5HT: 5 Healthyish Things, including peptides and a $175 banana

Buckle up, because we’re talking about peptides. Ever heard of them? 😂

Basically, peptides are short chains of amino acids that act as tiny messengers in your body. They help your cells talk to each other, passing li’l notes like “grow,” “repair,” or “calm down.” Some occur naturally (like insulin or oxytocin), while others are made in a lab. Taking a peptide is like telling your body “hey, do more of this,” amplifying signals your body already understands.

Annnnd these tiny messengers are having a moment.

Dozens of peptide startups are seemingly launching overnight. Hims is pouring capital into its peptide pipeline. Noom bought a compounding pharmacy as it considers a move into peptides. A peptide platform I advise (more on them below) just announced a major fundraise round. Even the FDA is weighing whether to reclassify previously restricted peptides. As Grant Hesser says, “get ready for Allbirds Peptides.”

But when people ask me, “What do you think about peptides?” I’m still figuring out my answer. 🤷‍♂️

On one hand, GLP-1s are peptides. And GLP-1s are, legitimately, one of the most important drug classes of the last 50 years. 

That confidence comes from decades of mechanism research, massive placebo-controlled trials, meaningful weight loss and cardiovascular outcomes, and new indications popping up every month—from addiction to depression. So when Huberman or Hyman says peptides are the future, GLP-1s are probably why they can say that with a straight face. 

GLP-1s also did something culturally important: they normalized self-injection. Once millions of people were comfortable injecting a weekly medication, the door cracked open for a much bigger peptide economy. 💉

Buuut the rest of the peptide universe is a li’l different.

A lot of what’s being sold comes from research chemical suppliers, with labels like “for research use only” or “not for human consumption.” Some are manufactured overseas in unregulated labs. (At one point, even Amazon sold fake peptides.)

When something is so unregulated, we should always question quality. 

One lab found about a third of the peptide products it analyzed failed basic quality checks, often because the substance wasn’t what the label claimed, the purity fell below the lab’s threshold, or the vial contained more or less than the stated dose 👎. Another lab found 17% of peptide samples contained detectable levels of heavy metals above USP safety limits.

And yet, people are all like:

Sure, some anecdotal evidence is compelling. And I get why people are curious. But peptides should probably be a later-line experiment, not your first stop. If you’ve done the basics, understand the risks, and still want to experiment on the edge, I respect that. 

But ordering a peptide stack on the gray market because a podcast host or neighbor (or even newsletter writer!) said it was the key to longevity? That’s where I get concerned 😬. Even Bryan Johnson promotes caution. (As usual, Eric Topol’s piece is a must-read, too.)

My takeaway: It’s very plausible some peptides eventually prove to be legitimate, trusted, GLP-1-level breakthroughs. Buuut it’s also very plausible some do nothing—and some hurt people. Ultimately, we don’t know yet. 

Zooming out, I think a lot of what's happening here isn't really about peptides at all. 

It’s Americans voting with their wallets to exit an extractive, expensive, and broken healthcare system. They want agency. And they don’t want to wait around for a system that hasn’t exactly earned their trust. And sure, it’s a liiittle ironic some people who didn’t want to get vaccinated are now sticking themselves with research peptides 🤷‍♂️. But it’s also consistent with the idea that people want their health in their own hands—and not trusting the government or Big Pharma to tell them what to do (just Joe Rogan, jk).

If it turns out that peptides help more people get healthier for cheaper, that’s a win 🤝. But for now, I’m watching the category closely, staying curious, and mostly sitting it out.

Who’s who in the peptide world? Let’s meet a few of the main characters.

📺 The One Where Everyone Tries to Heal Faster

BPC-157 is basically the cult-favorite peptide of the Recovery Bro corner of the internet. And while animal/lab research suggests it mayyy support tissue repair, human evidence is, er, not exactly convincing. A systematic review found mostly low-level evidence and no clinical safety data, and the main human study for knee pain is tiny, retrospective, and uncontrolled. A related recovery peptide, TB-500, raises another flag: in animal experiments, it accelerated dormant tumor growth. Not great 😬. 

📺 The One With the Narrow Approval

Tesamorelin has one narrow FDA approval, buuut it’s being used off-label in healthy individuals to reduce abdominal fat, improve muscle mass, and improve cognitive health. (Closely related is Sermorelin, which was previously approved but discontinued in 2008.)

📺 The One With the Injectable Tan

Melanotan II has earned the nickname “Barbie Drug” and is in heavy rotation on TikTok by influencers. Buuuut it’s not without its risks. And while Dave Asprey has touted this one, medical professionals are jumping on TikTok to counter the hype. 

