In this article we will dive all into
- What BPC-157 Is
- How BPC-157 Works In the Body
- How BPC-157 Can Be Taken
- Benefits of BPC-157
- Why Some People Think Oral BPC-157 is Useless
- Why BPC-157 Orally is not Useless
And more!
What is BPC-157?
In the world of sports and optimizing performance injury prevention, and recovering from injuries has become a massive topic of conversation.
It does not just stop at sports though as injuries can even slow regular people down from their important and busy lives.
With this massive need to recover faster, and prevent injuries peptides have gained massive popularity. Specifically a certain peptide named BPC-157.
BPC-157, or Body Protection Compound 157, is a synthetic peptide consisting of 15 amino acids. It is a fragment of a naturally occurring protein in the human gastric juice.
Researchers have been intrigued by BPC-157 due to its regenerative properties, which seem to extend beyond the gastrointestinal tract, where it was originally discovered.
BPC-157 has been shown in the clinical literature and in the real world to help speed up the healing process with everything from tendon injuries, to the gut, to even the brain.
BPC-157 truly is a wonder drug when it comes to healing the body.
How Does it Work In the Body?
You may be wondering how BPC-157 works in the body, and it works through a primary mechanism known as angiogenesis.
In short angiogenesis is the creation of new blood vessels forming from preexisting blood vessels. A process crucial for the proper healing and recovery of the body.
Another way BPC-157 helps to exert its effects is through its anti-inflammatory action. BPC-157 is able to do a great job at helping to reduce inflammation within the body.
BPC-157 is also able to help heal GI issues and protect the gut lining, and is neuroprotective meaning that it helps to heal the brain.
How Can It Be Administered?
BPC-157 can be taken many different ways and this is where the controversy starts.
BPC-157 is extremely effective as an injection, but can also be taken as a cream, nasal spray, and orally.
Many people think that any form other than an injectable is useless but this is simply not true.
What is true is that how you take it will change what it impacts the most.
Its route of administration often impacts what part of the body it benefits the most as when it is used as for example the nasal spray will impact the brain more, but the oral will impact things like gut health and overall inflammation more.
What Are The Benefits of BPC-157?
BPC-157 impacts many major organs and processes within the body. Leading it to having tons of benefits, here are a few of the most notable ones.
Enhanced Recovery
Athletes and individuals with physically demanding lifestyles can benefit from BPC-157’s ability to accelerate the healing of muscles and joints.
It reduces recovery time and enhances overall physical resilience.
BPC-157 will definitely help to improve your overall recovery time.
Improved Injury Healing
Whether it be a knee injury, a shoulder injury, or an elbow injury BPC-157 has been shown to help speed up the healing process greatly.
Many people have reported some insane healing from using BPC-157, and have reported it has cut their healing time in half.
Gastrointestinal Health
Given its origins, it’s not surprising that BPC-157 is highly effective in treating gastrointestinal issues. It has been shown to heal ulcers, reduce inflammation in conditions like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and protect the gut lining.
Many people who have had tons of issues with their gut have found great relief from using BPC-157.
Pain Reduction
By reducing inflammation and promoting tissue repair, BPC-157 can alleviate pain associated with various injuries and conditions.
This makes it a potential alternative to traditional pain medications.
Improved Mental Health
Preliminary studies suggest that BPC-157 may have positive effects on mental health by reducing anxiety and depression symptoms.
Its neuroprotective properties contribute to this potential benefit.
BPC-157 has been shown to be very effective also for helping with things like addiction.
Cardiovascular Protection
BPC-157 has shown promise in protecting the cardiovascular system. It can aid in the healing of heart tissue and improve blood vessel health, which is beneficial for overall cardiovascular function.
This is oftentimes not talked about as much, but BPC-157 can definitely be very helpful for heart health and other organs.
The Side Effects of It?
BPC-157 still needs more research, to fully understand its side effect profile.
The process of angiogenesis is thought to speed up existing cancer if the cancer is already present, so if you have cancer do not use BPC-157!
Let me be clear though BPC-157 does not cause cancer, it just can speed up the growth of it potentially.
The other important thing that has been reported is some injection pain at the site when BPC-157 is pinned which is standard for peptides.
Some have also reported anhedonia from taking BPC-157, but this is not very common.
Why BPC-157 Taken Orally Is Not Useless!
This now brings us to the whole point of this article and this post is BPC-157 useless?
Check more about BPC-157 here
A member of our Facebook Group Asked this question.
I can almost guarantee that there will be a comment from someone saying to try BPC-157 but avoid the oral version because it is useless!
More than likely you have seen it stated across forums or on tiktoks that oral BPC-157 is totally useless and it can only be injected.
First though to answer your question Mick, I have used BPC-157 orally and injectable for my lower back issues and have found great success with them when paired with a stretching and physical therapy routine!
The reality is that Oral BPC-157 is not useless! In fact there is tons of data showing oral BPC-157 being great for things like the gut, and great for reducing things like inflammation which can be huge in helping with the injury process.
Now I will clarify that if your injury is in a specific spot like your elbow I have found that the injectable version is more effective, but that is no way to say that the oral version is totally useless
My Experience Using Oral BPC-157 and Injectable BPC-157
Now I have used both Oral BPC-157 and injectable BPC-157 and have found great success with both. Let me quickly highlight my experience with each.
