Ground Truth Peptides

The honest read · evidence-graded · sells nothing

The honest read on every peptide.

What the science actually says, what real people report, and whether it's even worth it, across 42 compounds. We've been burned by this ourselves, so we did the homework, tracked the real-world results, and graded all of it. None of it's for sale.

Reconstitution calculator

How many units do I draw?

Pick your peptide and vial size, then slide to how much water you add and how much you want to take. We do the insulin-syringe math.

Water you add2.0 mL
Dose you take250 mcg

For 250 mcg, draw

10 units

on a U-100 insulin syringe (0.10 mL)


Concentration

2500 mcg/mL

Each unit

25.0 mcg

U-100 syringe: 100 units = 1 mL. Presets are typical reported starting points, not recommended doses. Confirm your actual vial size before you draw.

If you remember nothing else

The key things to keep in mind.

01

Take control of your own health.

Nobody is coming to optimize you. The whole point is to make your own calls with your eyes open, not to hand them to a vendor.

02

The science is mostly thin.

For most of these, the honest answer is we don't really know yet. That's not a knock, it's just the state of the evidence.

03

Measure, don't guess.

Bloodwork, body composition, and a certificate of analysis on every vial. The people who get burned are the ones guessing.

04

Follow the money.

Before you believe a claim, ask who profits from you believing it. We flag the conflict on every expert and seller we cite.

05

It might be placebo. So what?

If you genuinely feel better, that's real to you. Just know that might be what you're paying peptide prices for, and price it accordingly.

06

Go slow. One thing at a time.

Change one variable, then measure. Stacking four compounds at once is exactly how people end up with no idea what did what.

Why is the science so thin? Follow the money →

The watch desk

What just happened, and what's next.

Jun 15, 2026FDA sends a third 2026 wave of warning letters over compounded GLP-1 marketingThe FDA issued 25 warning letters to telehealth companies over allegedly misleading claims about compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide, after ~80 letters in Sept 2025 and 30 in March 2026.regulatory · National Law ReviewJun 8, 2026Survodutide cuts liver fat 64% in Phase 3 SYNCHRONIZE-MASLDBoehringer Ingelheim's glucagon/GLP-1 dual agonist reduced liver fat by 64.3% vs placebo in adults with obesity and MASLD, presented at ADA 2026 and published in Nature Medicine.trial · Boehringer IngelheimMay 21, 2026Retatrutide delivers up to 28.3% weight loss at 80 weeks (TRIUMPH-1)Eli Lilly's GIP/GLP-1/glucagon triple agonist averaged 28.3% (70.3 lb) weight loss on the 12 mg dose over 80 weeks, rising to 30.3% at 104 weeks in higher-BMI participants.trial · Eli LillyApr 30, 2026FDA proposes removing semaglutide, tirzepatide and liraglutide from the 503B bulks listCiting resolved shortages and the end of clinical need, the FDA proposed pulling the major GLP-1s from 503B outsourcing-facility compounding, narrowing the legal path for compounded GLP-1s.regulatory · PolsinelliApr 15, 2026FDA moves to remove 12 peptides from the Category 2 'do not compound' listVia a Federal Register notice, the FDA will remove 12 peptide bulk substances, including BPC-157, TB-500, MOTS-c, Semax, Epitalon and injectable GHK-Cu, from 503A Category 2, following HHS Secretary RFK Jr.'s Feb 2026 push for broader peptide access.regulatory · Frier LevittApr 15, 2026FDA schedules a July 23–24 PCAC meeting to weigh 7 peptides for 503A compoundingThe Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee will consider whether BPC-157, KPV, TB-500, MOTS-c, DSIP, Semax and Epitalon should be eligible for 503A compounding, a non-binding step that still needs formal rulemaking.regulatory · FDA Law BlogFeb 5, 2026UK MHRA updates semaglutide information over rare NAION vision-loss riskThe MHRA revised semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic, Rybelsus) information to reflect very rare reports of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, sudden vision loss, advising urgent referral if suspected.safety · MHRA Drug Safety Update
See everything we track →

What this is

  • Everything we figured out, graded honestly on evidence and safety, with real labs as exhibit A.
  • The verification standard we wish we'd used before buying anything.
  • The free tools we actually use, with the honest layer on top.
  • The Health Vault we built to track real experiments. And it's yours to copy.

What it isn't

  • Not a store. We're not selling you anything, ever.
  • Not a clinic, not an MLM, not a brand. Just people who got obsessed.
  • Not hype. If we can't back it up, we say so, with a citation.
  • Not anti-peptide. We're on them. We just won't call animal data human proof.

The method

Four questions. Never one number.

One rating hides the only thing that matters: proven for what?So every compound answers four plain questions instead. Does the science back it? Do real people feel it? Is it safe? And could it just be placebo? Two of them carry letter grades, and here's how those work.

