Peptide therapy TikTok claims: what the science actually says

What did @connorgettingcheddar actually say?

The creator claims that 5-Amino-1MQ works by suppressing an enzyme he vaguely describes as "NAD or something," which he says puts the body into an energy-burning mode and "supercharges" mitochondria to accelerate fat loss. He's stacking it with something he calls "Ratatouille" — likely Retatrutide, a GLP-1/GIP/glucagon triple agonist peptide — and reports higher energy levels and faster weight loss compared to a previous Retatrutide-only cycle.

Credit where it's due: he does frame this as personal experience rather than universal advice. But the mechanism he describes is garbled enough to mislead anyone who takes it at face value, and the stack he's casually running is not something to replicate based on a TikTok anecdote.

Does the science back this up?

Partially, but the mechanism explanation is a mess. 5-Amino-1MQ is a small-molecule inhibitor of NNMT (nicotinamide N-methyltransferase), not NAD itself. This distinction matters.

NNMT is an enzyme that methylates nicotinamide, effectively diverting it away from NAD+ synthesis. When NNMT is overexpressed, particularly in adipose tissue, it suppresses NAD+ levels and reduces cellular energy expenditure. 5-Amino-1MQ blocks NNMT, which in theory allows NAD+ to accumulate, activating sirtuins and potentially boosting mitochondrial metabolism.

A 2021 study by Neelakantan et al. in Nature Communications showed that NNMT inhibition with a related compound reduced adiposity in diet-induced obese mice without caloric restriction. Romanelli et al. (2021, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry) characterized 5-Amino-1MQ specifically as a potent NNMT inhibitor with favorable pharmacokinetics in rodents. The mitochondrial upregulation angle has some mechanistic basis. But all of this is preclinical. There are no published human clinical trials on 5-Amino-1MQ as of 2024.

What did they get wrong (or right)?

The creator got the general direction right but the enzyme wrong. He says it suppresses "NAD or something" — it suppresses NNMT, the enzyme that degrades the precursor to NAD+. Saying it suppresses NAD is essentially backwards from what the mechanism actually does.

The "overclock your body cells" and "supercharge mitochondria" framing is colorful but not inaccurate in spirit. NNMT inhibition does appear to increase energy expenditure at the cellular level in animal models. That part tracks.

What he got wrong more seriously: describing this stack as if the results are attributable to 5-Amino-1MQ. He's running it alongside Retatrutide, a peptide that mimics three separate gut hormones and has shown significant weight loss effects in Phase 2 trials (Jastreboff et al., 2023, New England Journal of Medicine). Crediting 5-Amino-1MQ for faster fat loss when Retatrutide is in the picture is not a controlled observation. It's a confounded anecdote.

What should you actually know?

5-Amino-1MQ is a research chemical with zero human trial data published. The rodent studies are legitimately interesting, and the NNMT pathway is a real area of metabolic research. But interesting preclinical data has failed to translate to humans countless times.

Retatrutide, whatever the creator is calling "Ratatouille," is a different story. It has actual Phase 2 human data showing roughly 17% body weight reduction over 24 weeks (Jastreboff et al., 2023, NEJM). If someone on that peptide also reports faster fat loss, Retatrutide is the far more likely driver.

The stack itself raises real questions. Combining an experimental NNMT inhibitor with a powerful triple GI hormone agonist has no published safety data whatsoever. Any reported "higher energy" could reflect Retatrutide's metabolic effects, a placebo response, or something else entirely. This is not a protocol to replicate from a TikTok video.

• 5-Amino-1MQ is not approved by the FDA for any use.
• NNMT inhibitor research is active but entirely preclinical in humans.
• Retatrutide is in clinical trials but not yet approved or legally prescribable as a compounded peptide in most contexts.
• Stacking experimental compounds without medical supervision carries unknown risks.