Jessica (00:02.136)
So welcome to the Sun Love podcast. Today we are excited to be sitting here chatting with Dr. Kara Statz, who is a holistic health practitioner in a variety of areas. I'm gonna let her explain a little bit more detail, you know, what her experience is.

more specifically. She also is someone who has a deep understanding of peptides, which is really exciting and a topic that I think there's just a lot of questions out there right now with people. So I'm excited to dive in on discussing peptides.

specifically how they can possibly be used to help with skincare. I don't know if there's any sun care applications of peptides, so that's a question I have for you. But yeah, think just as we get started right now, if you wanna take over for a second, and just give us a quick background on your experience and how you...

got to be someone who is pretty knowledgeable about peptides.

Cara Statz (01:12.238)
Thanks Jess. So my background is in kinesiology and as a naturopathic doctor. And how I got into peptides, I actually just like anybody else, they started to become a little bit more popular in the last year or so. There are...

You know, they've been around for a long time. People say that this is a new craze. We've had insulin around for quite a long time. That's a peptide. Peptides are just cell signalers. And what kind of signal you want to release into your body and what effect it has determines what you're going to look for and how long you're going to take it and all of those kind of considerations.

Jessica (02:07.777)
So, like, for someone who really has no idea or is just still unclear about peptides, like, can you elaborate a little more? Like, I understand they're a cell signaler, but, what does that mean? Or, like, what does that look like? Maybe, like, in some examples of, like, how certain peptides signal to your cells and enact change in the body.

Cara Statz (02:32.16)
Okay, so your cell signallers can be anything from neuropeptides to hormones to...

you know, metabolic signals that you get from say insulin. And all those are our string, it's a chain of amino acids that's sent from one area of body to another area of your body to tell it a message. Turn on, turn off, create more, you know, whatever it is. they're just cell messengers really. And our body produces them. So that's what I think is, live in a very interesting time.

that we're creating, you know, these other signals for our body we can now take that our body is already producing, just probably not in enough amounts, that we can now have a cause and effect because as we age...

We produce less and less of those cell signals and that's eventually why our bodies start breaking down. Because either the signal is not strong anymore or we're just not getting enough. So, you know, it's a real game changer for anybody over 35 to really improve your body at a cellular level.

Jessica (03:56.482)
So from from what you're seeing, who are the people who might benefit the most from using peptides? And then maybe we can go into a few examples of some of the popular peptides that are out there right now.

Cara Statz (04:13.262)
Well, I work primarily with women over 40 and there is such a mass benefit for that age group specifically. Do you want me to jump right into some peptides that I've seen for that group? So, yes.

Jessica (04:31.211)
Yeah, jump in. Yep.

Cara Statz (04:35.096)
So particularly one of the ones that I really love that I've seen great results with and just the research in general, the number one peptide I would say is ipamarylin and CJC1295. That one is, it's a beautiful peptide. It's gentle. It works with, it's a growth hormone signaller.

and growth hormone is like your youth peptide. So you get better metabolism, your sleep is amazing, you go to bed and you wake up. Everybody always says I have the best sleep ever. You build lean muscle, which is great because as you age your metabolism slows and you start to get fat and you want to maintain that lean kind of like taut physique. This is the peptide that you want. It's amazing. Every week I've actually seen markers for

from those people that are using it.

their strength increases every single week, like on all their lifts. And as a trainer, that's amazing to see, because that's not normal. And to see that kind of benefit happen for women, especially over 40, it's pretty impressive. So that and the fact that it does burn fat will it's in your system. For men and women, it does that.

Overall mood is better. You are more clarity of your thoughts. Because I know for women brain fog becomes a big issue after 40. And just having your mind come back to you is just amazing. So for men and women it does work really well. And also for women who are considering taking or are taking HRT, it works really well synergistically with that as well.

Jessica (06:27.241)
replacing it. Yeah, and then what about, you know, one of the big popular ones that I'm also personally interested in is the GHKCU, the one for like skin and hair and like talk to us about that one a little bit like.

Cara Statz (06:28.63)
No, no.

Cara Statz (06:43.768)
Yeah.

Cara Statz (06:50.766)
Okay. Yeah. So, okay. So if, if I were to just hop back for a sec, um, the big kind of longevity ones, um, would be your BPC 157, that ipamarylin, tessamarylin. The BPC is more anti-inflammatory healing.

NAD is another big one everyone's talking about. MOTC is another one. So NAD and the MOTC work with mitochondria to produce overall energy.

