This episode explores the differences between research peptides and pharmaceutical peptides, highlighting that although they are chemically identical, pharmaceutical versions tend to be more expensive due to regulatory factors. There’s an emphasis on personal preference regarding trust in the FDA, with a preference for research peptides from specialized labs that focus solely on peptide production.

Potential dangers of using GLP-1 drugs, such as Semaglutide, are also discussed, particularly the risk of muscle loss, which can lead to metabolic issues and weakened physical function. The importance of understanding metabolic chemistry and prioritizing fat loss over weight loss is stressed, with a recommendation to focus on macronutrients rather than calories for better health outcomes.

Highlights of the Podcast

00:04 – Difference Between Research and Pharmaceutical Peptides

02:35 – Peptide Manufacturing Preferences

04:42 – Dangers of Muscle Loss with GLP-1 Drugs (Semaglutide)

09:02 – Glucagon and Diabetes Management

11:47 – Calories vs. Macros

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:00:04] All right. So we’re going to talk a little bit more about Peptides. We got a couple of questions out. What is the one that I’ve gotten? Because what is the difference between a research peptide and a peptide from pharmacy? Chemically, nothing. The the bit the big difference is that if you go through the pharmaceutical route, they’re usually can be more expensive because there’s a lot more regulation and a lot more demand on that, which is fine if you’re a pharmacy guy and you’re like, I like pharmacy staff, that’s my the great I, we’ve got that. We can do that. That’s fantastic. That’s not what I’ve been taking for the past year. I’ve been taking research peptides. So I think the big issue on that one is how much faith do you have in the FDA, in the pharmaceutical industry? A lot of medical guys I have substantial faith in the pharmaceutical industry and the FDA because that was part of their education. And that’s cool. That’s fine. Like there’s a lot of benefit to the regulations of like that. I’m not saying that it isn’t a good thing, I just think it’s unnecessary as a as a chemist guy, as a chemical guy, it’s not real hard to make chemicals do what they’re supposed to do. Like you get the machines that put it all together, you get the components, you mix them all together. That’s kind of how it is.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:01:27] The idea that only a place that is FDA and pharmaceutical. You know industry approved can make something that’s beneficial is, I think, silly because there’s a lot of places all over the world that make this stuff that they make great stuff and they’re not. They’re not licensed by the FDA. Having said that, you still got to look at your staff, make sure the claims are good, make sure the chemistry is good, make sure the made a place that’s great. And, you know, it kind of comes down to your personal preference. I, I personally as again, someone who values chemistry and likes a lot of chemistry, I want the people who are doing the same chemistry every single day, like a lot of these research peptide manufacturers and there’s lots of them. Well that’s all they do. All they do every day is make peptides. You know, they might not make, you know, the small one or the semaglutide, you know, all day, every day. I might I might make it, you know, every other day. But all they do is make peptides. A lot of these small compounding pharmacies that are FDA approved and good to go pharmacies.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:02:35] So these guys make peptides 2 or 3 times a month, you know, So I like the guys here. That’s all they do. Like, you know, that’s their thing. They just make these peptides, you know, if you’re doing 75 other things, you know, I’m not saying that, you know that he’s come out and pharmacies aren’t great. I’m sure a lot of them are phenomenal. Like I said, Megan, this stuff, once you know how to make it, it’s not super difficult. I mean, if you’ve made 45 cakes, you don’t have to look at the recipe anymore. You know, you’re going to make a cake. You know, there’s lots of rest, there’s lots of ingredients, but you know how to put them together. You know what? It makes me happy now, Like, I got to wait five minutes for that. Don’t wait five minutes and say the recipe for. But I’ll wait five minutes. It doesn’t set out right. You know, you figure that stuff out as you go along, the more cakes you make. And so that’s kind of where I’m you know, if you all you’re doing all day long is making peptides, I’m good with it regardless of, you know, if you get the blessing of the federal government but that’s me if you guys are, you know, you need the blessing of the federal government. And I’m not saying that’s right, wrong or indifferent, I’m just saying that’s not where I’m at.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:03:39] You know, the the the FDA has been really, really wrong way too many times for me to trust them. So, again, that’s me as far as as far as use my big issue with a lot of this stuff is not really the peptide, it’s not the tool, it’s how it’s being used, you know, the metabolic function. So similarly, let’s, let’s go with the JLP ones. Like that’s the easiest one. It’s the best example. When you’re using a GOP one, you have to understand what they’re doing. And my big issue is that if you start talking to people about how the body runs on calories, you shouldn’t be listened to and you should not be able to use GOP ones because GOP ones are glucagon. If you don’t know what glucagon is, you don’t then understand the metabolic chemistry that’s going to happen. When you activate glucagon receptors, you’re going to hurt people, which is what we see over and over and over again. And if you’re if you’re focusing on weight loss, you’re obviously focused on the wrong thing. You need to focus on fat loss because muscle weighs stuff something, too.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:04:42] And what we’re seeing with a lot of people is that in the research shows this, you know, the vast majority, 40 to 50% of the weight that is lost is muscle mass. Well, here’s the problem with that. Your metabolism is in your muscles. So if you lose 50% of the weight, that you lose muscle mass, you’ve just lost a giant amount of your metabolism. So what happens when you come off as an igloo tide or the big over or whatever you’re taking? You know, this is appetizers. When you come off those things, you’re going to get really fat really fast because the things that are recreating the metabolic function are gone. The muscles in the mitochondria and everything are gone. The other problem we get into is that we’ve seen a lot of damage, a lot of injury I’ve been seeing. I’m always the guy who gets in all the fun stuff because my my doctor buddies know that I’ll spend the time on it because it makes me it gives me a puzzle and I like it. And they’re like, yeah, all of the medical guys are there. They’re fee for service. I mean, they’re free for time, so they got to get you out in like five, ten minutes. Like, doesn’t matter what your problem is. You got to get out there and see the next person.