Seven Peptides. Seven Jobs.

Inspired by the Beyond Biohacking Conference — The Skinny on Peptides (pun intended)– Part 2

By Lori Finlay, NP, CNS

This is Part 2 of a three-part series on peptides. If you missed Part 1 — including why the foundation has to come before any peptide conversation — start there first. Click HERE.

The overview of peptide categories in this blog was inspired by the presentation of Dr. Elizabeth Yurth, MD at Dave Asprey’s Beyond Biohacking Conference. The GLP-1 and Retatrutide sections reflect my own ongoing clinical study and research.

Quick recap from Part 1 

Peptides are the icing. Not the cake. They will not outperform a poor diet, a stressed nervous system, or a body full of toxins. Build the foundation first.

Now — let’s talk about what each one does.

I want to start where my own study started.

Start Here: Insulin Is a Peptide

Most people do not know this.

Insulin is a peptide. It is made of 51 amino acids — the building blocks of protein. It is one of the most studied peptides in human history. And one of the most life-saving.

Why does this matter?

Because peptides are not a fringe biohacking experiment. Your body runs on them. It always has. The conversation we are having now is about restoring the ones that decline as you age.

Insulin was just the first one science identified. There are thousands more.

With that in mind — here are seven your body is likely running low on. [1]

The Peptide That Changed My Mind

Okay, I have to be honest with you.

I was not an early fan of GLP-1 medications.

I kept seeing women skip the hard work — the food, the movement, the lifestyle changes — and use these medications as a shortcut. And shortcuts in health always have a price.

So yes, I was skeptical. I shared that opinion with my clients and my colleagues.

Then the research changed things for me. Not the weight loss data — the longevity data.

What GLP-1 Actually Is

GLP-1 stands for glucagon-like peptide-1. Your gut makes it naturally after every meal. Production fades with age — without warning, without symptoms you would notice.

GLP-1 does not just manage hunger. It protects your brain. It strengthens your heart. It reduces liver fat. It calms inflammation — system-wide swelling at the cellular level. It modulates your immune system. I love how Dr. Yurth phrased this – 

“GLP-1 is your gut’s master metabolic peptide. Weight loss is the side effect. Longevity is the headline” — Dr. Elizabeth Yurth, MD [1]

In research, GLP-1 medications have shown a 40% reduction in major cardiovascular events — independent of weight loss. [4] They reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. They lower liver fat. They calm systemic inflammation.

Weight loss is one of many things they do. It is not the point.

Retatrutide — The Triple Agonist

This is where it gets extraordinary.

Retatrutide (reh-TAT-roo-tide) is not a GLP-1 medication. It is a triple agonist. That means it activates three receptors at the same time.

Think of them as three switches. Each one has a different job.

Switch 1 — GLP-1

You just read what GLP-1 does. It is the foundation. Brain protection. Heart health. Blood sugar. Inflammation. Your gut makes it naturally. Retatrutide restores and amplifies it.

Switch 2 — GIP

GIP stands for glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (gloo-KOH-jen-uh-PORE-tic pep-tide). It works alongside GLP-1 to regulate blood sugar after meals. It also acts on fat tissue, bone, and the nervous system.

GIP is what separates Tirzepatide (Mounjaro / Zepbound) from semaglutide (Ozempic). Retatrutide takes it further.

Switch 3 — GCG (Glucagon)

This is the switch most people miss.

Glucagon normally raises blood sugar. But at the doses used here, it does something very different. It signals the liver to burn its own fat stores directly. It increases your body’s overall energy use. It targets hepatic fat metabolism — the fat stored inside your liver.

This is what makes retatrutide different from every GLP medication before it. And it is why the liver data is so extraordinary.

What This Means for Your Liver

Fatty liver disease is epidemic. Most women do not know they have it.

It is now called MASLD — metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. It is strongly linked to insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.

In a Phase 2a trial published in Nature Medicine, retatrutide reduced liver fat by up to 82.4% at 24 weeks. By week 48, 93% of participants on the 12mg dose had achieved normal liver fat levels. Compared to zero in the placebo group.