📺 The One Where Beauty Meets Biohacking 

GHK-Cu copper peptides are a star in the skin longevity chat. Your body naturally produces copper peptides, but levels decline with age, which helped bring this one onto the biohacking scene. There’s some compelling in vitro and in vivo evidence, but, like with most peptides, the human case is still underbaked.

📺 The One With The Peptide Stack

There are a tonnnn of “peptide stacks” out there, but one of the most talked about online is the GLOW/KLOW stack. It’s all up in the beauty scene as a “modern skin savior,” promising to help momfluencers everywhere glow up ✨ (literally). The GLOW stack combines GHK-Cu, BPC-157, and TB-500 all in one. Closely related is the KLOW stack, which adds KPV, a peptide touted for its anti-inflammatory properties.

My take: If you're going to explore peptides, go through a physician-supervised source from FDA-registered compounding pharmacies that actually test for purity and sterility. 

And I’ve got just the suggestion! 😄 

I think the hardest part of the peptide boom is knowing where to go. So if you are going to explore peptides, I highly recommend doing it through Protocole. 

Protocole is a modern peptide platform that combines premium-grade compounds with physician oversight, annnd they just announced a $6M seed round 💵. I’m also a proud advisor! I signed on with Protocole because they clearly saw the inflection point early and are approaching it the right way. 

With demand rising but without better options, people will likely end up in one of two places: 1️⃣ sketchy online channels or 2️⃣ wildly expensive elite clinics. Protocole is building a safer, more consistent, clinically-guided path for people who want more from wellness but don’t want to play peptide roulette.

I also know the founders—Delphine (a must-follow on LI) and Cindy (a must-follow on TikTok)—personally and trust them deeply. Plus, they’re two very cool women with deep experience in longevity, which I appreciate in a space currently overflowing with peptide bros.

It's been fun figuring out how to build a differentiated brand in a space that is blowing up. And I’m excited for what’s next 🚀.

Okay, enough about peptides!

Skincare brand The Ordinary recently launched a fake grocery-style pop-up taking aim at overinflated beauty pricing, absurd luxury-coded product names, and the influencer economy that makes a $10 moisturizer sound like Poseidon personally cold-pressed it.

It’s called The Markup Marché, and it’s rolling into six cities with satirical “wellness” products like the All-Natural Magical Energy-Boosting Bar (also known as a banana 🍌) for $175.90.

You can alsoooo snag:

🥑 100% Natural Glow-Enhancing Vitality Orb (also known as an avocado): $305.90
🥥 Exotic Thirst-Defying Hydration Vessel (also known as a coconut): $195.50
🍊 Glow-Amplifying Vitamin C Capsule (also known as an orange): $266.66
🍋 Photon-Enhanced Citric Acid Capsule (also known as a lemon): $190.00

I think it’s hilarious. Props to their marketing team. 👏

Mother’s Day is this Sunday and, if I’m honest, it’s always a bit bittersweet. 

I love celebrating my amazing wife and helping our girls craft their Mother’s Day gifts. Buuut I still find myself getting sad on that day because I effectively lost my Mom to Alzheimer's about 10 years ago. She’s still with us, but she’s also not, and accepting that never gets easier 😔. 

Lately, I’ve been seeing a growing number of brands allow customers to “opt out” of Mother’s Day campaigns, and I think that’s great. It can be a really heavy day for a lot of people, and being reminded of it in your inbox every year can really take a toll.

Of course, mothers—and motherhood—deserve to be celebrated, but I also think there’s room to be honest about how complicated the day can feel. This weekend, I’ll hold both truths: I’ll miss my mom and I’ll celebrate my wife.

And if part of your weekend includes celebrating someone, and you’re still looking for a last-minute gift (no shame!), maybe skip the panic chocolate and consider something that supports her health and well-being.

Some healthyish options that get my full backing: 

Directions: Copy, paste, and fill in the prompt below to luxury-code your weekday meals—a la The Ordinary. (Imagine serving your wife scrambled eggs and calling it “Cloud-Whipped Golden Protein Curds” 😂.)

👋 Who are you again? I’m Derek Flanzraich—founder of two venture-backed startups in Greatist (👍) and Ness (👎). I’ve worked with brands like GoodRx, Parsley, Midi, Ro, NOCD, and Peloton. I now run Healthyish Content, a premium health content & SEO agency (among other things).

Every Thursday, I share 5 health things I feel strongly about so you can live healthyish. (Disclaimer: I’m more your friend with health benefits. None of this is medical advice.) Also some links are affiliate links, but they influence my decisions zero.

Oh, you also feel strongly about some health things? Hit reply—I’d love to hear it.