The Quantum Power of GLP-1 Peptides

Praise for Dr. William A. Seeds

Dr. Seeds’ compassion and unique ability to work with complex patients to restore them to health are surpassed only by his undying passion to understand every metabolic pathway that leads to disease and aging and ultimately to teach others how to utilize his most groundbreaking peptide therapies to breathe new life into their medical practice. His brilliance in connecting all disease, including aging, to cellular senescence will ultimately change your thinking and, in fact, the entire model of medicine as we now know it.

—Elizabeth Yurth, MD

The information in this book is not intended for diagnosis, treatment, or prescription. All information, case examples, and other sample treatment protocols are meant for educational purposes only.

Any use of the information in this book is at the reader’s discretion and should be done in consult with a medical professional. The author and publisher disclaim any and all liability arising directly or indirectly from the use or application of any information contained in this book.

Always consult your physician before implementing any treatment protocol.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Author or Publisher.

Copyright © 2025 by William A. Seeds, MD.

All Rights Reserved.

Printed in the United States of America.

Published by SSRP Institute

Madison, Ohio

ISNB (print): 9798218614621

ISBN (ebook): 9798218614652

Book Design and Production by Happenstance Type-O-Rama.

Typeset in Adobe Caslon Pro and Bebas Pro

First Edition

Introduction

The hype about GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic has clouded their importance beyond weight loss. Yes, these peptides have been like a miracle cure for people who have struggled to lose weight and bring their type 2 diabetes under control. However, the power of GLP-1 peptides lies not in how they address symptoms but in how they target the underlying metabolic dysfunction that causes chronic disease, including obesity and type 2 diabetes. Why? Because these peptides have the potential to change the phenotype of cells. And their power does not stop there. Recent and ongoing research has shown that by getting at the root causes of metabolic dysfunction, including redox imbalance and systemic inflammation, GLP-1 peptides have the capacity to treat

cardiovascular disease,

neurodegenerative diseases,

autoimmune disorders,

colorectal cancers,

infertility, and

inflammatory conditions including arthritis, dysbiosis, and sarcopenia.

By understanding how to reengineer the cellular mechanisms that trigger disease, we gain insight into how to prevent such diseases. And, as always, disease starts at the cellular level. Helping other physicians and healthcare practitioners harness the potential of GLP-1 therapies to prevent disease should motivate all of us—indeed, this is my primary motivation for writing this book. I see The Quantum Power of GLP-1 Peptides as an educational tool that can unlock the cellular science behind GLP-1 peptides so that more providers can expand their knowledge base and apply this powerful intervention to help patients around the world lose weight, manage type 2 diabetes, and influence epigenetic biomarkers that historically could only be treated after symptoms developed.

In this book, you will learn how GLP-1s and other gut peptides can be used to make underlying cellular processes more efficient and thereby more functional. You will learn why these peptides have such a profound healing effect on the brain and body, creating lasting weight loss and effective management of type 2 diabetes. By digging into the mechanics of cellular metabolism, redox balance and the antioxidant system, microbiome homeostasis, immune modulation, and appetite control, you will gain a more complete understanding of how best to utilize these peptides as powerful preventive agents, as well as fine-tune their application so that you know how to target the cellular pathways involved. I’ve provided an overview of the history of GLP-1s, the research behind them, and the latest studies to further elucidate how and why these peptides work so well at addressing inflammation at all levels and thereby get to the root of metabolic dysfunction.

In addition, I’ve included a number of case studies based on patients in my own practice to show how these peptides can be applied clinically. It’s my hope that these examples will help you think about your individual patient profiles and make the most effective treatment decisions according to their specific needs. If you are not a healthcare practitioner and come to this book out of curiosity about peptides, I am hopeful that you will gain valuable insight into how and why they have the potential to optimize your health and overall well-being. Do these remarkable peptides help with aging? Absolutely. Why? Because they stimulate cell processes that restore functioning. After reading through the sections on cellular medicine (I promise I’ve made it accessible!), you will be a more informed, empowered patient.

