids, they're communication tools, they're not muscle pumping hormones, like a steroid steroid is often referred to as when we're talking about um the body's response, like muscle building or any of that. So it's just a completely different way how they are, how the body uses them. Steroids can be pretty brutal on the body, so you have some pretty rough side effects that can come along with steroids too, tough on the liver, um, and it can be tough on tissue just in general.

SPEAKER_01:

You're a massage therapist, you would know. One of the ways that my husband explains this, because he's in the bodybuilding space on the natural side, gets accused a lot of taking steroids. And he's like, Why would I take a steroid when it's gonna balloon my external muscle? If you want to think about it like that, whereas something like my heart is still a muscle. What's it doing to my heart muscle? Right. Right. So you we have here that steroids replace hormones, peptides signal your body to make or repair naturally. One of the ways you can think about this is like growth hormone is something that people will stimulate to grow more muscle or just take growth hormone therapy in and of itself. Whereas a peptide is going to stimulate your growth hormone in a natural way, at natural levels, to help you grow muscle naturally.

SPEAKER_00:

Does that make more sense? I think that's great. That's a great so let's move on to myth number three. They're unsafe or experimental. I love this one because what people don't realize is that peptides have decades of clinical research behind them. We know that insulin was discovered back in 1921, so over a hundred years ago. Insulin, which is a peptide, was first discovered. And these GLP ones that are the ones that we're hearing about the most right now, they've been used for over 20 years. So we have a ton of data about their efficacy and safety. So really the risk comes from bad sourcing, self-dosing. It's not the molecule itself that's the problem. So when you get them prescribed through a reputable telemedicine partner or a compounding pharmacy, they have strong safety profiles behind them. So I think we can let go of the idea that they're new, they're unsafe, they're experimental. I would take this one step further and say we are still discovering the many, many benefits that are going to come with peptide therapy. We're going to see so much more. So we've talked about neuroprotection, we've talked about cardiovascular protection. I know people that have done it that are in multiple stage, late-stage kidney failure, that they've had help with them. Um, we're obviously saving lives and changing, changing what's happening with somebody's future by reducing inflammation and balancing blood sugar. Um, we're only going to uncover more information that is all positive as we continue to see more and more people use these.

SPEAKER_01:

I, you know, I come from a chiropractic school where research was huge. It was the opposite of life at Western States University in Portland, Oregon. And I always just kind of laugh because you can really find research on anything that you want to find research for. Whatever outcome you want to find research for, you will find research that explains that outcome. When it comes to the peptides being unsafe or experimental, I find that a bit hypocritical in a simple way of how many freaking supplements are out there in the space that claim they have all this research, yet there's never third-party research. It's always done in-house. And you know, I think about one of one of the supplement companies that was huge in the industry for 20 20, 25 years, suddenly closed their doors overnight in March of 2025. And I think, hmm, did the terrorists have something to do with that? Where were they sourcing their products or their ingredients for their products?

SPEAKER_00:

Right. No. Huh? I no, that's interesting. I didn't, this is all brain.

SPEAKER_01:

I just think like yes, peptides are being targeted for being unsafe and experimental. Why are we not doing it with everybody? Like, we'll go take a supplement because we bought it off Amazon, we'll go grab it from Walmart shelves without even I mean, those of us who are practitioners will never do that. We won't do that, but some people do, like, even if they go to natural grocers, like they're just gonna grab what is recommended to them, and yet these have been such a target. And I think when there's a such a strong target, you're doing something right.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, for sure. It's just this is this is scaring people in uh big pharma that make a lot of money from sick people.

SPEAKER_01:

When someone gets better, better goes a customer. Yep. Okay, myth number four they're just for bodybuilders or celebrities. That's where the buzz started, but now they're used for gut repair, recovery, mood, skin, sleep, and metabolic balance. Peptides aren't just about hype, they're about healing. I want to bring up one specific person, and that person is Serena Williams. Oof. Well, I'm a huge fan of tennis. I will watch tennis. I'm one day I'm gonna go to uh New York every Labor Day weekend, and you will find me and Jess, you're gonna live you live by, so you can come with me. We're gonna watch tennis for three days straight. I've done it once in the 2019, and it was like the funnest ever. You're just gonna watch tennis. So I'm I'm very familiar with tennis, the history of tennis, and these players that have been tennis pros and the top of their game, top of the world for years, and Serena Williams fits just that. In fact, I would guess that I would say 85% of the population would say that Serena Williams is the best female athlete of all time. That said, she's always been heavy. She's had thick, thick, yeah, muscle, strong, like completely opposite of her sister, Venus, who's this tall stupid twig, right? In very calm, kind, gentle manner. But I've watched her, now she's doing the commercials for uh peptide therapy, and I'm like, dang, with all the physical exercises she's done, with all of the dieting, now she's postpartum and post 20 years of being at the top of the elite of the elite of the elite, and now she's getting that ridiculously hot-toned athletic body with that.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, that body is stunning, right? That is stunning. But also, I want to add to that list of things that she has. She probably has the best trainers, the best nutritionists. Like, she has the best of the best people guiding her her whole career. And she still found these successes by using this peptide therapy. So it isn't, I really appreciate that she's out there sharing her story. Even the Kardashians who kind of as they do, and like them or not, I love the cat Kardashians, little, probably dirty little scenes. They have a platform, and that's all that it's about, is they created a platform and now they can do anything with it. Yeah. And they did so they've they've helped push this information out there, which is benefiting so many people, and I have such appreciation for that buck. Um, all right, let's find Kelly Clarkson's. Oh, yeah, she did that a long time ago. I forgot about Kelly Clarkson. I girl looks like a she's like divorce my yeah, I forgot about she just got like let loose to be free after that divorce. I think there's quite a few celebrities that have actually used these, you know. And again, these are people that have access to all kinds of professionals to help them do their thing, and yet they still needed peptide therapy.

SPEAKER_01:

So it's not the celebrities, it's like like we said earlier, it's the people next door, just like your millionaires next door. It's exactly Joe Blows, whether they're outside speaking it out loud or not, there it's what they're leaning towards. And I and I want to give you listeners permission. Like, if you've been thinking about this, they've been leaning towards it, like it's okay to go for it. It's no different than hormone therapy, you know in a manner that's going to do different things because of the different mechanisms that can help you heal in whatever ways you're looking to heal.

SPEAKER_00:

