BPC-157 (Body Protection Compound)

BPC-157 speeds tissue repair but may feed tumors

BPC-157 promotes wound healing by boosting angiogenesis, but this same mechanism means it could accelerate tumor growth.

"If you are going to explore peptide therapeutics, I highly recommend, indeed I implore you to do so with a board-certified physician."

Bpc 157: Benefits

Oh, that one's a tripeptide formula. It's got KPV, lorazotide, and BPC.

"Can you break down what each of those are and how they work? Sure. So BPC-157, everyone's favorite peptide at the moment, if you're into peptides."

Bpc 157: Benefits

If people want to check it out, what if you had everything you needed to take control of your health all in one place?

"It's a COX-2 inhibitor, and it really just helps with inflammation. It's kind of like a turmeric and a cannabis oil combined without any of the cannabinoids and any of the things that people worry about with CBD. So I really love that ingredient as a functional filler in my products. I don't ever use things like rice flour or just cellulose as a filler in the products. I think that's such a missed opportunity when, you know, the peptides, they're only usually in microgram quantities. So you are left with, if it's a 700 milligram capsule, you're left with like 699 milligrams to do something to synergize with the peptides. And that's in every formula I do. That's what I try and utilize. If people are taking a capsule, let's just get the most out of that capsule. I know your capsules are pretty jam-packed, man. It's crazy. And the PEA, based on the effects on the endocadminoid system, would that also assist with sleep or sleep architecture? Yeah, it can definitely do that. It can also reduce your neuroinflammation levels. And because it's PEA is actually a fatty acid, it has an affinity for the brain and for the heart. So it's a fantastic one for anyone who has any cardiac inflammation, but also any neuro inflammation. So the PEA and the magnesium threonate I was using together when I was living really close to a cell phone tower years ago before I knew any better. And they really sort of helped me get through that along with things like methylene blue. Yeah, the GHK copper peptide, you sent me that one. Now, what would be the time or the reason to take that early? So GHK is one that has that low bioavailability that I spoke of, and most people will inject it, which as a copper thing to inject, it can actually be quite painful. But you take the GHK because it's fantastic for anti-aging. It upregulates a heap of your longevity genes. It helps activate your stem cells. And even if you take it orally, it will end up systemic the way I formulated it. And then it has just fantastic effects for your skin, for the stem cells of your skin, but also for the stem cells of your gut. So in maybe three or four months time, I'm going to actually be adding it to the GI repair formula because I've just found so much literature on it helping with the gut that at the moment, with that large dose of zinc, I balance it out with copper citrate. Well, I'm just going to swap that copper citrate for the GHK copper. That way I'm still maintaining a good zinc to copper balance, but we're adding a very, very functional synergistic peptide rather than just a bit of token copper to balance those ratios out. Yeah. And you have this peptide cheat sheet. And again, I'll put this at bengreenfieldlife.com slash peptide power. If people want to check it out. What if you had everything you needed to take control of your health all in one place. Welcome to life.com slash peptide power. If people want to check it out, what if you had everything you needed to take control of your health all in one place? Welcome to life network, a movement built to transform the way you live, move and connect with others. Dive into expert led courses and coaching that actually deliver results. Crush your goals with daily workouts designed for real people with real lives. Stay inspired through community chats where like-minded people keep you motivated. Take on exclusive challenges, join live events, and experience wellness like never before. Plus, get ad-free premium content and access to the best wellness podcasts, all designed to help you level up. This isn't just about fitness. It's about thriving. It's about connecting. It's about becoming the best version of you. Your journey starts now. Try it free for seven days. Inspire minds, ignite wellness, unite communities, life network. I had a Q and a episode called cheap hacksse Aging and whether or not peptides could cause cancer. Well, let's dive in and hear what I had to say. All right. The first question comes from Bay Area 1976 and M. Bogey 8000. I don't know how somebody as two people asked the question, but they figured it out beyond me. I'm a Luddite. So they say, can BPC-157 feed polyp growth in the colon due to the creation of new blood vessels? Wow. This is interesting. This reminds me of the questions I got a few months ago when the study came out showing that NAD could accelerate the growth of cancer. Turns out it's true. If you already have a preexisting tumor, in this case, breast cancer, supplementing with NAD or NR, NMN may cause tumor growth. It would mean that if you have cancer, you may want to think twice about using NAD, particularly breast cancer. Uh, this is also something that came up in that old book by, I think, T. Colin Campbell called the China Study, in which he suggested that excess protein intake could cause cancer. Well, it turns out that in rats who had been given a toxin that caused tumor growth, that once a tumor was present, a high protein diet could accelerate tumor growth and put that tumor in a pro-anabolic state. No surprises there, right? So it's kind of one of those things where does this cause cancer or does this, if you already have