Dear reader,
Pep in Her Step is a weekly newsletter covering peptide and GLP-1 research for women. It publishes every Thursday. Each issue reads the peer-reviewed studies so you don't have to, checks every claim against the evidence, and tells you what actually holds up for women specifically. Every compound mentioned is tagged with its real regulatory status: FDA-approved, compounded, or research-only. Every issue is reviewed by a licensed pharmacist before it reaches your inbox. The newsletter covers: semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic), tirzepatide (Zepbound, Mounjaro), BPC-157, copper peptides (GHK-Cu), and the broader class of peptides circulating in telehealth, med spas, and online markets. When new research publishes or regulators act, that coverage happens the same week, in plain English.
Peptides went mainstream when GLP-1 medications became household names. The internet responded with thousands of confident protocols, dosing guides, and vendor recommendations. Almost none of it was tailored to women's bodies, and very little of it was grounded in what the clinical trials actually found.The gap between what the research says and what the forums are saying is where this newsletter lives.Women are the primary users of GLP-1 medications and the primary customers for the peptide market that grew up around them. The pivotal semaglutide weight-loss trial (STEP 1) was 73 percent female. The tirzepatide trial (SURMOUNT-1) was 68 percent female. Neither reported results by menstrual cycle phase. Neither analyzed outcomes by menopausal status. The trials were full of women. The analysis was not designed for them.Pep in Her Step covers the science that exists and names the gaps where it doesn't. Both matter.
Every Thursday issue is structured around five sections: The Big One. The week's primary research topic, covered in depth: mechanism, trial data, what the evidence does and does not establish, and why it may affect women differently. The Female Data Gap. One or two statistics that show exactly how underrepresented women's specific biology was in the most-cited trials on the week's topic. Deinfluenced. One viral claim from the week, graded A to F against the peer-reviewed evidence. Most grade D or F. Ask a Clinician. One reader question, answered by the newsletter's medical reviewer in plain language. Education, not a protocol. On the Radar. Three upcoming topics the research team is working through, so you know what is coming.
Every issue of Pep in Her Step is reviewed by Mais, PharmD, a licensed pharmacist, before it publishes. Her name appears on the masthead of every issue.The Ask a Clinician section is written and signed by Mais in her own voice. If a claim does not meet the standard she would stand behind professionally, it does not send.Medical review is not a marketing credential here. It is the editorial process.
Pep in Her Step does not sell peptides, supplements, or any health products. It never will. It does not publish dosing information, sourcing guidance, or protocols. It does not provide medical advice, and nothing in any issue should be read as a recommendation for an individual reader.The newsletter does not promote compounded or research-only compounds as safe or effective. When a compound has no human trial data, it says so. When a regulatory status is contested or changing, it says so.It is education. The prescriber conversation is yours to have.
Women who are on a GLP-1 medication and want to understand what the research actually says. Women considering peptide therapies and looking for a source that applies the same scrutiny to a med spa offer that a pharmacist would. Women who have noticed the protocols were never designed for their bodies and want the newsletter that starts from that fact.No prior science background required. A preference for evidence over enthusiasm helps.
The editors
Pep in Her Step