On the split side of that, for the more aesthetic kind of look, the GHKCU, that one is a big one. I'd say that it is on the top of the list. And the other big one is Melanotan II. And that one increases pigmentation in your skin without the sun. It has a bunch of other benefits too. But back to the one you talking about.

GHKCU is considered by a lot of people to be like Botox in a bottle and that's it's being touted as that.

It works on so many more levels than that though. It works as a massive anti-inflammatory for the body by increasing nuclear factor kappa beta. It quenches a lot of inflammatory processes. It helps with collagen synthesis, obviously. So that's your skin repair regeneration, but it also helps with joints and stuff as well. So it's multifaceted as far as benefits go.

Cara Statz (08:29.808)
Also for hair, skin, Yeah, everything else. Skin texture, elasticity, all of it. And hair quality.

Jessica (08:42.135)
So yeah, like for people who, it feels like, is there ever a time where you're like, no, you shouldn't use that peptide or you shouldn't use peptides or it almost feels like it's like, if you can, it's great for anyone to use or is that not true?

Cara Statz (09:01.038)
So, that's a great question. And it depends on which one you're taking because some of them you can take for longer term. Like the Rhetachutide is the really big one right now for weight loss. It's replacing Ozempic. It's far more beneficial, effective than Ozempic because it's a...

Jessica (09:21.345)
And this is the one that doesn't make you feel sick, right? Or does it? Okay.

Cara Statz (09:24.694)
Well, it can if you take too much. that to your point. Yeah, if you're not taking them appropriately, you will run into problems. so that's where online, it's kind of like the Wild West right now where everyone has an opinion and it's not necessarily the safest. You should be under medical supervision to have that and getting a little bit of some lab work done first just to see what your baseline markers are. Not just for safety, but also for interest sake. Like you'll want to know

how you're improving and where you're improving in your body, right? So having that at least baseline blood work done to see, make sure that you're on track for the changes that you want is key.

Jessica (09:58.744)
Mm-hmm.

Jessica (10:08.277)
Yeah, I mean, I guess that's like one of my biggest questions about it, because I feel like that's where it gets overwhelming is that Wild West effect where it's like.

I don't, you don't know who really the experts are or like what's, you know, what's information that you can trust and like how to go about getting started and where to find good quality. Maybe you could talk to that a little bit too, because I know there are some differences in quality that I don't feel like I hear enough about in like the main buzz about peptides. It's kind of like, just get your peptides. like, I think you had mentioned that there's like kind of like a vast difference

Cara Statz (10:24.376)
Yeah.

Cara Statz (10:45.123)
Yeah.

Jessica (10:49.145)
in quality depending on like the manufacturer or the process or where they're coming from or different things. So maybe could speak to that for a second.

Cara Statz (10:57.292)
Yeah, so that and that I just want to thank you for even asking that because there are so many people out there too that well I'm finding my peptides for five bucks and I'm getting my vial for three dollars and I can buy them in bulk for you know such a great deal and I'm looking at the world wait a second where are from and you know are they third party tested and or even if they

Jessica (11:17.917)
You

Jessica (11:24.671)
Especially because you're injecting yourself with whatever it is. You kind of want to know. Yeah.

Cara Statz (11:28.45)
Right? Yeah. Yeah. You'd think so. Some people just, again, Wild West, just whatever, you know, they're taking a huge risk. And that's something that's really important to you, and that'll tell everybody that it's really important not only to know where they're from, but also are they third party tested? Are they tested for heavy metals?

allergy effect too is also a big one because a lot of them can cause inflammation reactions as well depending on what they're made with, where they're made. The molecule, the peptide itself is, if you remember back in chemistry, I'll just take us back there for a second, it's arranged in a certain way. It's kind of, you remember those squiggly lines in the textbook? It kind of looked like

chunk of something sitting there right and it's weird green and you see some blue dots on it. Nephthys themselves are actually very fragile and that becomes a consideration too because are they damaged? Are they not kept cold? And how long are they not kept cold for? And if they're damaged at all you're injecting something that's relatively useless.

And on top of that, the quality of the product, are you getting it out of China or India where there is very little testing or are you getting it out of somewhere that is very stringently tested like Sweden or Germany or in the US where the testing is absolutely, you're getting the top quality? I'd say.

Jessica (13:17.943)
So is that something you would recommend for people to just like understand their sourcing in it if they're gonna go ahead?

Cara Statz (13:21.164)
Yeah.