cancer, have the potential to cause accelerated growth? You always have to ask yourself that because the media misses that part. They're like, well, it's associated with tumor growth, so it must cause cancer. As a matter of fact, many of these things that cause cancer tumor growth in a state in which cancer is already present may actually be preventive in other cases. And we'll get into that. So for those of you who are unfamiliar with BPC-157, it's a peptide. It's technically called a pentadecapeptide. So that's a fancy term for a series of 15 amino acids held together by peptide bonds. It's also known as body protection compound. It's known as PL10. It's known as PL14736. It's known as what else? Bipicisin. It's got a lot of different names, but it's most popularly known as BPC-157. We've known about it since the early 90s. It's not found in many places, but in your gut, it actually is made as a body protecting compound. That's exactly what it does. It protects and it heals tissue. Now it's made synthetically, right? It's derived from a protein found in the human gut, but it's just one part of that protein that's naturally produced in the digestive system. So then they synthesize this peptide. So a lot of people use it for healing up tissue, for oral consumption, which the FDA has not cracked down on, by the way, they've only cracked down on the injectable version of BPC-157. But the oral version, a lot of people will use for gut issues and systemically for inflammation system-wide until the injectable version began to become less and less available. Thank you, FDA. I used to inject it into joints, subcutaneously into abdominal tissue after like a plane flight or any other situation, which I was a little bit more inflamed. And in addition to all of its beneficial healing effects, it's also a strong, and this is particularly relevant to cancer, it's a strong angiomodulatory agent. Angiomodulatory means it affects how blood vessels are made. So research suggests that BPC can help to heal tissue by increasing blood flow. And one of the ways it does this is through what's called angiogenesis and vasculogenesis. That basically means it helps to create new arteries and new veins, right? Angiogenesis, new arteries, vasculogenesis, new veins. But here's probably why my two astute listeners asked this question. Blood vessels are involved in the creation of tumors as well, right? And some researchers have speculated that by helping create new blood vessels to tissue, BPC-157 could also help supply the blood that supports cancerous tissue growth. Now, I know studies have shown that I'm aware of and that I can find that BPC-157 can actually support cancerous tissue growth, but there's a suggested mechanism of action that dictates that maybe it's helping to feed blood vessels into tumors. But then you could also look at studies that have been done on BPC's potential protective effects against cancer. So for example, if you have lesions and ulcers and stomach lining damage, and particularly schizophrenia can be found to cause damage to the stomach lining, BPC-157 can prevent those lesions from forming. And in one study, they gave mice what's called haloperidol, which forms stomach lesions, and the BPC-157 significantly reduced the size of those stomach lesions. And that means it's helping to prevent the damage to the stomach that could lead to cancerous tumors or cancerous stomach ulcers. In addition, they've shown that BPC-157 can have an inhibitory effect on skin cancer cell growth. So there's two feathers in the cap, so to speak, for BPC-157 for actually not causing cancer and in fact controlling formation of stomach cancer, skin cancer. Now it might also help to treat some of the side effects of the drugs used to treat cancer. You take a chemotherapy drug like a cyclophosphamide. Cyclophosphamide is a chemotherapy drug. It's very effective at killing cancer cells, but it has some unfortunate side effects. And one of those is that it causes lesions to the stomach. See where I'm going here? And they've actually looked at the effects of BPC-157 in rats given this cyclophosphamide chemotherapeutic agent. And they found that the rats that were given the BPC had much smaller stomach lesions than the rats that were not given BPC-157. And the researchers concluded in that study that BPC-157 is a very safe anti-ulcer peptide. Now, BPC may also, and I think the same thing about amino acids in general, be helpful in treating cancer cachexia. So cachexia is also known as wasting syndrome. Okay, this is where somebody gets cancer and they lose body mass, including muscle and fat. It can be caused by cancer. It could also be caused by AIDS. And almost half of cancer patients suffer from cachexia at some point. And cachexia is a problem because that leads to a lot of frailty complications, including death, and some estimates go as high as 20% of cancer deaths being more related to cachexia than directly to the cancer itself. However, BPC-157 could help in the treatment of cachexia resulting from cancer. Now, when you look at all the other things that BPC-157 could do, improve inflammatory bowel disease, improve the ability for ligaments and tendons to heal, for muscles to heal, for bones to heal, for skin to regrow, to regenerate spinal tissue in some studies in rodent models, but still, it has a lot going for it. It seems to be very safe. It may even help to cure periodontitis, which is a periodontal disease, basically, and wound healing, even from burns and significant skin wounds. So here's the thing. I'm not that concerned about its potential for causing polyp growth in the colon due to creation of new blood vessels. I'm not going to say that's ironclad and that we don't still have a need for long-term human clinical research on the association between any peptide, including BPC-157 and cancer. However, it's