You’ve probably heard about peptide therapy and all the wonders it can do for your skin, muscles, hair, and overall health. But what exactly are peptides? And is peptide therapy safe?
Before you start taking peptide supplements or adding them to your skincare or training routine, we’ve gathered all the information in our top 10 FAQs on peptide therapy. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know to make an informed decision.
1 What is Peptide Therapy?
Peptides are smaller (but essential) versions of proteins your body naturally produces. They’re short chains of amino acids found in your body’s cells and tissues. When 20 or more peptides bond together, they form a protein.
Peptide therapy is a customizable treatment that uses peptides to target specific areas of the body to
- decrease inflammation,
- fight aging signs,
- promote weight loss,
- accelerate healing,
- grow muscles, and
- improve your overall health.
Treatment is available in the form of food supplements, injections, cosmetics, creams, capsules, or nasal sprays that contain these amino acids to treat specific conditions in your body.
Peptide therapy is not the same as hormone therapy, but the two can be used in conjunction with each other if your doctor recommends it.
2 What Are Peptides Used For?
As mentioned before, your body naturally produces peptides. However, aging or some lifestyle habits may contribute to a decrease in the production – or even lack – of the amino acids you need to help you lose weight or build muscles, for example.
In those cases, peptide therapy helps restore your body’s natural ability to produce human growth hormone and act as a chemical messenger to your cells. This process influences your hormonal system and improves your physical and cognitive functions.
The good news is that because peptide therapy regulates metabolism and body function and improves performance and intercellular communication, it helps to address the following conditions and more:
- Contributes to anti-aging, rejuvenating your skin
- Increases performance
- Burns body fat
- Accelerates healing and tissue repair
- Treats joint pain
- Increases lean muscle mass
- Regenerates cartilage, muscle, and nerves
- Improves your sexual health
- Increases the production of growth hormones
- Improves hormonal balance
- Boosts collagen and elastin, improving the quality of your hair, skin, and nails
- Prevents bone loss
3 Does Peptide Therapy Work?
Peptide therapy is more common than you might think.
For example, diabetic patients use peptides with insulin treatment. In addition, some medications for cancer and even some antibiotics may also contain peptides.
So, in summary, when used under a doctor’s prescription and supervision, in the proper dosage and frequency, the answer is yes, it works.
But over recent years, peptides have become widely popular, making their way to the cosmetic industry. This is not always as regulated as the pharmaceutical one (see question 4), but more and more patients are satisfied.
Why?
They’ve successfully used peptide therapy to slow their aging process or help with weight management.
Peptide therapy is therefore becoming a natural ally to wellbeing and a reference for regenerative medicine.
4 Is Peptide Therapy FDA-Approved?
In order to be approved by the FDA, peptides must be prescribed by a doctor.
However, over-the-counter peptide therapies are not FDA-approved. That’s because the Food and Drug Administration regulates cosmetics and dietary supplements under different sets of regulations than drug products.
We recommend talking with your health provider to ensure the safety and effectiveness for you of any treatment.
5 Are There Any Risks For Me With Peptide Therapy?
In general, peptide therapy has a very high safety factor.
Your body recognizes and tolerates these peptides because it naturally produces them and your cells and tissues contain these amino acids,
For most healthy people, peptides don’t present any risk. However, if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, or allergic to anything, talk to your doctor before taking peptides.
Because peptide therapy is considered safe, risks are rare, but they can increase with self-treatment misuse. Some of these rare side effects may include the following:
- Reaction in the injection site (rashes, itches, swelling)
- Fluid retention
- Headaches
- Nausea
6 Where Are Peptides Injected?
Peptides can be taken orally, in creams, nasal sprays, or injected. Injections are the most popular option because they go directly into your bloodstream, allowing your body to make better use of the drug’s bioavailability.
For most people, these injections are painless and may be self-administered using a tiny needle to insert the peptide into the body subcutaneously.
The injection site may vary – maybe your thighs, the area behind your arms, or around your belly button. You should avoid blood vessels and look for fatty tissues.
Sometimes, your doctor may recommend injecting the peptide into the subcutaneous tissue directly around the area that needs treatment.
7 How Long Does Peptide Therapy Last?
Peptides usually have a short half-life within the bloodstream, so doctors recommend daily injections or supplements (or five days a week) for at least three months.
In general, peptides are said to have a “loading” period of 3 to 6 months before you start noticing full effects and optimal treatment results. Still, you may see some benefits within the first few weeks, which will gradually increase with continued therapy.
Because your body is already familiar with natural peptides, long-term use of peptide therapy presents little to no side effects, making it an excellent alternative to synthetic growth hormones or steroids.
8 Are There Foods That Contain Peptides?
Yes. Food is a great natural source if you want to increase peptides in your body but are unwilling to take injections or supplements.
Here are some of the foods that contain natural peptides. Include them in your diet to improve your overall health:
- Fish
- Soy
- Lentils and beans
- Oat
- Flaxseed
- Hemp seeds
- Wheat
- Meat
9 How Much Does Peptide Therapy Cost?
The cost varies from provider to provider and depends on different factors. These include
- the brand and kind of peptide therapy you’re receiving,
- treatment length, and
- frequency.
But peptide injections typically cost anything between $150 to $800 per month for in-office treatments. Self-injections are less expensive, but they’re not necessarily regulated.
Some doctors provide loyalty programs, payment plans, or discounts for continued therapy. Ask your provider about payment options and costs before starting your treatment.
10 Does My Insurance Cover Peptide Therapy?
It depends on your health insurance coverage. To learn more about insurance coverage, visit our insurance FAQ.
Ready to Discover What Peptide Therapy Can Do for Your Health?
Nava can help! Schedule an initial consultation with a Nava peptide therapist to ask all your questions and get the peptide treatment that best suits your body’s unique needs.
At Nava Health, we focus on total body wellness. So – after taking your detailed medical history and doing blood tests, we’ll answer all your questions and only then prescribe the best peptide treatment to improve your health. Contact us today and let’s talk!