Understand, yes. Understand the sourcing. Yeah, exactly. And on top of that, before you even take peptides, there are three things that are the most important to just get down pat first. And a lot of people who are training and working out kind of have their routines. But before you're even taking the peptides, you have to have like good quality sleep down pat.

You have to have your nutrition, like make sure that you don't have any massive gut issues going on because that will also throw off the quality of your peptides of what they actually do. And the third one is if you're working out three times a week and your sleep is all right and your nutrition is good, as long as those are on track, you know that you're going to get the best potential.

effect from whatever you're taking.

Jessica (14:20.339)
Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up because I feel like that's how I that's how I kind of see it and understand it. feels like it's not something obviously where you do it and it like.

it sort of like locks it in, like it almost like reinforces the good behavior that you've already been sleeping well, eating well, know, exercising, and then you get to like lock it in with a peptide, but it's not going to like enact all the change you're hoping for on its own. And I think there might be like a little bit of a belief that they can do that out there and people are like so hopeful to take the easy road and like kind of that ozempic effect where you're like, no, you really just, you see a lot of change quickly, but it's not necessarily.

Cara Statz (14:59.895)
Yeah.

Jessica (15:00.277)
what you want to do to your body, guess, in some cases.

Cara Statz (15:04.898)
Yeah. That's true. No, it's true.

Dominick Mortarotti (15:07.763)
But what about like GLPs, right? Like are those peptides? And to your point of like people just saying, I can just take a pill and my weight goes away. And I imagine those people have gut issues or they're not necessarily on the healthiest lifestyle.

Cara Statz (15:12.547)
Yeah.

Dominick Mortarotti (15:26.029)
And so that like that side of me side is very fascinating to me and like the bioengineering, how we can just like create these signals and change how our bodies functioning mechanically, you know, even without doing the hard work.

I'm sure it's still the case that obviously if you're working out, sleeping well, having good nutrition while you're on GLP-1, you'll see the best effects. But the fact that you can take away hunger cues or cues for alcohol, you know, with this program is like fascinating to me.

Cara Statz (16:01.464)
Yeah. Yes.

Jessica (16:02.305)
But guess going back, so are those peptides or not? They are, okay.

Cara Statz (16:06.114)
Yeah, they are. So the issue there with GLP-1s is that they're single agonist. So something like trisapatite or semaglutide, lozempic.

Those work on one, their single agonists. So they'll just work on slowing the gastric emptying or decreasing your appetite. Whereas something like retitrutide is a triple agonist. So it works on three, not only slowing the gastric emptying, but it also decreases your appetite, but it also works on a much deeper level by increasing your glucagon. So it actually increases your body's

efficiency at burning and mobilizing and utilizing fat.

As well as your insulin sensitivity and it protects your liver. There are so many other things that it does it as a whole That that protect your body and they work it works better with your body because it works with a bunch of different systems at once instead of working down one system and then having other systems go awry because they're not being supported and or That's not how the body works. It doesn't work

like how most medications are made where it's just one single thing and then whatever else the body does, who cares? Cause that's, only going to focus on this and pretend the rest doesn't exist. Whereas something like that's, that's why I a true tide right now is insanely popular is because it's giving the benefits of those GLP ones, but better like on steroids, the Ferrari version of that. And so it's, it's, it's pretty impressive.

Dominick Mortarotti (17:48.805)
Everyone wants to drive a Ferrari. Yeah.

Cara Statz (17:50.606)
Yeah, that's right. Everyone wants some body. Ferrari bodies. Yup.

Jessica (17:50.85)
Who wouldn't want the Ferrari version? Ferrari body sounds pretty good. Did you have any questions, Dominic?

Dominick Mortarotti (18:05.357)
yeah, so not about the Ferraris is about it. It was a different subject, but I can hold. can, I can wait.

Jessica (18:07.127)
for everybody.

Jessica (18:12.415)
Cara Statz (18:12.67)
Yeah, we can talk about whatever.

Dominick Mortarotti (18:15.451)
Yeah, so it's still about peptides and it's about like just trying to understand, do they ever naturally occur in the foods that we eat? in terms of, because they're based on, I think they're based on proteins, maybe you mentioned that earlier. So like if we eat certain types of protein foods, do those become ingested in like a naturally occurring like peptide?

Cara Statz (18:42.594)
So your body makes those peptides itself.

Dominick Mortarotti (18:47.343)
Okay, it's what it turns the protein into.