If you’ve read my two other books (Peptide Protocols, Volume One [2020] and The Redox Promise [2024]), you know I am a huge proponent of exercise, diet, and sleep as crucial lifestyle pillars that further augment the impact of peptides like GLP-1s. Exercise is an absolute game-changer when it comes to cellular metabolism, efficiency, and cytoprotection. This is also true of diet: the scientific evidence is irrefutable that eating more plant-based foods, which are naturally high in fiber, is an additional way to help metabolism. Let me be clear: I am not against eating animal-based food sources, but when you drill down to the benefits of a high-fiber diet, you may find yourself more motivated than ever to be intentional about including fruits, vegetables, and other forms of fiber in your daily regimen. And yes, I am still an advocate for adequate protein consumption. In the pages ahead, I have also devoted significant space to sleep—specifically, how to restore the circadian clock once it’s been disrupted. This internal body clock plays an important role in how we set the stage for cellular functioning. In other words, when your sleep cycle is off, your cells cannot repair themselves after days or weeks of stressful onslaughts, nor can they get rid of, for example, the buildup of environmental toxins.

Another motivator for my writing The Quantum Power of GLP-1 Peptides is to share what I believe is a paradigm shift in medicine: the emerging capacities of GLP-1 receptor agonists to address the root causes of life-threatening diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease. I will share with you the essential takeaways from the most up-to-date research and studies being conducted worldwide. In addition, I will cover how GLP-1s in general can address autoimmune disorders, infertility conditions such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome, and musculoskeletal issues such as arthritis, sarcopenia, and osteoporosis.

GLP-1s have changed the world as we know it by delivering multiple FDA-approved peptides to help people lose a significant amount of weight and treat type 2 diabetes, two of the most stubborn precursors to a host of chronic diseases, including heart disease and neurodegenerative disease. This is great news, but let’s not lose sight of the enormous opportunity we have right now to understand the full ramifications of the pathophysiology behind these metabolic diseases, including dysregulation of the microbiome and weakening of the immune system. In the pages ahead, I hope to shed valuable light on the many overlapping interactions that occur at the cellular level. As responsible physicians and healthcare practitioners, we need to make a clear connection between these powerful gut peptides and learn how to address cellular metabolism and functioning.

It’s my hope that you will be inspired to dive into the cellular mechanisms of GLP-1s and other peptides so that you can discover the key to losing weight, treating type 2 diabetes, and decreasing the risk of heart disease and so that you can learn why the key lies in making the body’s cells more efficient, which in turn improves overall health and optimizes the health span. It’s for this reason that I see weight loss as a side effect and not the primary goal of GLP-1s. In this book, you will have an opportunity to put two and two together so that when you consider treating your patients with any one of the GLP agonists, you understand the mechanisms and can make the best choices for them. We are at a propitious time in medicine, with so many people becoming proactive in their quest to learn and deepen their knowledge about how they can live long lives with an improved health span. This book is my humble attempt to participate, to teach, and to inspire. Improve your health span and be well.

Part 1

Understanding the Roots of Metabolic Dysfunction

The Power of GLP-1s and Other Peptides to Transform Medicine

The scientific world has known about the power of GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) molecules for decades. GLP-1 peptides are produced in our bodies naturally by the L cells of the distal ileum and colon. As we age, our bodies become less and less productive; like many cell processes, the mechanisms of metabolism slow down the older we get. The discovery of the first GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) for treating diabetes was inspired by the study of incretin hormones, which help regulate blood sugar levels. In the early 1990s, researchers identified GLP-1 as a key hormone that stimulates insulin secretion in response to food intake. However, natural GLP-1 degrades quickly in the body, limiting its therapeutic potential. A breakthrough came when scientists discovered exendin-4, a naturally occurring peptide in the saliva of the Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum), which mimicked GLP-1 but had a much longer half-life.

Marketed as Byetta, exenatide received FDA approval in 2005, offering a novel approach to diabetes management by improving blood sugar control while also promoting weight loss. As researchers began to understand GLP-1’s multipurpose function related to cell metabolism, they began to synthesize molecules that mimic the ones created by the body. We call these GLP-1 receptor agonists because they are manufactured to replace what the body is not making in sufficient amounts and are reintroduced at receptor sites to stimulate cell signaling. Just like insulin injections help people with type 2 or type 1 diabetes uptake glucose and regulate blood sugar, GLP-1 RAs activate the GLP-1 receptor to stimulate insulin production, inhibit the release of glucagon, and slow gastric emptying, thereby reducing hyperglycemia. And like insulin, GLP-1 RAs are recognized by cells, which is why they have so few side effects.

