Peptide BPC-157 - Does It Work? Breaking Down the Evidence and the Hype

Everyone is taking peptides >> and it works for everything. >> Are you taking one? >> I'm not taking one. >> Me neither. >> Okay. So, we're going to break it down what a peptide is, especially BPC157, one of the most common ones. We're going to talk to you all about what it is, how it works, why people are taking it, why maybe you shouldn't take it from A to Z. >> And most importantly, the evidence that supports or doesn't support taking peptides. >> Welcome to Talking with Docs. I'm Dr. Brad. >> I'm Dr. Paul Peptidza. >> Paul Peptidza. Okay. So, we're not doing peptides. No. >> Um, what what is a peptide? >> A peptide is a little piece of a protein. Okay, we've talked about proteins before, the sequence of amino acids that are coded through your genes, your DNA, right? >> And a peptide is just a small piece of that, >> right? And and what's what's interesting is that the peptide market has really exploded, particularly in the last kind of five to 10 years. And this one peptide BPC-157 has really grown in popularity over the last five or six years mostly because of social media hype, wellness centers, the the pursuit of biohacking. Like that's our that's our world. People are looking for an easy way to get a good benefit without maybe doing some of the heavy lifting. >> And it sounds cool. BPC57. >> It does sound cool. >> It's one of what there's probably about seven or eight thousand different peptides. So many and ones that you might recognize that have been proven and are used all the time are things like insulin, glucagon, vasop prein. There are a lot of collagen peptides used in the health and wellness like skin market. So there are there are recognized peptides that are good for your health for sure, >> right? Just a piece of protein. Now in specific, this BPC157 is toted to be the be all end all peptide. >> Be all end peptide. That's what they used to call it. >> Yeah. >> And and so where did it come from? So this is a small piece of a compound called body protective compound. That's the BPC, >> right? >> Um and this is a 15 amino acid segment of this that normally is found naturally in our stomachs, >> right? >> So the thought is that it was designed to protect our intestinal lining from the harsh acidic conditions of our stomach. And that's where a lot of the research started in the early 1990s in Croatia where they identified this and we're looking into inflammatory bowel diseases and ulcer care and that kind of thing. And to be fair to BBC57, there is a lot of like in vitro, so out of body testing and some animal testing that shows, well, hey, it does look like it repairs tissues like tendons and ligaments and muscle. >> It does look like it can contribute to angioenesis or making new arteries, making new blood vessels that's needed for healing, >> right? >> It does look like it can do some phenomenal things in the lab. >> Yes. >> And even a little bit in animal studies. Unless you're a rat, you probably can't kind of extrapolate this data. But yes, the main issues, yeah, for sure, are growing new vessels and reducing inflammation. Those are the two. And even potentially some cell migration stuff where it takes the cells that are needed to heal and it kind of says, "Hey, come over here. Do some work over here." >> Okay. Now, do we have time to go through all the human studies that have shown benefit? >> We sure do. Let's dive in. Randomized control trials of BPC57. Okay. Let's talk about trial number one. >> Uh, no. because there were zero >> no really well done human clinical trials that show efficacy or show that it works or show that it does anything. There was a phase one trial. >> Yep. Showed that no one essentially died or had severe adverse effects >> on the shorter term. >> Yes. >> But certainly no long-term adverse outcome data is out there. >> No. There was that knee trial. >> Yes. a small knee trial about 12 people where they injected BPC157 into some arthritic knees and I think seven of the 12 people said hey my knee feels better >> compared it to saline >> right >> so not a great trial and then like you said lots of mouse lots of rat data lots of cell tissue culture data >> so no good human data that says this does anything so if you're using it you're going based off rumors and things your friends told you that it works or Tik >> Tok so there are two trials that are registered And these are for oral, not injectable versions of BP157 for inflammatory bowel disease. So there are a couple they're not done. No data is reported. So but this is for kind of its intended use in our body. This is where it's found. So it kind of makes more sense. Hey, if it's found here, maybe we should try to use it here. Because in my mind, our bodies are really smart. I I'm amazed at what we're able our bodies are able to do on a daily basis. Don't you think that if BP BBC57 was able to go and heal a tendon, don't you think our bodies would be able to figure that part out? >> Yeah. >> Or wouldn't someone do a trial where they go to an injured tissue, take an aspirate or tissue sample and say, "Hey, is there any BPC57 here?" >> Right. That' be a reasonable start to a human clinical study. However, to our knowledge, that has not been done yet. >> Right. And so so how how are people getting this stuff? Like how how is it possible? >> Well, it's easy because it's FDA approved. It's Health Canada approved. It's