And on that note, myth number five all peptides cause weight loss. So only the metabolic peptides like GLP1s or GIPs, those are gonna directly impact appetite or insulin. Most of them, including GLP1 and GIPs, are gonna focus on repair, on inflammation, focus on longevity. Weight loss is just one piece of a much larger picture. So not all peptides cause weight loss, but they do help us heal, and they are an amazing tool to have in our toolbox.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Like we mentioned previously, you know, we talk about you started peptide therapy because of the neuroprotective components. Yeah. I mean, these are compounds that have multiple mechanisms or multi or affect multiple chemical equations in the body, and symptoms start to resolve. Whatever symptoms those are, it's up to you and in your body and the way you you utilize these. But we want to just talk briefly here that it's not this cure for weight loss. And you'll hear in future episodes, especially the story with Carly sign, is that she wasn't drinking water, she wasn't eating appropriately. That's not going like just like any other supplement, it's to supplement a healthy lifestyle. It's a supplement to have the foundation. Once you have that foundation there, like like Serena had, now it's like that little extra boost that, as Jess, you've experienced you're doing everything right.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh, I walk the talk, right? I I literally do everything right, and and it was so frustrating to see my body not responding to all of the hard work. The flip side of that is that you have a lot of people that do not have the foundations in in in place. And so they're their signaling is give me more sugar, give me more carbs, my plate is empty and I'm still hungry. Let me have a second helping. These are tools that are gonna now help you make better choices because that signaling turn is dialed down. You're now knowing when you're hungry, when you're full, um, it's knocking down inflammation. So you can make better choices because you're gonna be able to feel better and have less pain and move more. It's gonna help with your sleep, it's gonna help you make better decisions when it comes to fueling your body. It doesn't happen overnight because we now you now need to relearn how to treat your body in a healthier way. You have to overcome some of those habits, but this is a tool that allows you to easier make those lifestyle changes. It's such an opportunity to change your life because if you don't, you'll end up just as busted metabolically as you were before, if not worse. And now you won't have this as a tool in your toolbox to use anymore. So the goal is to use this as a tool to help you change your life or to be a tool. That will stack on top of a healthy life even if your body's not responding.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. The thing about this tool as a communicator is just communicating with your body to be more effective at whatever else you're doing. All right. Myth number six you'll need them forever. Especially for things like hair loss. You don't need these forever. Peptides don't make your body dependent, they retrain it. For example, GHK-CU or BPC157C. Like, why can't we not? I know the names, I know. Oh man, I feel like I'm in tech, like uh flying an airplane or something. They help improve scalp circulation and signal follicle repair. Once the area is healthier and your foundations like minerals, protein, and stress balance are dialed in, you can taper or cycle off. Peptides give your body a reset, not a lifelong requirement. That said, many people do choose to take these.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I I get this question probably the most is if I start these, will I have to take them forever? And there's no one size fits all answer to this. What I do tell people is that you might need just a small amount for a little while to cycle in, teach your body how to communicate again, use all the things because they're regenerative and they help you heal, that might be all you ever need. There's other people that might need to cycle certain peptides. So they might use them like every couple of weeks, or maybe they use them a couple weeks, take a couple weeks off, whatever it is that's right for their body. And then there are those people that will need this support for the rest of their life in a smaller dose. So if you had a big weight loss goal, maybe you lost 50 pounds, 100 pounds, or more, and you come back down to a maintenance dose, which is a microdose small amount, you might always need that for the rest of your life. But it is no different, in my opinion, than somebody whose thyroid has stopped functioning and we give them thyroid hormone, somebody with type 1 diabetes whose pancreas isn't working and they are not producing insulin any longer. Um, we don't think anything about people needing those particular hormones or peptides in the body to help them signal and do all the functions in their life. So why would we be worried about whether or not we do or we don't need them for the rest of our life? So the answer, the the short answer is I don't know. I don't know what people are gonna need forever. Some people will, some people won't. Depends on the gold, depends on the peptide, depends on their metabolic health when they went into this.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. And there is more than just GRP ones, like there's one for sexual hormone hormone, libido. Like I can't wait to talk about those. I can't wait to the end when we get into that. I think that one's gonna be a very popular one, as it should be. Yes. All right, myth number seven. You can buy them anywhere online. Huge red flag. Research only sites often sell impure or mislabeled products. We would recommend you always go through licensed telemedicine or compounding pharmacies. The source is greater than the savings. And one of the biggest questions I get asked or get told when I talk about peptides with people is I don't know who to trust. It's so noisy out there, I get it. We've got you know, if if peptides, I'm I'm trying to say this very delicately. If peptides are in the middle of a nutraceutical and a pharmaceutical, yeah, we have nutraceutical companies saying that they've got peptides in their products, who do we trust? What are actual peptides and who can you get them from? And in my both our perspectives here is when you're doing peptide therapy, just like you're working with someone who's doing hormone therapy, you need somebody helping you walk through this step by step. You would never go to some stranger or go buy uh hormone, some testosterone injections or some progesterone HRT from just any company. So why are we doing it with peptides? Am I delicately balancing that line with acting pointing specifically?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah, you are because you know, I just I I want to just reiterate to people that when you are looking at safe sourcing, you want people to be using FDA approved ingredients first and foremost. You want to know that you have resources that are going to support you because that is not the case in every person that is out there online selling. And the other part of that, too, is there will be people out there, and as we're seeing this ramp up on TV commercials, there will be companies that are out there, big companies, people, big companies that we we trust the names, that will be out there selling peptides as part of their program. First of all, it's part of their program at an introductory rate. So you see an advertised price of a peptide, and you think, wow, that's way cheaper than what Dr. Kylie and Jess were saying. Guess what? That was an introductory price. They're all going to end up at the same pretty much the same spot. They're all going to end up in the same spot financially, right? Um when somebody is not being transparent in what that full cost is, that to me is also a huge red flag. So we want safe sources with FDA approved ingredients, with good support around them, whether that just be the telemedicine doctors or the team of people like Kylie and myself that are that are helping you on the supportive end, you want to make sure that you have everything you need to have a good, safe journey and you you know what you're putting in your body. Um and please, for the love of God, if you are thinking that you're gonna go and find them online, like like we said, in a research only site, uh, Black Market, and you're gonna say, I can get this for a fraction of the price and I'm gonna mix it. Please don't. These are garbage throwaway often ingredients. They are not pure. Um, you are now compounding in your own house, which is a really scary thing to do. I had somebody recently tell me that they were doing something very similar, and they're like, oh yeah, I'm injecting myself with copper. And I thought, hold up, what are you doing? Do you know that copper is gonna like create another bigger metabolic problem in your body if you are overdoing it and now you're trying to, you know, play play pharmacist in your kitchen? Don't do it. The price is not worth the damage that you will, I promise you, will do to your body. Find the safe sources. You can get that from Kylie and myself, or the person that brought you in to listen to this podcast series, but the sourcing is always going to be greater than the savings.

