\n Here\u2019s what to know about how peptides work and what to do if you\u2019re interested in them.\n <\/p>\n
\n All of us have peptides in our bodies. They\u2019re short chains of amino acids<\/a> that play key roles in regulating important functions such as building muscle, controlling blood pressure, producing hormones or managing weight.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cCompanies now manufacture peptides with the intent of mimicking natural processes in the body,\u201d Dr. Jessica Alvarez, a professor in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Lipids at the Emory University School of Medicine, said in an email. \u201cWe\u2019re hearing about peptides more often because technology advances<\/a> have made them easier and cheaper to synthesize.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n So when someone is taking peptides, either through injections or by mouth, they\u2019re getting a synthetic form of what\u2019s naturally found in the body.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWhat we\u2019re really doing is working with compounds that naturally exist in the body and increasing them to achieve targeted clinical effects,\u201d said Dr. Lisa Cassileth, founder and CEO of The Practice Healthcare<\/a> in Beverly Hills, who specializes in peptides, breast reconstruction for cancer patients and cosmetic procedures.\n <\/p>\n \n When people choose to use certain peptides, they\u2019re often aiming to influence or improve specific functions in the body.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cPeptides are messengers, and they\u2019re messengers that are going to tell your body to do something,\u201d Miller said. \u201cThese messengers can be telling your body to reduce inflammation; that\u2019s a peptide called BPC-157. Or another messenger might tell it to regenerate cellular levels of the skin, like a copper peptide.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Popular diabetes and weight-loss medications called GLP-1s, such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound and Mounjaro, are peptides. Insulin, the hormone that helps regulate blood sugar, is probably the best-known peptide.\n <\/p>\n \n And similar to how scientists have turned insulin into a diabetes medication, other peptides have been synthesized and turned into medications that require prescriptions, over-the-counter supplements or cosmetic products.\n <\/p>\n \n People may seek out peptide therapies for medical, cosmetic or performance reasons, such as muscle growth, fat loss, injury recovery, osteoporosis treatment, sleep quality, skin care, body building or anti-aging.\n <\/p>\n \n Dr. Hal Mohammed entered the world of peptides in 2023 when he started to use tirzepatide, a GLP-1 that\u2019s sold under the brand names Mounjaro and Zepbound. He wanted to lose unhealthy weight, he said, and he had been diagnosed with prediabetes, a condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes.\n <\/p>\n \n After months of using tirzepatide, \u201cI lost 70 pounds. My blood sugar completely normalized. So being prediabetic disappeared. My hemoglobin A1C is like 4.9. My lipid panel looks spectacular,\u201d said Mohammed, global chief medical officer of Gameday Men\u2019s Health.\n <\/p>\n \n He then used a peptide called tesamorelin<\/a> to lose visceral fat, which he worried was accumulating around his organs despite his use of the GLP-1. Both tirzepatide and tesamorelin have been approved by the FDA \u2013 tirzepatide to treat diabetes and weight management, and tesamorelin to help people with HIV lose excess abdominal fat \u2013 but his use of the latter was considered \u201coff-label\u201d since it was for another purpose.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWhat I did was use it for a few months, and I noticed that I dropped about a pound or two of total fat and visceral fat loss, and that improves your metabolic health,\u201d Mohammed said.\n <\/p>\n \n Then, \u201cI had major hand surgery last year. I used recovery peptides that didn\u2019t necessarily have a ton of data behind them, but I saw them work in plenty of patients, and I decided to use it on myself. It\u2019s a little bit anecdotal, but we did see healing there,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, for sure, GLP-1s have been a gateway to this.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n GLP-1 medications are currently the \u201cmost public use of peptides,\u201d Chelsea Hagopian<\/a>, an assistant clinical professor at Emory University\u2019s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, said in an email.\n <\/p>\n \n However, \u201cthere are similar peptides for growth hormone, testosterone, and other molecules, which you\u2019d want to potentially have more of in the body to elicit a change that you\u2019re looking for, such as for muscle regeneration, muscle growth, fat loss, energy, or mood,\u201d said Hagopian, who is also a nurse practitioner at a private plastic surgery practice in Atlanta. \u201cAnd then there are some investigational peptides that show a lot of promise for things like focus and cognition.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Cassileth said she has prescribed the peptides BPC-157, GHK-Cu and TB500 to promote healing in patients who\u2019ve had surgery.