Oral BPC-157 Experience
I really enjoyed oral BPC-157. Now let me first start off by saying I did have some issues with my stomach specially and I must say it was amazing for helping get it functioning properly again.
I also noticed when using the oral form my whole body just felt better. While I was not injured at the time I noticed my soreness went away faster, and my inflammation seemed much lower.
For me Oral BPC-157 was fantastic for helping to heal my whole body.
Injectable BPC-157 Experience
For me, injectable BPC-157 was really great for local injuries. Things like an elbow tweak or a shoulder injury, or even a small ankle injury it is able to heal those super effectively.
I did notice that it lost some effectiveness when the injury was over a greater area like my whole lower back was sore.
I still truly loved it though for helping to heal those injuries and get me back to lifting asap.
Oral BPC-157 Q&A
Q: Is Oral or Injectable BPC-157 better for my left elbow injury?
A: Both will help, but I think injectable will be better
Q: Can Oral BPC-157 help to heal my GI issues?
A: Yes oral BPC-157 is extremely effective at helping to heal the gut
Q: Is Oral BPC-157 able to be absorbed by the body?
A: Yes, it can be absorbed.
Q: Is Oral BPC-157 good for inflammation?
A: Yes, it can be very effective at helping to reduce inflammation.
Conclusion
In conclusion despite heavy criticism around oral BPC-157 it is not in any way a useless compound.
Sure the injectable version may hold some advantages over it, but at the same time oral BPC-157 is amazing at bringing down inflammation, and for healing the gut!
If you are on the fence about which one to go with I would sit down and evaluate your goals with the compound.
Studies Referenced
- Chang CH, Tsai WC, Lin MS, Hsu YH, Pang JH. The promoting effect of pentadecapeptide BPC 157 on tendon healing involves tendon outgrowth, cell survival, and cell migration. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2011 Mar;110(3):774-80. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00945.2010. Epub 2010 Oct 28. PMID: 21030672.
- Gwyer D, Wragg NM, Wilson SL. Gastric pentadecapeptide body protection compound BPC 157 and its role in accelerating musculoskeletal soft tissue healing. Cell Tissue Res. 2019 Aug;377(2):153-159. doi: 10.1007/s00441-019-03016-8. Epub 2019 Mar 27. PMID: 30915550.
- Seiwerth S, Milavic M, Vukojevic J, Gojkovic S, Krezic I, Vuletic LB, Pavlov KH, Petrovic A, Sikiric S, Vranes H, Prtoric A, Zizek H, Durasin T, Dobric I, Staresinic M, Strbe S, Knezevic M, Sola M, Kokot A, Sever M, Lovric E, Skrtic A, Blagaic AB, Sikiric P. Stable Gastric Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 and Wound Healing. Front Pharmacol. 2021 Jun 29;12:627533. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.627533. PMID: 34267654; PMCID: PMC8275860.
- Seiwerth S, Milavic M, Vukojevic J, Gojkovic S, Krezic I, Vuletic LB, Pavlov KH, Petrovic A, Sikiric S, Vranes H, Prtoric A, Zizek H, Durasin T, Dobric I, Staresinic M, Strbe S, Knezevic M, Sola M, Kokot A, Sever M, Lovric E, Skrtic A, Blagaic AB, Sikiric P. Stable Gastric Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 and Wound Healing. Front Pharmacol. 2021 Jun 29;12:627533. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.627533. PMID: 34267654; PMCID: PMC8275860.
- Sikiric P, Gojkovic S, Krezic I, Smoday IM, Kalogjera L, Zizek H, Oroz K, Vranes H, Vukovic V, Labidi M, Strbe S, Baketic Oreskovic L, Sever M, Tepes M, Knezevic M, Barisic I, Blagaic V, Vlainic J, Dobric I, Staresinic M, Skrtic A, Jurjevic I, Boban Blagaic A, Seiwerth S. Stable Gastric Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 May Recover Brain-Gut Axis and Gut-Brain Axis Function. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2023 Apr 30;16(5):676. doi: 10.3390/ph16050676. PMID: 37242459; PMCID: PMC10224484.
- Seiwerth S, Sikiric P, Grabarevic Z, Zoricic I, Hanzevacki M, Ljubanovic D, Coric V, Konjevoda P, Petek M, Rucman R, Turkovic B, Perovic D, Mikus D, Jandrijevic S, Medvidovic M, Tadic T, Romac B, Kos J, Peric J, Kolega Z. BPC 157’s effect on healing. J Physiol Paris. 1997 May-Oct;91(3-5):173-8. doi: 10.1016/s0928-4257(97)89480-6. PMID: 9403790.
- Sikiric P, Seiwerth S, Rucman R, Drmic D, Stupnisek M, Kokot A, Sever M, Zoricic I, Zoricic Z, Batelja L, Ziger T, Luetic K, Vlainic J, Rasic Z, Bencic ML. Stress in Gastrointestinal Tract and Stable Gastric Pentadecapeptide BPC 157. Finally, do we have a Solution? Curr Pharm Des. 2017;23(27):4012-4028. doi: 10.2174/1381612823666170220163219. PMID: 28228068.