SPEAKER_01:

And if you want results, go to places that will get you results. And one of the great aspects about the telemedicine platform, Jess and I are really proponents of is because one, we've searched everything out there, and two, when you need help, they're there to help you. It is a one-to-one conversation with a licensed prescribing physician who knows peptide therapy inside and out, and they are happy to help jump on a one-on-one call with you at no extra cost. Uh, jump into the chat on in your inside your patient portal. So you have some tremendous resources right there and that are available to you to help you navigate this journey because it is a journey, just as uh HRT is taking hormone therapy. Yeah. And to make sure you've got the right sources and the right support along the way.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, just a couple more real quick myths. I think we'll just get through really quick here. Um, more is better, myth number eight. Um, with peptides, actually, in my opinion, less is often more. Microdosing and patients usually um it delivers better, steady results than pushing higher doses. So I I'm a big proponent of slow and low. Um, first of all, when we go in, like putting a fire hose in on a you know, a match that's been lit is just absolutely ludicrous to me. Your body is gonna be overwhelmed, you're gonna have a lot of symptoms that aren't necessary. Your body has forgotten how to use these signals, how to listen. So if you go in there and you just try to blast your way in, you're gonna end up feeling pretty lousy and wondering why everybody's talking about these peptides, like, you know, they are the next greatest thing. Well, they are the next greatest thing, but those larger standard doses are insurance driven. It's money driven, it's not patient need driven. So, in my opinion, I think we're gonna see people are just gonna do a little bit better, starting off with amounts that are closer to what the body naturally makes, because we do naturally make them in our small intestines, um, and let our body relearn. Oh, hey, hello, there's a signal I haven't seen in a long time. Let's remember how how we get along here in this relationship. Use them slow and increase as needed. So microdose might be the only thing that you need, this tiny little amount, um, to reach your goals. I would say if it's a weight loss, if you're using a weight loss, because that's really the biggest conversation we're having, although there's so many more things. Uh, if weight loss is the goal, I would say with microdosing and staying at a microdose level, you're probably looking at if you're in the 20 to 25 pound weight loss range and lower anything above that, you probably will need to go on to some bigger doses. But that's in my opinion, best done after we've slowly introduced with this tiny little amount. So more is not better. Faster weight loss is not better because when we lose weight quickly, we're going to lose more muscle, we're gonna lose some muscle mass no matter what the approach to weight loss is. We'll always lose a small, a small amount, but we want to minimize that by not going in there and losing weight really quickly so that um we maintain our muscles and also how we appear our skin. So if we go in there and lose weight really quickly, and you talk about you've heard people talk about osempic base because their skin is now sagging and hanging, collagen production, another peptide, can't keep up with a rapid weight loss. You're losing the fat that kind of kept you with taut skin, you lose that really quick. Now your skin's hanging, but that collagen production is not able to kind of keep up and pull that skin back up. So slow, low, for so many reasons, more is not better.

SPEAKER_01:

Well said. Myth number nine they replace healthy habits. They don't work if you don't have healthy habits. Healthy habits first, like we brief like we mentioned with Serena, she'd done all the right things. Now it was just this one or two or three signals, this communication that allowed her body to show what she'd been working so hard for. And I think just that's similar with you is like you walk the walk, you talk the talk, you've done all the things right. Why do I still have this extra 20 pounds here? And I know from conversations I've had outside of this podcast with practitioners and with people who are just interested in taking the peptides themselves, is that so many of them fall into those shoes. They go to the gym, they do the healthy food, and they're still look like they haven't stepped in foot in a gym for years. Yeah. And it's more frustrating than ever because you're putting in the effort. Why are you not seeing the results? And I think that's where these peptides come into play is when you're putting in that effort, now you can see the results because of the communication that's there stimulated by the peptides. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00:

All right, last one, Kylie. Um, myth number 10: peptides are a shortcut. You hear that a lot. Oh, you're lazy. What what do you need to use a peptide for? That's just for lazy people. That's not true because, first of all, they are not magic. Um, they're not an overnight fix, they're just amplifying what you're already doing, right? So if you're doing bad things in the body, eventually that's gonna amplify the bad things you're doing in your body. If you're doing good things, they are going to blow those good things out of the water. So when you pair peptides with solid foundational habits, clean nutrition, movement, minerals, sleep, stress balance, that's when these peptides are really gonna shine. So if your foundation is in chaos, these can't continue to do the heavy lifting for you. They are wonderful, amazing tools, but they are not a magic cure for a lousy lifestyle.

SPEAKER_01:

Jess, let's let's just lay some foundation components here. Yeah, like rather than just referring to it, like what should we expect for a foundation so they can start making changes now? That way, when their peptides do arrive in the mail, they've got a strong foundation ready to go on. So what would be one thing, like let's just talk about food, for example.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, we'll we'll talk about that because I think that the some of the other foundations will correct themselves as we balance blood sugar and stuff like sleep, for example, right? Sleep can be off just because our hormones are imbalanced. We either can't go to sleep or we have kids who don't allow us to sleep. Yes. Well, there's that too, right? That we aren't we aren't gonna fix. But when it comes to foundational wellness for nutrition, number one is always going to be hydration. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, right? And so it doesn't mean that you have to suddenly go from drinking 10 ounces of water a day to 100 ounces of a day. We want to slowly work our way up. The goal would be half our body weight in ounces of water. I will take it whatever way you can get it to me, whether you're gonna put some.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, if I let's do the math real quick. If I'm a hundred, say I'm 130 pounds, which is I'm probably around there. I haven't weighed myself in a long time. 130 pounds divided by two would be 65. Yep. So I need 65 ounces of water. Yep. Okay, well, as of 2 p.m. this afternoon, I've probably had maybe 25.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, you are behind. Yeah, you're behind. Um, and the other thing is in order to use that water, we want a little electrolytes or a pinch of a healthy salt inside of there because we if we just start flooding our body with water and we don't have enough minerals in our body. The body, we're just gonna pee it out. We're not actually gonna use the body to hydrate ourselves. So that I would say is number one.

SPEAKER_01:

Say we could titrate up. So in any individual, maybe they're not drinking water at all. Yep. And they're doing more of the alternative drinks, which don't count in most cases. Say they start at 10 ounces, and then day two, we're gonna go 15, and we're just gonna kind of titrate up. Whereas, say, like for me, if I get through this 32-ounce bottle, 33.8 ounces in a day, that's pretty good for me. But I should be doing more. So if I can say, okay, if I can get through two of these, which I don't think will affect my body in any way, shape, or form, but if I wasn't drinking anything, jumping straight to 65 ounces of water, might throw me for a loop and I'd have to be going pee all the time.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, exactly. Um, so I would say that's number one. Number two, we're gonna want to prioritize a couple of things. Yes, we hear all the time, eat the rainbow, we want colorful food, and that is all very true. But where, if we were we were often taught that restriction is the key to weight loss, right? Calories in, calories out is the only model that matters. And so if we want to lose weight, we have to restrict. And there is definitely some truth to that to be in a deficit. However, um, when we're in too much of a deficit, then the body's gonna want to hold on. That said, when we are looking at a plate of food, the things we want to prioritize on that plate of food are gonna be first protein, and so we want to have, let's eat to make it simple, the the math, the actual math on this is a little different, but to make it simple, one gram of protein per one pound of ideal weight. And what I mean by that is if you currently weigh 200 pounds, but your ideal weight for your body is 130, then your target protein amount would be about 130 grams of protein per day. And I promise that most people, and they hear that number, they're like, what? How do I do that? How could I get all that food in? And there's so many ways to do that, which we won't get into. But that would be the place to start, prioritizing protein so that you're nourishing all of your organs, your tendons, your ligaments. Um, we have to nourish and our gut, we have to nourish that. That's number one. Number two would be to prioritize fiber. Now, I'm not asking everybody to go out and start writing down and weighing their food and telling me everything that they're doing, but if you start looking at your day from morning until you go to bed, all the food that you put in and you look at your fiber count, I promise most of you are way under fibered. So, women, for example, should be 25 to 35 grams of fiber per day. And most people are lucky to get to 10 to 12 if they're not actively working on that. What an easy way to be like, are you pooping every day? For sure. And most people will uh, you know how many people? I'm sure you've had this um said to you, No, I don't poop every day. I poop every three days, and I've always done that. Well, that doesn't mean that's healthy and normal and good. That might be what you've always done. And I promise that is not healthy and normal and good. We need to get your drainage funnels opened up and get you pooping every day. So, right, if you are not doing that, then we would say, Well, what's your fiber look like and your hydration? Those two things go hand in hand. That said, if you look at what your fiber intake is on a daily basis and you're only hitting 10 or 12 grams of fiber per day, and I'm telling you you should be between 25 and 35, do not tomorrow go and get 30 grams of fiber in your diet. You will hate me forever.

