The Peptides and Supplements I Take Daily

What is One of the most important things I can tell you about health optimization?

After 7½ years of collegiate and continued education studying the human body, including advanced nutrition, physiology, anatomy, biology, biochemistry, and endocrinology. When people ask me, “What supplements do you take every day?” or “What peptides are you on?” they may be surprised by my answer.

And because I don’t want to be “that guy” , I will start by letting you in on my 44 year old (almost daily stack/ protocol)

Supplements:

Almost daily ( Berberine , aged garlic extract, Betaine HCL w/pepsin with protein meals, vitamin D3 and fish oil) (not as often = creatine monohydrate 5g, magnesium malate also glycinate, vitamin B1, B3, B6 and zinc ) (rarely but one x a week usually = Tongkat Ali , Nad+ , oregano extract , 5 amino 1, L arginine, ) from food I get tons of collogen and vit C along with K2 from sauerkraut which is my probiotic)

Peptides :

Reta 1 x weekly .75mg from GREY market 3rd party tested source (eat light that day and following day) BPC-157 daily 300mcg -500mcg compounded sterile pharm when I’m flared or trying to aggressively “treat” MSK injury. Thymosin beta-4 to aid in vascular/ tissue repair along withThymosin Alpha-1 at 1mg- 1.5mg 2 x weekly for immune regulation and inflammation modulation with KPV some times added in Sub Q. Also , Grey market mots-c 2x -4x monthly back to back days 2mg each doses for a RESET and energy boost. I will take sermorelin GHRH analog (compounded  sterile only) nightly for intention cycles to improve sleep and recovery 4 hours FASTED ! for me , it is the only logical way unless very metabolically healthy ALWAYS (but this is not an always Peptide) and I will use nasal Semax /selank spray intranasal daily at work (3-4 x weekly) mid day.

NOW , Here COMES the Important part below 😊

THERE are times (other than one time a week RETA) I will take absolutely nothing and feel even better than taking everything listed above .

I don’t believe your body needs to be constantly bombarded with something simply because it is beneficial.

More isn’t always better.

We have become obsessed with the idea that optimization means adding.

Add creatine.

Add berberine.

Add magnesium.

Add another peptide.

Add another supplement.

Add another injection.

Add another “health hack.”

And eventually, the stack becomes so complicated that we forget the most important question:

What is my body asking for right now?

There is a fundamental difference between giving the body a useful signal and constantly forcing that signal.

I like to think about health optimization as signal → response → recovery.

You provide an appropriate stimulus.

Your body responds.

Then you allow the system to recover, adapt, and do what it is supposed to do.

That concept applies to far more than exercise.

It applies to nutrition.

It applies to fasting.

It applies to supplements.

It applies to peptides.

And yes, it even applies to the things we consider “healthy.”

Take creatine, for example.

Creatine is one of the most well-studied and generally well-tolerated performance supplements we have.

It can increase phosphocreatine availability, support ATP regeneration, improve training performance, and potentially provide benefits beyond muscle.

So why wouldn’t I automatically say:

“Take it every single day forever.”

Because beneficial does not automatically mean necessary every day for every person.

There are legitimate reasons someone may choose continuous creatine supplementation, and there is good evidence supporting daily use for maintaining elevated muscle creatine stores.

But the larger lesson is more important than creatine itself:

We shouldn’t automatically turn every useful intervention into a lifelong daily requirement.

Sometimes the question isn’t:

“What else can I take?”

It’s:

“Do I actually need this right now?”

Berberine is another great example.

Berberine can be a powerful metabolic tool.

It can influence glucose metabolism, AMPK signaling, insulin sensitivity, and the way your body handles nutrients.

For some people, strategically using berberine around meals can be a useful tool when carbohydrate intake or post-meal glucose management is a concern.

But again:

A powerful tool doesn’t mean you need to use the tool every single day.

If your nutrition is excellent, you’re physically active, your glucose regulation is already good, and there isn’t a specific reason to use it continuously, why automatically assume more is better?

