The Morning Dose #18: Fake Ozempic, Exercise for Sexual Health, and Preventing Dementia

In this week’s edition of The Morning Dose:

 Peptide Spotlight: Gonadorelin

Is Aerobic Exercise Better Than Viagra?

Warning: Fake Ozempic May Cause Seizures

 Research Spotlight: Deep Sleep May Prevent Dementia

Let’s inject this.

First time reading? I’m Matt, and this is The Morning Dose. Every week, our team scours hundreds of sources to bring you need-to-know news and insights you won’t find elsewhere. All in 5 minutes.

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 Peptide Spotlight: Gonadorelin

In this week’s peptide deep dive, we’re looking at Gonadorelin, a fertility peptide.

Gonadorelin is primarily used to treat infertility in men and women, similar to HCG. Because of this, it’s become quite popular among TRT users and prescribers, mainly due to the FDA’s crackdown on HCG.

Just like HCG, Gonadorelin mimics the role of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GRH) and stimulates the release of FSH and LH.

For anyone using TRT, FSH and LH will be shut down, as the exogenous testosterone will tell your body that it doesn’t need to make it anymore.

While this is fine when it comes to testosterone levels, this FSH and LH shutdown also causes testicular shrinkage, and in many men, severely decreases fertility.

If you’re done having kids, this is no problem. But the longer FSH and LH are shut down, the harder it is to restore levels, and some men find that when they stop TRT to restore fertility and have kids, restarting the system is quite difficult, if not impossible.

(Also, TRT is NOT birth control, so while your fertility may be severely reduced while using it, you still need to be careful.)

So, if you’re on TRT and want to keep your testicular size, as well as keep the FSH and LH flowing to maintain as much fertility as possible, Gonadorelin is a great option to speak with your physician about.

For more, check out our complete guide to Gonadorelin here.

 Is Aerobic Exercise Better Than Viagra?

I know it sounds like this week’s newsletter is all about men’s health stuff, but I promise there’s valuable content in this study for everyone.

Anyway, a new study from Oxford’s Journal of Sexual Medicine found that regular aerobic exercise can be nearly as effective as medications like Viagra when it comes to treating erectile dysfunction (ED).

Why?

Well, most ED stems from cardiovascular health issues.

Sure, you might have performance anxiety, or something going on with your hormones, but for many men, ED stems from poor cardiovascular fitness. If your body can’t adequately pump blood where it needs to go, well, you might have struggles in bed.

In fact, most ED medications are PDE5 inhibitors, which help the blood vessels in your body relax, improving blood flow.

And sure, you could rely on these medications to maintain your erections, but if’ve reached the point that you need them to perform, there’s a good chance you have, or will soon have, other cardiovascular health issues.

Relying on Viagra or Cialis may be masking a deeper issue that’s only going to get worse if left unchecked.

If you find that you regularly need to use ED medications, and you’re not doing much cardio throughout the week, this is your reminder that regular cardiovascular exercise is critical for your health and should be a weekly habit for all of us.

And for the ladies, you’ll get the same cardiovascular health benefits as men from regular cardio as well as improved sexual function, according to this study that found chronic exercise improved sexual satisfaction in women.

Warning: Fake Ozempic May Cause Seizures

Weight loss drugs are becoming more and more common by the day, and demand for weight loss peptides has never been higher.

They work, they’re improving health outcomes for those who need them… and we’re now seeing the consequences of a massive shortage.

According to this story in Medical News Today:

“Since January this year, the MHRA has seized 369 potentially fake Ozempic pens and has received reports of fake Saxenda pens obtained by people in the U.K. In the U.S., the Food and Drugs Administration is investigating reports of potentially counterfeit versions of the drug sold in U.S. pharmacies.”

They’re finding these fake pens because people are ending up in the hospital with hypoglycemia and seizures, according to health authorities in Austria.

Now, we’re not talking about peptides from compounding pharmacies here…

We’re talking about counterfeit pens that have been designed to look exactly like the real thing.

These poor users weren’t taking a calculated risk with research peptides; they genuinely believed they had real ozempic.

If you happen to get your hands on an Ozempic pen from someone who’s not your doctor or pharmacist, here are the warning signs you may have a counterfeit product, from this press release by the Austrian Federal Office for Safety in Health Care:

The counterfeit pen differs in colour from the original, the “blue” is darker than the original.

The safety window is different. In the counterfeit it is completely transparent, in the original it is covered with grey paint.

The dose adjustment ring is different. It can be extended in the counterfeit, which is not possible in the original.

The enclosed needles both have a length of 4 mm, the labelling of the original needle is 32G and not 31G.

To be safe, work with a physician who will oversee your progress and prescribe weight loss peptides directly from a pharmacy.

We strongly recommend using the doctors at FountainGLP, who are currently offering 84% off your initial online weight loss consultation. They’ll help you decide if weight loss peptides are right for you, and if so, they can have them shipped right to your doorstep.

 Research Spotlight: Deep Sleep May Prevent Dementia

Now that we’ve covered sexual health and peptide safety, let’s look at some new research on cognitive health.

A new study from the Monash School of Psychological Sciences published in JAMA on October 30th looked at the relationship between sleep loss and dementia… and the results are scary, to say the least.

The researchers looked at 346 participants and found that in those over the age of 60, each 1% decrease in deep sleep per year resulted in a 27% increase risk of dementia.

Study after study shows the massive health benefits of deep, restorative sleep, and this may be the scariest one yet.

So many people sacrifice their sleep to stay up late working, partying, or watching Netflix, and in the short term, this may be fine…

But in the long term, it’s clearly not a great idea.

And even if you’re under the age of 60, there’s no upside to missing out on sleep, and the sooner you build good sleep habits, the better.

Of all the anti-aging tips, tricks, and biohacks out there, proper sleep may be the most important thing to focus on.

After all, once you have dementia, there’s no treatment, so the best thing to do is focus on minimizing your risk as much as possible.

Next time you’re deciding between a good night’s sleep and “just one more episode” of your favorite show, take a second to consider your long-term health.

We only get one brain, and it’s best to take care of it.