SPEAKER_01:

Don't go get them from things like metabucle and stuff like that. That's gonna come from the fire.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. Ideally, it's gonna come from a whole food source, but I will tell you that I do fiber supplements in my world. I do a seed fiber in the morning. Um, and at some point, if I know that I'm short in my day, I didn't get enough, I have a um a chew that I do, which is made from five ingredients. It's the it's dates and um chia seed and uh, you know, a handful of ingredients totally clean and pure. I don't rely on that, but I know on a day that I'm short, I'm putting it in. But you want to increase that fiber slowly. So if you're listening to this now and you're thinking, I want to make some changes, three changes would be increase your hydration, increase your protein, and increase your fiber.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Can I share a funny story? Yeah, yeah, I'm potty training my two-year-old. It's going really well. Second time around. The first time around wasn't so good, but she totally gets it. We've had great success the last three days. But the girl was not pooping. Oh, and we'd she'd she'd stand there and pull the poopy face and she'd squeeze her butt cheeks really tight. Mama, potty. And I'd say, okay, let's run to the potty. And we'd get to the potty and she'd hold it in. And we'd do this 10 times a day. Right. And I'm finally like, Chloe, we gotta go poop, sweetheart. It's not good for you to have poop in your tummy more than two days in a row. And we would go going on like three days was her big max. Probably took us, you know, a a week or two. Um, but over this yesterday, she went poop on her own. I just stuck her on the potty and then I walked back into the kitchen and I said, Okay, let me know when you're done. And I so she mommy done. I go in there and mom poop. So, no, you didn't. And I looked in the potty and like, oh yeah, she did. Like, yay. So this, like, this morning, her five-year-old sister decides to help her, lifts her up, sticks her on the potty, and then I can hear them both celebrating in the bathroom that she went poop. And Hallie's just in there, yeah, like celebrating all four. So if you need to celebrate when you go poop, let's celebrate it, but then let's get it to where you're regular again. And I feel like over the last two days she's been regular, but it was like a concern. I'm like buying cucumbers, I'm buying um, what did I get? I found her like a little pro uh probiotic gummy. Yep. Let's start replenishing those. So I'm like, this is a concern to me. I need you pooping every single day, otherwise, we got other problems coming down the pipeline in the next. So there you go, guys. Mist busted, our whys behind peptide, and some foundational components you should implement in your lifestyle to really maximize peptide therapy when and if you decide to get onto it. If you are curious on where to learn more, go to drkylyburton.com slash peptides. And that's whether you're interested in consuming them, starting them. Shouldn't say consuming, because we don't consume them, we just start the therapy. And then second aspect is if you're interested in providing these to your clients and creating more of the business side out of it, the business opportunity, go to peptide drkellyburton.com slash peptide. If somebody else sent you here, please go back to them and discuss with them how you should get started. And uh, we're grateful you're here. We're grateful for the support. If you have loved what you've listened to, which we hope you have, we have sure had fun creating it so far. Uh share it with your friends. In fact, blast it onto your social media because, like we've mentioned, you know have no clue who is on peptide therapy. It could be your next door neighbor, it could be your best friend, and chances are you might be next. I'm Dr. Kylie. And I'm Jessica. This is PepTalk. Peptides Unpacked. Say next time.