Another early GLP-1 RA was liraglutide, developed by Novo Nordisk and approved by the FDA in 2010 to treat type 2 diabetes. In 2014 it was approved to treat chronic weight management in adults, under the brand name Saxenda, and in 2020 it was approved for children age 12 and older with obesity. Like the other GLP-1s, liraglutide is a synthetic GLP-1 RA that’s administered by subcutaneous injection and works by increasing insulin secretion in response to glucose, decreasing glucagon secretion, slowing gastric emptying, and increasing satiety (the feeling of fullness that helps the brain–body signal to cue people to stop eating).

Another breakthrough came with the development of the GLP-1 RA semaglutide. Scientists at Novo Nordisk were looking to build upon liraglutide and create a more stable and longer-acting GLP-1 analog. To that end, researchers modified the molecular structure of GLP-1 to enhance its half-life and efficacy; these changes demonstrated significant benefits in lowering blood glucose and promoting weight loss. Semaglutide was first approved by the FDA in 2017 as Ozempic for diabetes management and in 2021 as Wegovy for chronic weight management. The impact of semaglutide has since extended beyond diabetes treatment, fueling interest in its potential applications in metabolic health and beyond. (You will learn more about these additional benefits in Part 3.)

Like liraglutide, semaglutide can help with weight loss, but the two differ in that liraglutide is a daily-dose injectable, whereas semaglutide is administered once per week, making it more user-friendly. In addition, in clinical trials, semaglutide was shown to help people lose more weight. (In clinical trials, semaglutide has been shown to be more effective than placebo for weight loss: after 68 weeks, one-half of the trial participants using semaglutide lost 15% of their body weight and nearly one-third lost 20%. Semaglutide was also shown to be more effective than placebo for weight loss: the estimated mean body weight change from baseline was −16.0% for semaglutide compared to −5.7% for placebo at the end of 68 weeks.)

As you will see in Part 2, there are numerous GLP-1 RAs on the market today, all of which work on similar and overlapping cellular pathways that address the root causes of many metabolic disorders.

The Mechanics of Weight Loss

I’ve been safely and effectively using GLP-1 RAs in my practice for over a decade to help my patients achieve significant, lasting weight loss; manage (and in some cases reverse) type 2 diabetes; improve their cardiac health; and lead them to overall better, more resilient health. However, with the development of GLP-1 RA peptides such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Trulicity over the past several years, I’ve noted that many doctors and patients have become confused, if not overwhelmed, by the degree of choice. Yes, the fact that we have choices is wonderful and is a testament to bringing important medical science to people who can benefit. However, the proliferation of peptides that target weight loss and type 2 diabetes also brings significant questions about how best to make decisions for and with your patients. Although all the current drugs share measurable benefits related to suppressing appetite, slowing gastric emptying, and helping to balance blood sugar, none is a one-size-fits-all medication. Why? Because the mechanics of weight loss—and the reasons for the weight gain in the first place—are nuanced. Any individual patient presents a particular mix of genetic and epigenetic characteristics that need to be considered.

We know weight loss is associated with numerous downstream benefits to health. The list is long and includes lowering blood pressure, improving cholesterol levels, reducing the risk of heart disease, enhancing mobility, alleviating joint pain, improving sleep quality, boosting energy levels, stabilizing blood sugar, potentially lowering the risk of certain cancers, and improving overall mood and self-esteem. But it’s important to remember that it’s not the loss in weight that’s actually creating these results. It’s the improved cell efficiency that enables people to lose fat.

As responsible physicians and healthcare providers, we must make sure we not only differentiate the various peptide options, but also, and perhaps more importantly, approach individual treatment at the cellular level. This approach asks us to look more deeply at the root causes of metabolic dysfunction and take stock of the complex interplay of cellular pathways that both cause disease and offer us the opportunity to treat disease more effectively.

In addition, as research advances, we are learning more and more about how application of gut peptides positively impacts precursors to cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, autoimmune disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and other conditions. I’m proud to say that I’ve seen incredible outcomes with my own patients. (You will read about these case studies in Part 4.)

These applications of gut peptides underscore the importance of understanding cellular functioning in general and the underlying causes of metabolic dysfunction in particular. The interrelated processes of redox balance, mitochondrial functioning, inflammatory markers, microbiome homeostasis, and immune modulation all come into play; when any one of these processes becomes dysregulated or inefficient, typically due to redox imbalance, a cascade of inflammatory responses occurs, setting off systemic inefficiencies that affect core factors in cellular