Cara Statz (18:49.75)
Yeah, so it takes your proteins and it will rearrange them. Your DNA and your RNA are always transcribing and making all kinds of different cell signalers to your body all the time, depending on what your body needs. And so, yeah, so when you eat protein, and that's why protein is always so important, especially as you get older, that is the, it breaks it down into amino acids. And those amino acids make...

Dominick Mortarotti (19:00.316)
Yeah.

Dominick Mortarotti (19:08.039)
Mm-hmm.

Cara Statz (19:15.796)
all these peptides and cell signalers. It makes your hormones, makes your signals in your brain, your neuropeptides, all of it. So there's nothing you can eat specifically. And to that point, things like collagen is such a hot topic as well because you can eat collagen, but it's such a big,

Dominick Mortarotti (19:24.978)
Mm-hmm.

Dominick Mortarotti (19:30.791)
Yeah.

Cara Statz (19:45.427)
Basically a molecule that your body will break that down.

and then put it back into its own collagen. So you're not actually, when you're eating collagen, that's not the same collagen that you're getting a benefit for. Your body breaks that whole thing down. So there's no difference between eating that or eating all of the component parts, like all the vitamins and minerals that will make it in your body, then having that whole thing, have it being broken down and then put back together by your body for your body.

Jessica (20:15.735)
So you're saying you can affect your collagen production just as well by adjusting your diet than taking like a collagen supplement? Okay. That's good. I know. She's my secret weapon.

Cara Statz (20:24.302)
That's right.

Dominick Mortarotti (20:26.631)
Dang, can you, we need you as like our nutritionist. I'm just learning so much. Yeah, dang, it's awesome.

Cara Statz (20:29.518)
I love that you like my random facts, that's great.

Jessica (20:38.133)
I like the random facts. So, okay, I have like two more questions, I guess. Just for anyone, just quick recommendation for anyone who wants to try out peptides, what would be your recommendation for them? Like how to get started, what to look for, again, just like those really basic things that get you over the hurdle of like Wild West into reality.

Cara Statz (21:02.488)
That's a good question. I'd consider, I'd look at what they're looking for first. So it really comes down to what do you want? Longevity is such a huge industry right now and it's going to only get bigger. I would say that...

I'll name a couple of peptides that I think are kind of the top most popular ones and for good reason. BPC 157 is a great peptide often used in tissue repair, gut health. Your body will put it pretty much anywhere it needs it. It's a massive anti-inflammatory. It helps you recover from pretty much everything from physical stress to post-surgeries.

healing capacity of that is incredible. And any inflammatory condition you have in your body, it quilches that. So it works out really quite well on its own or as an adjunct to any other peptide you're taking because the less inflammation you have in your body, the better and more effectively and more efficiently other peptides will work. So it does, it works.

Jessica (22:16.791)
And we were talking about that, like we were saying like maybe it's best to do that one first to kind of like clear that inflammation so the other peptides are more effective. Does that feel like, yeah.

Cara Statz (22:26.946)
Yeah, yeah, because a lot of us have issues going on that are inflammatory that we may or may not want to talk about or just don't want to acknowledge or just don't have time for it. And that kind of handles that. Whether you want to acknowledge it or not, it does make everything else work better. So yeah, I would recommend that one. That's a solid staple for anybody.

The other one is a big one is NAD. That one is really important for ATP production. So a lot of the women that I see, you know, plus 40 are, you're looking at perimenopausal or menopausal kind of states. And for men too, like you start losing testosterone, you're not creating the energy that you used to have.

and your mitochondria are your powerhouse of your body. That produces the cellular energy that runs everything in your body.

supporting that with NAD, which is a coenzyme. It's not actually a peptide. It's a coenzyme that works with ATP production inside your mitochondria. It helps shuttle the ATP between your Krebs cycle and your electron transport chain. It's like right there at the level where your body is producing it. And it works really well with MOTC, which is actually another mitochondrial enzyme, but that one is actually the peptide

that signals your mitochondria to produce more energy. So it works more with the structure of the mitochondria, whereas the NAD is working right there at the signaling, getting it out. CJC1295 and the ipamarylin is probably one of the top ones, I'd say that is like the best.

Cara Statz (24:26.798)
Because that's the one that is doing everything the growth hormone. That's the youth peptide I see that a lot for training for for men and women They lean out so fast and they just feel strong like within weeks like this is not a long time where you're gonna see the benefits this is not like

right at your time where you're on it for months and then you'll start to see the change. You feel the change right away. It's great. And it works so well with anything else that you might be taking and it does everything. it's Epimerelin. Epimerelin. Yeah. And CJC. Usually they're combined. Yeah.