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI do breast cancer reconstruction, and one of the problems when you do a mastectomy is, there\u2019s low blood flow to the skin,\u201d Cassileth said.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWhen I inject BPC-157, it creates additional new blood flow,\u201d she said, as well as cellular repair.\n <\/p>\n \n Those people who are healthy enough to be cleared for surgery are typically also healthy enough for the benefits of peptides to outweigh the risks, when used in the short term, she said. But she added that the peptide is used for only one week after surgery because there is no long-term data on its use in cancer survivors and the potential risks of the peptide stimulating the growth of cells.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI don\u2019t recommend long term BPC-157 if someone has active cancer,\u201d Cassileth said. \u201cAnything that stimulates cellular repair can also help support cell life. You want the normal body to recover, but you certainly don\u2019t want to stimulate cancer growth. I think short courses are appropriate right after surgery, because the risks of surgery are so great.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n There are three ways to look at peptides, Mohammed said.\n <\/p>\n \n First, \u201cthere\u2019s the FDA-approved ones, with clear indications, with manufacturing oversight,\u201d he said. The peptide medications that have been approved by the FDA have been tested for safety in clinical trials, which evaluate their benefits and risks.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThen there\u2019s the off-label use of approved peptides, or peptides that were approved for a specific indication,\u201d Mohammed said. \u201cAnd then there\u2019s compounded or wellness-marketed peptides, where evidence sometimes is a little bit lacking, standardization is missing, quality assurance seems to be a little bit weaker.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Some experts have raised concerns about the safety of using emerging peptides that are still considered experimental. Often, they might have labels that say \u201cresearch use only\u201d or \u201cnot for human consumption.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIf you\u2019re purchasing research chemicals for personal use, you may not be a good candidate for them,\u201d Hagopian said. \u201cThese are powerful medications that, in some cases, can have long-term health implications. It\u2019s best to consult with an appropriate health care professional before seeking these peptides. They are not benign, and some have potent effects on the body.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n For instance, in 2023, the FDA described potential safety risks<\/a> associated with certain peptides, such as BPC-157, and said \u201cthe agency lacks sufficient information to know whether the drug would cause harm when administered to humans.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Finnrick Analytics, a startup in Texas that tests peptides<\/a> for safety, has commissioned almost 9,900 tests since it began operations in late 2024 \u2013 many of them samples submitted by the public.\n <\/p>\n \n Of those, 78% came back as \u201cacceptable,\u201d meaning the product was what it claimed to be, its purity was at least 98% and its quantity was within 20% of what the label claimed, CEO Rapha\u00ebl Mazoyer said.\n <\/p>\n \n Among the 22% of products that failed these quality checks, \u201cthe reasons vary,\u201d Mazoyer said in an email.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cQuantity is the most common issue: 12% of samples diverge from the labeled dose by more than 20% in either direction,\u201d he said. \u201cSome distributors still argue that giving buyers more than they paid for is a good thing. We strongly disagree: these products need to be accurately dosed, period.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Even though the first therapeutic peptide<\/a> \u2013 insulin \u2013 was synthesized in the 1920s, some more recent peptides that are used for anti-aging or muscle recovery are still considered to be in their \u201cinfancy\u201d when it comes to research data, said Dr. Elan Goldwaser,<\/a> a sports medicine physician and assistant professor of medicine at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWhile there are promising early findings, human evidence is currently very limited. Most of the available research stems from laboratory studies and limited animal studies,\u201d Goldwaser said in an email.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI do see a potential benefit to their use and remain optimistic that peptide therapy will soon gain a place among all the regenerative therapies I currently offer in my practice,\u201d he said. \u201cOverall, I think we need to approach peptide therapies with caution.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Many experts also worry about the safety risks of ordering peptides online from unfamiliar sources.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe worry about contamination, the source, and dosing considerations from labs with minimal oversight. How do you know you\u2019re getting an appropriate dose? There have been case reports of people getting very sick from injecting the wrong dose of a peptide or having contaminated peptides. That\u2019s the main safety implication,\u201d Hagopian said.