Happy Tuesday!
Today, I just released the masterclass on CJC-1295.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8OEo-mcbdpY
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1CUunrginro5Mqopgyn1Js?si=pUM1csl7RbKCJnnZbOX-iA
I covered both versions in this one, no DAC and DAC, so you finally get a clear distinction between the two.
I like to think I have a decent pulse on what people are buying in the research space, and CJC is near the top.
It can work really well. But people don't realize how powerful it is, and they don't realize what the side effects look like.
Let's fix that.
History
In 1982, two independent groups isolated growth hormone releasing factor from a pancreatic tumor, which turned GHRH from theory into a real molecule.
Seven years later, Laurence Ferment found the problem. An enzyme called DPP-IV destroys natural GHRH in minutes. He showed one change at position two blocks that cut entirely.
Sermorelin, tesamorelin, and CJC all trace back to this discovery.
It never received FDA approval and was thus relegated to the research space.
Mechanisms
Your hypothalamus makes GHRH, which travels to the pituitary and triggers a GH release.
Natural GHRH is 44 amino acids, but only the first 29 carry the signal.
CJC is that backbone with four swaps.
The big one is D-alanine at position two, which blocks DPP-IV from finding the cut site. The other three improve stability, receptor fit, and resistance to oxidation.
From there it's simple. CJC binds the GHRH receptor on your pituitary and releases stored GH. That GH tells your liver to make IGF-1, and IGF-1 does the downstream work.
Growth hormone comes in pulses, mostly while you sleep. The gaps let receptors reset and keep IGF-1 from staying elevated around the clock.
DAC Versus No DAC
DAC stands for drug affinity complex, and this is the fork in the road.
No DAC has about a thirty-minute half-life. One short pulse. You'll also see it sold as Mod GRF 1-29.
With DAC you get a five to nine day half life. It bonds permanently to albumin, which circulates for around nineteen days and carries the peptide along for the ride. So your GH stays elevated for a week.
The beauty of growth hormone is the pulse. It goes up, it does its job, it comes down.
Elevate it chronically and never let it fall, and you're telling the body to grow around the clock.
The first thing you see is insulin resistance. Take that far enough for long enough, and you're looking at organ growth, lipid problems, and vascular toxicity.
In 99% of cases, I'd take no DAC.
Who It’s For
Ages 35 to 55 with declining recovery. The pituitary is still capable, it just fires less forcefully.
Athletes in hard training blocks. Elevated IGF-1 gives you an anabolic background.
Injury and surgical recovery. It behooves you to have a GH player running behind BPC or TB-500.
Poor sleepers. A bedtime dose usually deepens sleep within one to two weeks.
Around 70% get injection site reactions. Around 30% get transient hives. And 63% get a headache versus 14% on placebo.
I always want people to understand those numbers before diving in to CJC.
And if your fundamentals aren't handled, skip it.
Untreated low testosterone or thyroid dysfunction means GH peptides won't work. You do not replace testosterone with ipamorelin and CJC. That will NEVER work.
Dosing
Start at 100mcg subcutaneously before bed. I know some people say take 300mcg, but I'd rather you find out how you react at 100mcg than at 500mcg.
For performance or stacking, 100mcg twice daily works, paired with ipamorelin at a one-to-one ratio.
For injury or real dysfunction, 100 to 200mcg two or three times per day. Past 300mcg doesn’t have any added benefit in my experience.
Fasting is not optional here. Elevated insulin blunts the pituitary response, so inject at least 60 minutes away from food.
Track IGF-1. It's not perfect, but it's the best proxy we have.
Cycle it 12 to 16 weeks on, four to six off, with five days on and two days off inside the cycle.
I like to run ipamorelin by itself first, confirm you tolerate it, then layer CJC on top. Probably 10 to 20% of people won't do well with CJC, and you want to know which molecule caused it.
Final Thoughts
CJC is one of my favorites for body composition, recovery, and long-term health span work.
It's also one that a meaningful percentage of people do not tolerate, and that gets glossed over constantly in marketing material.
If I were running one, no DAC, twelve to sixteen weeks on, four to six off, testing IGF-1, adding ipamorelin only after establishing tolerance to each in isolation.
Do that, and you're going to be fine.
Exogenous growth hormone will always do more.
But there are millions of people this could help, and it's a good place to start.
Have a fantastic week!
Best,
Hunter Williams