Dominick Mortarotti (24:59.987)
Can you say that one one more time? I'm gonna look into it. Ipomerelin, yeah, yeah. CJC, okay, cool.

Cara Statz (25:08.942)
Tessamerelin is ... ipamerelin, tessamerelin, that's also a very similar one. It's also a growth hormone signaller. Tessamerelin, interestingly enough, even though it's also signals more growth hormone, specifically works for visceral fat. So your abdominal fat, that targets those deep fat areas that are really hard to get to. I've seen some pretty impressive results with that one.

specifically because I know that as your testosterone drops for men and women, you know, like you want to get stronger, right? But that one is like that will tighten everything up and it increases your strength. You guys.

Jessica (25:43.769)
I'm

Dominick Mortarotti (25:48.338)
Yeah.

Dominick Mortarotti (25:53.693)
Get the Ferrari.

Jessica (25:55.48)
Why subtle for less, really? mean...

Dominick Mortarotti (25:58.035)
Yeah.

Cara Statz (26:01.204)
Yeah.

Jessica (26:02.455)
Yeah, it's all very fascinating. So only because our topic of our podcast is also about the wellness benefits of sunlight. So I'm kind of just going to do a little quick topic shift at the end here. But yeah, I just wanted to see if you had any...

words of wisdom from a holistic health practitioner perspective for the benefits of sun or best practices to engage with the sun or anything you feel strongly about like on a personal or professional way about the sun.

Cara Statz (26:43.458)
I love it. Down there is we don't get enough up here. vitamin D activated specifically activated vitamin D is very important. And I'd say as.

Dominick Mortarotti (26:45.553)
Yeah.

Cara Statz (26:57.706)
as the one thing for your body as a whole that's been shown to be the most like other than magnesium other that is such a regulator for everything it's not just you look great but it has a response for all your hormones your libido like when you're feeling good and and that's kind of in check everything else kind of falls into place it works well for appetite you know you're not searching for for food to give you

the that the sun can naturally induce for your body as well. And dopamine signaling too. feel, again, your mood. It affects your psychology, all of it.

Jessica (27:38.136)
What do you recommend for people who live, so our last interview we just did was with Nadine Artemis from Living Libations. I know you used those products too, yeah. And it's kind of the same thing, she loves the sun, but she's up near you, up in, I think, what was it? Near Toronto, I think.

Cara Statz (27:49.02)
I love them. Yeah.

Cara Statz (27:59.628)
Is she Ontario as well? Okay, Okay.

Jessica (28:00.905)
Ontario, yeah. And so how do you recommend people who don't have the sun all the time? what should they be doing besides taking our supplement and things like that? Yeah.

Cara Statz (28:10.216)
yeah. Yeah, that's, it should. Getting out and just getting the sunlight into the eyes, first thing in the morning is the best. It helps regulate your, even when it's not, yeah.

Jessica (28:24.639)
Even when it's not super sunny out, it's okay. Just still get out there.

Cara Statz (28:28.182)
That's right, yeah, you still get it in the eyes. It still helps regulate your sleep-wake cycle, which is really key. So getting out there, getting a little bit right in the sun has been shown to get the most benefit.

Jessica (28:40.737)
Cool. Thank you.

Cara Statz (28:42.562)
and

Dominick Mortarotti (28:44.499)
Well, it's been a great conversation, Kara. I really appreciate all of your knowledge and advice. Definitely has been eye-opening for me in terms of, you know, what is possible for, and this is like an innovative space, right? So people are continuing to create new peptides and be so fascinated to see how this evolves in the future. So thanks for giving us your perspective.

Cara Statz (29:12.696)
Thank you very much for having me guys. Yeah. Thank you.

Jessica (29:13.335)
Yeah, thank you. Anything you want to say at the end here, like your website or anything, we can also post everything. But we can also edit this last part out too. if you want to, if you want to, if you want to work, we can fix it in the post. But if there's anything you want to call up, we'll put it in the writing. Yeah, in the post. Perfect. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you so much for your time.

Cara Statz (29:23.886)
My website is built under construction, so not yet.

Dominick Mortarotti (29:24.337)
Yep. Fix it in post.

Cara Statz (29:35.882)
Okay, I'll give it to you in post. Alright, take care guys. Thank you.

Jessica (29:43.616)
Okay, bye.