very safe. It's very simple. And I'm personally comfortable using it. I probably, if I had a tumor, would not, let's say going for my colonoscopy tomorrow and I find a bunch of polyps growing. I would probably restrict my intake of anything anabolic for a while. IGF-1 or IGF-1 precursors or peptides, BPC-157, anything that could assist with the creation of new blood vessels. I have a whole list of things I would do if I but you know, I would be having a very polyphenol and flavanol forward ketogenic based diet. And I would be doing, you know, a lot of fasting, a lot of grounding and earthing and movement and ozone and hyperbaric. And you know, there, there's a whole list of things. I had a whole podcast about cancer a few weeks ago and I'll link to that one in the show notes. Cause I went on for like 45 minutes in terms of all the different treatments out there. But anyways, long story short is I wouldn't worry that much about BPC-157. It's still available orally if you want to try it. There's a few sources out there. I still have a stock in my refrigerator of the injectable stuff. If you want to know more about the FDA cracking down on it, I have a series of videos on Instagram right now about peptides that you can go watch. They're at instagram.com slash Ben Greenfield Fitness. All right. So another great practical question from BigSexyKG. Does boiling hot coffee over collagen peptides denature the peptides at all? Boiling, well, this is relevant because a lot of people are into putting collagen in their coffee. It doesn't have to be with or without butter, right? Collagen can be put in your coffee. And a lot of people really like that because collagen can be very protective to joints. It can assist with sarcopenia that occurs with age. I have many people who are aging and who are also health enthusiasts. Mark Sisson's probably the guy who first turned me on to this. 40 grams of collagen a day. Now I do 40 grams of amino acids per day. I also drink bone broth. I do a little gelatin, obviously here and there from my massive jello projects, but collagen, it is a legitimate question because collagen supplements contain what are called hydrolyzed collagen peptides. Now hydrolyzed collagen peptides are what you get when collagen protein is broken down to smaller portions so the collagen can be easily broken down and used by the body. Now, the process uses heat for the extraction of those peptides, and that heat is typically no hotter than 190 degrees because exposing collagen peptides to higher temperatures can result in degradation. Now, although heat can render the collagen powder less useful, if you actually have collagen peptides and you want to degrade them to the point where they're no longer functional at all, you have to get above 300 degrees Fahrenheit. And if you're drinking your coffee at above 300 degrees Fahrenheit, you're a mad scientist, you have a lot of pain tolerance, or you have no skin left in your lips or your mouth. Because coffee is typically brewed at 200 degrees Fahrenheit or less. Now, if you put collagen in your coffee and you want to play it safe, only heat your hot water, if you have one of those electronic water heaters, to 190. And that'd be the safest way to go. But you got to get close to 300 to really start to make the collagen so denatured that you're not going to get any benefits out of it. Now, this is important to know because dietary collagen cannot be absorbed. It has to be broken down to individual amino acids, which are the building blocks for proteins for your body to use. And because of this, if you're just relying on collagen rich foods and chewing the knuckles off of the chicken and having some bone marrow here and there or some bone broth, the collagen is not actually broken down. It's less absorbable. It's not going to hurt you, but you're not going to get all the benefits of a broken down collagen peptide or hydrolyzed collagen. So when you hydrolyze it, it can actually increase its absorbability. And there are things like vitamin C that you can include, you know, like a match made in heaven is made in heaven is some collagen coffee and a handful of blueberries, for example, because vitamin C rich foods help to boost collagen levels. Now, you could also add vitamin C to your coffee. There's no reason you can't do that or take some liposomal vitamin C before you have your coffee with the collagen in it. Now, for the collagen to be absorbed, the proteins in it need to be denatured to alter their structure. And that puts them into a pre-digested form that allows them to be more easily absorbed. And that's done using heat. We've established it's only 190 degrees and you don't have to get much hotter than that. So long story short is it's pretty rare that you're going to be cooking with collagen above 200 degrees. But if you are making, I don't know, collagen bread or collagen casserole or collagen turkey or whatever, and you are doing higher temperatures, you are going to denature the collagen to a certain extent and render it possibly somewhat a little bit less beneficial for you. Well, hopefully you enjoyed this episode. Again, you can access all the show notes at bengreenfieldlife.com slash best of peptides. That's bengreenfieldlife.com slash best of peptides. Thanks for listening. To discover even more tips, tricks, hacks, and content to become the most complete, boundless version of you, visit bengreenfieldlife.com. In compliance with the FTC guidelines, please assume the following about links and posts on this site. Most of the links going to products are often affiliate links of which I receive a small commission from sales of certain items. But the price is the same for you, and sometimes I even get to share a unique and somewhat significant discount with you. In some cases, I might also be an investor in a company I mentioned."