This is where individualized physiology matters.

You don’t need to take something simply because it can do something.

And then we get to peptides.

This is where I think the conversation gets really interesting.

Peptides should not become:

“What’s the next thing I can put into my body?”

They should become:

“What physiological problem am I trying to solve?”

That distinction changes everything.

A peptide shouldn’t replace sleep.

It shouldn’t replace resistance training.

It shouldn’t replace walking.

It shouldn’t replace eating enough protein.

It shouldn’t replace learning how to manage your calories.

It shouldn’t replace recovery.

And it certainly shouldn’t become an excuse to continue doing things that are actively working against your health.

In my view, one of the most valuable things about peptides is that they can sometimes become a gateway to better behavior.

Someone starts paying attention to their recovery.

They start sleeping better.

They start training consistently.

They start eating real food.

They begin tracking their metabolic health.

They start taking their health seriously.

The peptide becomes one component of a larger strategy rather than the strategy itself.

That’s a completely different mindset.

Even exercise needs an off switch.

This is something people don’t like hearing.

Exercise is good.

Exercise is necessary.

Exercise is one of the most powerful forms of medicine we have.

Yet, more exercise is not automatically more “health”.

Training is a stressor.

A controlled stressor, yes.

A beneficial stressor, absolutely.

But still a stressor.

That’s the entire concept of hormesis.

You expose the body to appropriate stress.

The body responds.

It adapts.

And you become more resilient.

But adaptation doesn’t happen because you continually beat the body down.

It happens during recovery.

There are days when I want to train hard.

There are days when the appropriate stimulus is a long walk.

There are days when mobility work is enough.

And there are days when the smartest thing I can do is essentially nothing.

That isn’t laziness.

That’s physiology.

Sometimes the best protocol is less.

This is probably the hardest concept for people who are obsessed with optimization.

They want the perfect stack.

The perfect peptide.

The perfect supplement schedule.

The perfect workout.

The perfect diet.

But the human body isn’t a machine that becomes healthier because you keep adding inputs.

It is a biological system capable of adapting, compensating, signaling, recovering, and changing its response based on what is happening around it.

So sometimes I intentionally cycle things.

Sometimes I take days off.

Sometimes I reduce the training volume.

Sometimes I eat differently.

Sometimes I prioritize sleep over getting another workout in.

Sometimes I don’t take anything at all.

And if I’m not feeling right?

That’s information.

Instead of automatically adding something to fix the feeling, I want to ask why I’m feeling that way in the first place.

Is the training load too high?

Is recovery inadequate?

Is sleep poor?

Is nutrition insufficient?

Is there too much stress?

Am I introducing something that my body doesn’t tolerate particularly well?

Or am I simply assuming that because something is considered “healthy,” my body must want more of it?

Your body doesn’t need to be constantly impressed.

That’s probably the biggest takeaway.

You don’t need to constantly stimulate AMPK.

You don’t need to constantly manipulate insulin.

You don’t need to constantly stimulate growth hormone.

You don’t need to constantly suppress appetite.

You don’t need to constantly increase performance.

And you don’t need to constantly add another supplement because someone on the internet told you that you are missing something.

Sometimes the intervention is the signal.

Sometimes the intervention is the recovery.

Sometimes the intervention is doing less.

The goal isn’t to see how many things you can put into your body.

The goal is to create an environment where your body can actually respond appropriately to the signals you’re giving it.

Nutrition.

Sleep.

Movement.

Resistance training.

Cardiovascular fitness.

Recovery.

Stress management.

Then, when appropriate, we can talk about supplements, peptides, hormones, and other tools.

Tools are valuable.

But tools should serve the foundation—not replace it.

So, back to the original question:

“What supplements and peptides do I take every day?”

Nothing.

And honestly?

I’m comfortable with that.

Because optimizing your health isn’t about doing everything every day.

It’s about knowing what to do, when to do it, why you’re doing it—and when to leave your body alone.