Read our full method. Biases and all →
CricketsMixedBuzzLoudNothingAnimalEarlyHumanProvenDoes the science back it? →Do real people feel it? →BPC-157. Science C, real-world Moderate, safety C.TB-500. Science D, real-world Mixed, safety D.GHK-Cu. Science C, real-world Mixed, safety B.MOTS-c. Science D, real-world Faint, safety D.Tesamorelin. Science A, real-world Moderate, safety B.KPV (Lysine-Proline-Valine). Science D, real-world Faint, safety C.Pentadeca Arginate (PDA). Science D, real-world Mixed, safety D.ARA-290 (Cibinetide). Science B, real-world Faint, safety B.LL-37 (cathelicidin). Science C, real-world Faint, safety D.Thymosin Alpha-1. Science A, real-world Moderate, safety B.VIP (Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide). Science B, real-world Mixed, safety C.Cartalax (AED, Ala-Glu-Asp cartilage peptide bioregulator). Science D, real-world Faint, safety D.Ipamorelin. Science B, real-world Moderate, safety C.CJC-1295 (no-DAC / Modified GRF 1-29). Science D, real-world Moderate, safety C.Sermorelin. Science B, real-world Moderate, safety B.Epitalon (Epithalon). Science D, real-world Faint, safety C.Semax (N-Acetyl Semax). Science C, real-world Moderate, safety C.Selank (N-Acetyl Selank). Science B, real-world Moderate, safety B.PT-141 (Bremelanotide). Science A, real-world Moderate, safety C.DSIP (Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide). Science B, real-world Mixed, safety C.Melanotan II. Science C, real-world Strong, safety D.AOD-9604. Science B, real-world Faint, safety B.5-Amino-1MQ. Science D, real-world Mixed, safety D.NAD+ (injectable). Science C, real-world Moderate, safety C.Cagrilintide. Science B, real-world Moderate, safety B.Semaglutide. Science A, real-world Strong, safety C.Tirzepatide. Science A, real-world Strong, safety B.Retatrutide. Science B, real-world Strong, safety C.Survodutide. Science B, real-world Faint, safety B.Melanotan I (afamelanotide). Science A, real-world Mixed, safety B.SNAP-8 (Acetyl Octapeptide-3). Science D, real-world Mixed, safety B.AHK-Cu (Copper Tripeptide-3). Science E, real-world Faint, safety B.Cerebrolysin. Science B, real-world Moderate, safety C.Dihexa. Science E, real-world Faint, safety E.GHRP-2. Science C, real-world Moderate, safety C.GHRP-6. Science C, real-world Moderate, safety C.Hexarelin. Science C, real-world Mixed, safety D.Kisspeptin. Science B, real-world Mixed, safety C.MK-677 (Ibutamoren). Science B, real-world Strong, safety D.Pinealon. Science D, real-world Faint, safety C.SS-31 (Elamipretide). Science B, real-world Mixed, safety B.Thymulin. Science D, real-world Faint, safety C.

Every compound we cover, mapped: science across the bottom, real-world buzz up the side, dot color is safety. Almost all of it sits in the low-science corner. Click a dot for its profile.

What I'd actually bet on

Top 10, most effective.

Ranked by how much real effect I'd bet on: science first, real-world signal next, knocked down for placebo. The proven stuff wins. Most peptides don't.

  1. 01SemaglutideA
  2. 02TirzepatideA
  3. 03TesamorelinA
  4. 04Thymosin Alpha-1A
  5. 05RetatrutideB
  6. 06Melanotan I (afamelanotide)A
  7. 07MK-677 (Ibutamoren)B
  8. 08PT-141 (Bremelanotide)A
  9. 09CagrilintideB
  10. 10IpamorelinB

Evidence

The highest level of human evidence reached. Strong animal data does not move it.

AProven in humans

Multiple human randomized controlled trials, or FDA-approved.

BHuman-trial signal

At least one human randomized controlled trial.

CEarly human data

Human pilot or observational studies only, no RCT.

DAnimal only

Promising in animals; no meaningful human evidence.

ETheoretical

In vitro, mechanistic, or anecdote. No controlled data.

Safety

A composite roll-up. Not an absence of bad news.

AWell-tolerated

Extensive human safety data; benign, well-mapped profile.

BCharacterized

Well-studied; real but manageable risks under monitoring.

CThinly characterized

No red flags observed, but human exposure is small.

DUncharacterized

Little or no human safety data exists either way.

EFlagged

Documented serious risks or major theoretical red flags.

FHarmful

Known to cause serious harm.

What rolls up into a safety grade

Volume of human safety dataSeverity of known adverse eventsTheoretical mechanistic riskAvailability of long-term dataRegulatory signalWidth of the therapeutic window

Reading the two together

A / AProven and well-characterizedinsulin, semaglutide
C / CPromising in small human pilotsBPC-157
D / DStriking in animals, unproven in peopleMOTS-c
E / FNo meaningful human data either waymuch of the gray market

Why there's nothing to buy

We're not selling you anything.

This is just us showing you what we found. It will never sell you a peptide. If we ever do anything commercial, it lives somewhere else, walled off from this. The whole point is that we've got nothing to sell you, so we've got no reason to shade the truth.

A gradedcitedindependent

Bring it back to your own body

Run your own experiment.

We built the Health Vault to turn the scientific method into a routine: pick a metric, set a window, run it on then off, and let the data, not the vibes, tell you whether you bought a real effect or a placebo.

Explore the Health Vault →

New posts, every couple weeks

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