Why I Take Low-Dose Tirzepatide (& Not Retatrutide)
Brad Stanfield
May 28, 2026
Episode description
🩺 Get your personalized health plan: https://drstanfield.com
💊 Supplements I Take: https://drstanfield.com/pages/my-supplements
💊MicroVitamin+ (Pro) Powder: https://drstanfield.com/products/microvitamin-plus
💊MicroVitamin Standard Capsules: https://drstanfield.com/products/microvitamin
Timestamps:
00:00 Discovery of GLP-1 and Weight Loss Effects
01:33 Cardiovascular and Kidney Benefits of GLP-1
02:45 GLP-1 Medications and Cancer Progression
02:51 GLP-1 Medications and Joint Health
06:39 Benefits of GLP-1 and GIP Combination
08:57 Why Tirzepatide Over Retatrutide
09:52 My Personal Experience with Tirzepatide
10:23 Safety Concerns
✔️ X: https://x.com/BradStanfieldMD
✔️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bradstanfieldmd
Here are the links to the research papers referenced in the video:
SELECT (Lincoff 2023) — https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2307563
FLOW (Perkovic 2024) — https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2403347
SURPASS-CVOT primary (Nicholls 2025) — https://www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1056/NEJMoa2505928
Exenatide history (Wikipedia) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exenatide
SCALE (Pi-Sunyer 2015) — https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1411892
STEP 1 (Wilding 2021) — https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2032183
ASCO 2026 — GLP-1 + cancer progression — https://www.oncology-central.com/asco-2026-glp-1s-could-reduce-the-risk-of-some-obesity-related-cancers-progressing/
Cartilage regeneration review — https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10071204/
Weight loss → knee-joint load (Messier 2005) — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15986358/
STEP 9 (semaglutide + knee OA) — https://www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1056/NEJMoa2403664
Chen pair-fed mice / semaglutide + OA (Cell Metabolism 2026) — https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(26)00008-2
Di Chen quote — CGTN — https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-02-12/-Weight-loss-wonder-drug-can-also-treats-osteoarthritis-study-finds-1KHcUiXzHsQ/p.html
ESSENCE (Sanyal 2025, MASH) — https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2413258
Klausen Lancet (semaglutide + AUD, 2026) — https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00305-3
Retatrutide Phase 2 (Jastreboff 2023) — https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2301972
Tirzepatide vs Semaglutide HR — https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2107519
Pancreatitis meta-analysis — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32720500/
Thyroid cancer + semaglutide review — https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11050669/
FDA suicide signal evaluation (Jan 2024) — https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-communications/update-fdas-ongoing-evaluation-reports-suicidal-thoughts-or-actions-patients-taking-certain-type
GLP-1 calorie-intake reduction — https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11340591/
Mozaffarian 2025 Joint Advisory (multivitamin-mineral recommendation) — https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12304835/
MicroVitamin Labdoor review (99.7%) — https://labdoor.com/review/dr-brad-stanfield-microvitamin
Thumbnail by James Kelly
Video edited by Troy Young
Script by John Milliken
The links above are affiliate links, so I receive a small commission every time you use them to purchase a product. The content contained in this video, and its accompanying description, is not intended to replace viewers’ relationships with their own medical practitioner. Always speak with your doctor regarding the content of this channel, and especially before using any products, services, or devices discussed on this channel.
Mindsip insights from this episode:
Choose Tirzepatide for broader cardiorenal event reduction
The speaker chose Tirzepatide (GLP-1/GIP) because a post-hoc analysis showed it reduced a wider range of cardiorenal events by 16% compared to a pure GLP-1 drug.
Activate GLP-1 receptors in cartilage for cellular repair
Contrary to expectations, cartilage cells have GLP-1 receptors, which these drugs activate to flip a metabolic switch and provide enough energy for cellular repair.
Eliminate food noise with low-dose Tirzepatide for healthier eating
A personal benefit of using low-dose Tirzepatide is a significant drop in 'food noise,' making it much easier to stick to a healthy diet because junk food cravings are gone.
Utilize Semaglutide to promote knee cartilage regeneration
A pilot study found that patients on Semaglutide showed an average 17% increase in cartilage thickness on MRI scans, suggesting regeneration.
Avoid triple-agonist Retatrutide to maintain lean muscle
The speaker avoids the triple-agonist Retatrutide because its glucagon component increases metabolic rate and resting heart rate, which is undesirable for someone trying to maintain lean muscle.
Consider Tirzepatide for longevity despite lack of trials
A 34-year-old GP without diabetes or obesity takes 1.25mg of Tirzepatide weekly as a longevity bet, even though no clinical trials have studied this use case.
Leverage Semaglutide for heart health beyond weight loss
The SELECT trial showed Semaglutide cut major cardiovascular events by 20%, and a significant portion of this benefit did not track with how much weight was lost.
Recognize kidney protection independent of weight loss
According to the FLOW trial, Semaglutide's protective effect on kidney health was found to be unrelated to changes in body weight.
Take Mitamin multivitamin to support reduced food intake
To counteract reduced food intake, the speaker takes a multivitamin called Mitamin, which was third-party tested by labdoor.com and received a 99.7% score.
More from
Brad Stanfield
You also might be interested in
#398 ‒ AMA #86: GLP-1 RAs and muscle loss: new data, better questions, and how to preserve muscle during weight loss
This Peptide Reverses Osteoarthritis!
I Did Mushrooms for Science, Pt. 1
I Tested The Most Dangerous Viral Brain Hack
How To Microdose GLP-1 (& How To Make Eating Less EASY Even After You Stop Your Peptides) With Geoff Cook of NOOM