For comparison:

• Semaglutide (Ozempic) reduces liver fat by about 30 to 40%
• Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) reduces it by about 57%
• Retatrutide: up to 82.4% — and normalizes it in over 90% of patients

No medication has ever done this.

What This Means for Blood Sugar

I have a client using retatrutide in an investigational setting. She is microdosing — using a very small amount specifically for blood sugar stabilization.

Her blood sugar had been dangerously unstable for years. Nothing had worked.

Since starting, her blood sugar is completely stable. It has changed her life.

This is not a weight story. This is a metabolic restoration story.

A meta-analysis of 878 patients across three retatrutide trials found significant reductions in fasting glucose, HbA1c (a three-month blood sugar average), blood pressure, and kidney stress markers. [7] Kidney function actually improved at the highest dose.

The Phase 3 Data

Phase 2 showed 24.2% weight loss at 48 weeks. [5] The highest ever recorded for this class.

Phase 3 has gone further.

The TRIUMPH-4 trial, published December 2025, confirmed 28.7% weight loss at 68 weeks. The TRIUMPH-1 trial, the pivotal obesity study, confirmed 28.3% average weight loss at 80 weeks across 2,339 patients — with 30.3% in higher BMI participants at 104 weeks. [8]

Seven more Phase 3 trials are underway. They are studying heart disease, kidney disease, sleep apnea, and liver disease specifically.

When Will It Be Available?

Retatrutide is not FDA approved yet. It is available only through clinical trials and investigational use.

Eli Lilly is expected to file its New Drug Application with the FDA in Q4 2026. Based on standard FDA review timelines, approval is projected for late 2027.

I am watching this closely. For the right woman, with the right clinical picture and a solid foundation in place, this may be one of the most powerful metabolic restoration tools medicine has ever produced.

This does not replace diet. It does not replace movement. It does not replace strength training.  The foundation has to come first. Always. Peptides amplify what you have built.

Other Important Peptides — A Quick Tour

The peptides below are each covered in depth in the Peptide Deep Dive document. Request it by hitting reply with the words “Peptide Deep Dive.” Here is the short version:

BPC-157 — Repair

Body Protective Compound. Your body makes it in your stomach to heal your gut lining. It heals tendons, ligaments, joints, and muscles. It seals a leaky gut. It has healed injuries in research that were labeled permanent. [1] Note: Currently designated Category 2 by the FDA — details in Part 3. [9]

GHK-Cu — Glow

A copper peptide. It supports skin renewal, hair growth, and collagen production. I use this one personally for my skin. It also supports wound healing and reduces inflammation throughout the body. Used topically and by injection. [10] [11] [1]

CJC / Ipamorelin / Sermorelin — Vitality

These wake up your own pituitary gland and signal it to release growth hormone. They do not give you synthetic growth hormone. They restore your body’s own production. Growth hormone halves every decade after your 30s. These are the smarter, safer approach. [12] [1]

MOTS-c + SS-31 — Energy

These live inside your mitochondria — the energy generators in every cell. MOTS-c improves insulin sensitivity and reduces inflammation. [2] SS-31 stabilizes mitochondrial membranes and reduces oxidative stress — cellular damage from unstable molecules. If you are tired despite sleeping, start here.

Thymosin Alpha-1 — Immune

Your thymus gland trains your immune cells. It shrinks 75% between ages 20 and 60. We cannot regenerate the thymus. But we can replace what it makes. Thymosin Alpha-1 regulates inflammation and supports immune function. One of the most clinically well-supported peptides available. [3]

Epitalon — Longevity

A pineal gland peptide. The pineal gland makes melatonin — your sleep hormone. It calcifies with age. Melatonin drops. Your sleep suffers. Epitalon has been studied for its effects on telomere length — the protective caps on your DNA that shorten as you age — and circadian rhythm restoration. [13] [1]

Want the Full Deep Dive?

This blog is the overview. It gives you the map.