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:05:42] And that’s not how I work. So they’ll send me the stimulus people. And I keep getting people who are like, Yeah, I have this weird nerve thing where I can’t stand up anymore or it’s really hard or I’m unstable, I’m wobbly, it’s hard to walk. My balance is problematic. And so you start going through all the stuff, right? You’re like, All right, we’re gonna look at the stimulus, we’re going to look at blood flow, we’re look at nerve function, we’re looking all this stuff. And when I finally just start to do when they come in to me, I’m like, you been on any job? He wants me on Semaglutide or work over here. And they’re like, Yeah, what’s happening is the vast majority of people, especially people who are not eating, who don’t exercise, who don’t eat very well, who are needing the GOP ones, what’s in them happening is that their standard amount of muscle is just enough to get through life. So the I have to be able to stand up from the toilet and walk away. Like that’s that’s as good as there’s this are functional mobility is if you lose 5%, 6%, let alone 50%, we lose 5% of your the way that losing the muscle mass.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:06:46] It’s gonna be harder for you to stand up and walk away from the toilet and remember all the musculature in your body, your low back core, all that type of stuff is weak. And a lot of people like, I don’t think that there’s a big argument that the mass vast majority of people have a weaker core than they should in the US. Well, if you then remove muscle from the core, guess what? It’s gonna be even weaker. And so we have balances usually of coordination issues, we have desk issues, we’ve got pain issues, we got hip issues, which translates to knee issues. And so we have all these issues coming up because we are losing their muscle mass from not understanding how these things work. So again, when you activate these pathways, your body stops bringing in sugar from the outside and starts making its own sugar. It makes the sugar from proteins. Well, guess where your protein stores are in your muscles. So what ends up happening is it rips apart the muscle tissues to get access to the protein, to make more sugars, to keep your brain alive. And that’s what’s going on. You have to understand that it changes the way your body absorbs things from your food. It also changes the way your body utilizes things once it’s in.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:07:54] And so that’s where a lot of this stuff comes from. Now, again, if you understand these pathways, you can use them to lose fat, build muscle, gain massive amounts of health because you can. Here’s one of the biggest issues we get into with these things is that they are a godsend to diabetics because it’s glucagon, which shuts off insulin. And the whole point of trying to fix diabetes is to control regain control of insulin function. And so that’s the big piece now. And people talk about this all the time. They’re like, yeah, diet, you know, Alzheimer’s and dementia is diabetes. Three. Isn’t that weird? No, it’s not the mechanism that drives sugar from the blood into the brain. The glut one receptor is insulin dependent. Well, here’s the thing. If you’re diabetic type two, most of the time you have giant levels of free fasting insulin. Well, here’s the problem. Even if your blood sugar is, quote unquote. Okay, let’s say it’s 100 and you know, you have high fasting insulin, that high blood sugar, which is okay for the blood. Not saying it’s not okay for blood. 100 is fine for the blood.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:09:02] What ends up happening is it starts trickling into the cerebrospinal fluid around your brain. The sugars around your brain are supposed to be 55 to 60. So you can understand that if one is 101 is supposed to be 55 and you have this little gate that’s pouring sugar in, it’s going to start raising the sugar on the other side. And that’s what gives us dementia and Alzheimer’s, lots of us. So that’s the issue. Well, with GOP ones, if you use them properly with diet and exercise and all the other stuff, the testosterone and the nutrients and all the stuff, what ends up happening is that you shut off functionality of insulin, bringing down the resting, fasting, insulin levels, decreasing the bleed from the blood sugar into the brain sugar. And so that’s one of the ways that you can use these things if you know how to use them. The problem is, is that, again, a lot of people don’t know the metabolic chemistry of glucagon function and that type of thing. So that’s the issue we’re getting into. And so that’s really where my push is coming in is, you know, I don’t care where you get the stuff, you want it from a pharmacy and you want it from, you know, a little bit cheaper option. It’s easier to get fine. I don’t really care. Like I said, I don’t use this stuff for my pharmacies and I have multiple pharmacies that I can call up and get, you know, great prices on. I don’t use them because I like this stuff better. Again, that’s me. You guys make your own decision. But I know how to use them. And that’s really the big thing.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:10:27] So, you know, I’ve been trying to teach people how how the body works and metabolic function works, how you get away from the calories issue. You get more of the macro function and actually understand the chemistry behind what fiber does. News flash doesn’t get in the body, so it should never be counted. How sugar works Direct path to fat and that protein works activates glucagon burns fat. Okay. Real high overview on those. You need to start looking at the macros and the chemistry and not the calories because calories are kind of nonsense. They don’t. There’s no standard in a whole podcast. You guys watch. I spent lots of time going to 40 minutes long, but that it’s on the X, it’s called the case against calories. But, you know, that’s where a lot of this is, you know, So you any other questions? Hit me up Drop in the comments questions at Chalmers. One second. Yes. Have a good day. Thanks for your time.

As always if you have any questions, please send them to [email protected]

Check out Chalmers Pillarsofwellness.com for Wellness updates! And ask me any questions you have at [email protected]. I answer all of them and look forward to hearing from you.

The Chalmers Wellness Stubstack just launched. Comment, Like, and Interact with other people on their wellness journey. Communities can make a difference.     DrChalmers.substack.com

Dr. Matt Chalmers

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only. Before taking any action based on this information you should first consult with your physician or health care provider. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions regarding a medical condition, your health, or wellness