Two secret compounds that speed healing dramatically

Dr. Cameron Chestnut reveals there are two compounds that speed healing dramatically, one of which increases angiogenesis (growth of new blood vessels), with extensive research done in Russia though they remain in a regulatory gray area.

"There's two compounds that speed healing really dramatically on one of them is"

Three days of recovery for every one day of treatment

Dr. Chestnut describes the remarkable recovery acceleration from these compounds, where one day of treatment provides roughly three days worth of normal recovery time during the critical first week of healing.

"It's a miracle you feel faster than I've ever seen right now. For every one day of that that you do it's worth about three days of normal recovery time in the first week."

BPC-157 limited to gut healing versus whole body repair

Dave Asprey and guest discuss how BPC-157, the famous healing peptide, is primarily effective for gut healing but may not benefit skin or deeper tissues compared to copper peptide GHK.

"But if you're talking about the whole body or skin being the largest organ in humans, it needs a lot more than just BPC-157. I don't think BPC-157 has any effect on skin at all."

BPC-157 upregulates growth hormone receptors for synergistic recovery

Dr. Seeds explains that BPC-157 increases growth hormone receptors on cells, enhancing the effects of naturally released growth hormone. Combined with GHRHs and GHRPs, this creates a platform that improves cellular efficiency for recovery and repair.

"BPC will increase growth hormone receptors on cells and enhance what you're doing with the GHRHs and GHRPs because you're trying to make the most out of these signaling agents you can."

Injectable BPC-157 near injury site vs. oral for gut health

Dr. Seeds explains that injectable BPC-157 in the subcutaneous tissue near an injury produces faster, stronger healing results than systemic administration. For gut health and microbiome support, oral BPC-157 has a much bigger role.

"If you're working on injury, BPC-157 works much better site-specific."

BPC-157 modulates cells correctly and does not promote cancer

Despite concerns that a pro-healing peptide might fuel cancer growth, Dr. Seeds explains that BPC-157 actually does the opposite. Studies show it modulates VEGF receptors in a protective direction, and it is being used to help cancer patients recover from radiation and chemotherapy damage.

"We have studies that show that where you would think giving BPC in a cancerous state would create more angiogenesis, more blood flow to a cancer, well, it actually does the opposite."

Dr. Seeds would take low-dose oral BPC-157 daily starting in his 20s

Asked what he would tell his 20-year-old self, Dr. Seeds says he would take oral BPC-157 at 250 micrograms daily, primarily for gut microbiome and cytoprotective benefits rather than injury repair.

"I would be doing it more for my microbiome and my gut, I think, than anything else. And I would be taking it orally in lower doses, like 250 micrograms daily."

BPC-157 results for acute injuries are remarkably fast

The Mind Pump hosts share personal experiences with BPC-157 for acute injuries. One host describes his Achilles injury feeling completely resolved after just a few subcutaneous injections, calling it "scary how effective it is."

"Chronic type of injuries, that's a little different ballgame. That's where you got to use other combinations. Because you also might not be addressing the root. Like maybe that's a little different ballgame. That's where you got to use other combinations. Because you also might not be addressing the root. Maybe it's a movement pattern or something. Yeah, there's just a lot of other aspects of chronic injury that you got to address. And there's more of the immune side that's come into this picture with chronic injury. Immune cells play a big role. So BPC doesn't have quite the effect on the immune part of metabolism like things like thymusin beta-4 or thymusin alpha-1 or thymulin or epitalon or things that have an impact on the immune system where you've got to address that first or you're never going to get through that chronic problem. Got it. So chronic chronic issues then you'll combine them type of deal yeah yeah we've we've i you know i'm using it now adam had a quad injury that keeps reoccurring he used it on his quad and he used it first on my achilles it was it worked so well it was scary it worked like i when i did my achilles i was so nervous to sprint run do anything i could feel felt off didn't feel right even after it healed and so uh i finally got the bbc one this was a couple years ago and i mean it was only a few shots into using it and it felt like there wasn't an injury anywhere which scared me i was just like it can't be that good already like so but it does yeah it's it so it's scary how effective it is. Yeah. I think that's where it's made its mark is in the acute side of being able to see what it can really do."

BPC-157 mechanisms -- angiogenesis, anti-inflammation, and tissue healing

Dr. Rosenblum reviews BPC-157's preclinical mechanisms: angiogenesis via VEGF and nitric oxide pathways, anti-inflammation signaling, enhanced healing of tendons, ligaments, muscles, and nerves, and cytoprotective effects under ischemic conditions.

"BPC-157 demonstrates pleiotrophic biologic effects in preclinical models, including angiogenesis via the VEGF and nitric oxide pathways, anti-inflammation signaling,"