If you want the full clinical breakdown of each peptide — mechanisms, what to watch out for, and who each one is most relevant for — hit reply with the words “Peptide Deep Dive” and I will send it to your inbox.

And Part 3 is coming. That is where Dr. Ben Lynch — who will NOT use peptides himself — gives his specific reasons. Every woman considering peptides needs to hear both sides.

  Consider This

• Do you have fatty liver disease — or insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, or unstable blood sugar? The GLP and retatrutide data is directly relevant to your picture.
• Are you using a GLP medication without having done the foundational work? This is the time to build the cake — not after you stop the medication.
• Which of the other six peptides resonates most with where you are right now? That is a useful starting point for a conversation.
• Book your Free Vitality Assessment Call at ConsultLori.com. Let’s look at your full picture together.

The peptide framework in this series is drawn from the presentation of Dr. Elizabeth Yurth, MD — Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of the Boulder Longevity Institute — at Dave Asprey’s Beyond Biohacking Conference, May 2026. Additional citations reflect published peer-reviewed research.

For the women who refuse to let their lifespan outrun their vitality span,

Lori Finlay, NP, CNS

References

References are cited in APA 7th edition format. Sources cited multiple times retain their original reference number throughout.

1.  Yurth, E. (2026, May). The peptide playbook: Seasonal and circadian optimization for longevity [Conference presentation]. Dave Asprey’s Beyond Biohacking Conference.

2.  Zheng, Y., Wei, Z., & Wang, T. (2023). MOTS-c: A promising mitochondrial-derived peptide for therapeutic exploitation. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 14, 1120533.

3.  Garaci, E. (2018). From thymus to cystic fibrosis: The amazing life of thymosin alpha 1. Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy, 18(Suppl 1), 9–11.

4.  Marso, S. P., Daniels, G. H., Brown-Frandsen, K., Kristensen, P., Mann, J. F. E., Nauck, M. A., & Steinberg, W. M. (2016). Liraglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes. New England Journal of Medicine, 375(4), 311–322.

5.  Jastreboff, A. M., Kaplan, L. M., Frías, J. P., Wu, Q., Du, Y., Gurbuz, S., & Wadden, T. A. (2023). Triple–hormone-receptor agonist retatrutide for obesity — a phase 2 trial. New England Journal of Medicine, 389(6), 514–526.

6.  Sanyal, A., Kaplan, L., Frías, J. P., Brouwers, B., Wu, Q., Thomas, M., & Hartman, M. (2024). Triple hormone receptor agonist retatrutide for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: A randomized phase 2a trial. Nature Medicine, 30, 2037–2049.

7.  Abdrabou, A., Khalil, M., & Ahmed, M. (2025). Efficacy and safety of retatrutide: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings.

8.  Eli Lilly and Company. (2025, December 11). Lilly’s retatrutide significantly reduced body weight in adults with obesity and knee osteoarthritis in Phase 3 TRIUMPH-4 study [Press release]. Eli Lilly. (2026, May 21). TRIUMPH-1 topline results confirmed. investor.lilly.com

9.  Vasireddi, N., Hahamyan, H., Salata, M. J., Karns, M., Calcei, J. G., Voos, J. E., & Apostolakos, J. M. (2025). Emerging use of BPC-157 in orthopaedic sports medicine: A systematic review. American Journal of Sports Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1177/15563316251355551

10.  Pickart, L., Vasquez-Soltero, J. M., & Margolina, A. (2015). GHK peptide as a natural modulator of multiple cellular pathways in skin regeneration. BioMed Research International. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4508379/

11.  Kim, Y. J., et al. (2024). Clinical efficacy of GHK-Cu in photoaged skin: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 21(4), 1567–1574. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocd.14215

12.  Ionescu, M., & Frohman, L. A. (2006). Pulsatile secretion of growth hormone and the central regulation of GH secretion in aging. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 91(11), 4124–4130. https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2006-1027

13.  Al-Dulaimi, A., Thomas, M., et al. (2025). Epitalon increases telomere length in human cell lines through telomerase upregulation or ALT activity. Biogerontology. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12411320/