approved by all athletic agencies, isn't it? >> Uh, no, no, no. So FDA and Health Canada say this is not approved for a use in humans. >> Um, WADA, so the World Anti-Doping Agency has put it on a list of banned substances for performance. So if you're using this and you get caught, you will be disqualified >> for anytime, not even for per not even for your for the event, also for leading up to the event or training or anything like that. So, so that's and some people think maybe that's why people want to use it. They're like, "Hey, you know, don't smoke. So, what does a kid go out do wants to go try smoking or drinking or whatever." >> Reverse psychology. >> Reverse psychology. Um, and what they can do though, the way that supplement or these companies, bio um hacking companies are getting around this is that if you put for research purposes only, >> then you can sell it. >> But if you get caught selling it for clinical use in humans, that actually is illegal, >> right? And that is whenever you have this sort of market, black market of stuff, there's going to be people out there who want to make money. Sure. Right. And that's a great way to make money if you're selling stuff on the black market. >> This is for all the people that say, "Oh, big pharma, big pharma. Big pharma. [laughter] >> This is big black market." >> Big black market, >> right? That's how people do want to make money. That's just the way we're even though it's not altruistic. >> We see that in pharma. And so this is a great marketing tool because you can say whatever you want because you don't have to prove it. >> That's the first thing. The other thing is you don't have to regulate or prove even how much BPC157 is even in the vial. And this is this is an injectable thing. So like a it could be contaminated. >> It could be unsterile. Yeah. >> Um the injection could be a problem. So people typically are injecting it at the site. It has not really been even uh surmised even in social media that people are injecting it like intravenously to go to go to site. They're injecting it right at the area of problem. >> Yeah. >> Um but that that's has all of its own unique dangers. And let so let's say you're lucky enough to get a pure form that isn't contaminated with something else and isn't going to give you a rip roaring infection when you inject it in or do some serious damage. >> Just in theory, the fact that it has the ability to regenerate tissue and accelerate healing of tissue. >> On the flip side of that coin is carcinogenesis because that's exactly what cancer is. It's it's tissue growing fast out of control. Blood vessels coming in out of control. If you have an agent that facilitates that, you always worry, well, is that going to also cause cancer, >> right? You're like, "Oh, you're just fear-mongering. You just don't want us to have this because you want to do surgery on all these injuries." >> No, we're just smartongering. We're trying to empower you to make an informed decision. So, if you're using it, you should probably stop. If you're thinking about using it, don't. >> And and the problem is, unfortunately, some of the problems that you just mentioned about about cancer growth and that kind of stuff might not show up for years. >> Yeah. That's a long-term complication or adverse event that certainly these studies that the few studies have been done have not looked at the long term. >> Right? So, so what do you tell someone say, "Listen, I've had this nagging rotator cuff injury. I'm 24. I want to get shred. >> Is it shred or shredded?" >> Shredded. I want to get swole. I want all of it. >> Okay. All right. Well, >> but but I I'm I'm I really I bought some I got a pretty clean needle, I think, and I think it's in a pretty clean vial. I'm injecting this stuff in my shoulder. >> I would say don't. Yeah, there's no evidence to show that this is going to help you in any way. Remember, you may have talked to a friend who did this. Remember, the placebo effect is about 30%. So, even if they injected nothing, >> there's a 30% chance they're going to say it helped them. >> I think on social media it's 50%. >> Placebo or way higher. >> So, the it is an issue. Obviously, if you have an injury or something like that, see your healthcare provider. >> Yes. consider proven things like physiootherapy potentially even maybe even PRP as there is some growing evidence for soft tissue stuff maybe that that might be appropriate anti-inflammatories rest you know bracing that kind of stuff like stick with the stuff that's proven >> commonly it's it's kind of like there's no free lunch or you always have to pay your taxes one of those kind of sayings there's really no way to kind of hack your way through this >> not yet anyways and certainly not with VPC57 okay there are risks associated with it there's no proven benefits So the risk benefit ratio tips in the side of risk as opposed to benefit on this one. >> But I would still request if you are taking this, if you know someone that's taking this, please share a comment, share your experience, let us know what you think about it, >> tell us how it changed your life. >> And if you like this video, please like it, subscribe to our channel, share with someone that you know is thinking about taking a peptide that might not be proven. >> And remember, you are in charge of your own health and you're in charge of whatever you inject in your body. There you go. We'll see you next time.