\n <\/p>\n \n When Miller sees social media posts promoting websites where people can order peptides online without seeing a doctor, he considers those to be red flags.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThese people are probably sales reps, and they\u2019re directing you to a website,\u201d he said. \u201cThey should be directing you to medical practices with licensed clinicians, because clinicians are, by and large, built in for compliance. It\u2019s their license on the line, and so they\u2019re not going to prescribe something willy-nilly.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n There could be unintended harms when peptides are used outside the guidance of a doctor, including interfering with other medications, Mohammed said, or raising the risk of cancer in someone with a history of the disease if it promotes cellular growth or cell renewal.\n <\/p>\n \n When a new patient might be interested in peptides, Mohammed said, he takes a \u201cvery comprehensive\u201d history that includes questions about those and other concerns.\n <\/p>\n \n FDA-approved peptides are regulated in the same way as other approved drugs.\n <\/p>\n \n But aside from those that are approved as therapeutic drugs, the manufacturing of many peptides is largely unregulated, Alvarez said.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThis may lead to improper handling, mislabeling, contamination, or other quality-control issues that could have serious consequences,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n \n And a black market for unapproved peptides has emerged. Many are classified as Category 2 substances<\/a>, which means the FDA views them as posing potential significant safety risks. Additionally, many unapproved peptides cannot be legally compounded by pharmacies for human use.\n <\/p>\n WHAT TO DO IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN PEPTIDES<\/p>\n Talk with your health care provider. \n Kennedy said on \u201cThe Joe Rogan Experience\u201d podcast<\/a> in February that he hopes to change that Category 2 classification and move peptides \u201cto a place where people have access from ethical suppliers,\u201d including compounding pharmacies, which customize medications to fit an individual\u2019s needs or when an approved version is in shortage.\n <\/p>\n \n But Tuesday on \u201cThe Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show<\/a>\u201d podcast, Kennedy said there has been some \u201cresistance\u201d from within the FDA.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe\u2019ve made the argument that we should move them back into a category where they can be studied, where we know what the source is, they\u2019re coming from legitimate formulators who are getting them from FDA-inspected labs,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n \n Essentially, this potential federal action could pave the way for compounding pharmacies to make certain peptides, and patients could access them with a doctor\u2019s prescription.\n <\/p>\n \n But federal law requires that in order for an active ingredient to be used in a compounded drug, it has to be pharmaceutical-grade \u2014 and for many unapproved peptides, \u201cit is my understanding that there is no pharmaceutical-grade active ingredient available,\u201d said Scott Brunner, chief executive officer of the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding.\n <\/p>\n \n That\u2019s because they may contain only research-grade active ingredients, he said.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe would like to see FDA give the market a reason for going to the next step and manufacturing pharmaceutical-grade active ingredient for these peptides. Right now, manufacturers don\u2019t have any incentive to do it; they\u2019re illegal,\u201d Brunner said. \u201cSo, if FDA would state, \u2018As of X date, these will be allowed for use in compounded drugs,\u2019 then the manufacturers would have an economic motive for going the extra mile to manufacture pharmaceutical-grade product.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n If this happens, some experts might argue that using compounding pharmacies can come with a separate set of potential risks, such as contamination, inconsistent dosing or preparation errors.\n <\/p>\n \n But in response, Brunner asked whether critics would rather have a peptide product from the black market or from a compounding pharmacy.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cCompounded drugs are specifically authorized in the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the state pharmacy laws of every state in the country, and they\u2019re authorized for a reason. Compounded drugs fill gaps in our health care system, in our drug supply, that the makers of FDA-approved drugs can\u2019t or won\u2019t fill,\u201d Brunner said, adding that the growing black market for peptides could lead to a \u201cpublic health crisis.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Accredited compounding pharmacies are primarily regulated by state boards and required to comply with certain standards and guidelines, Cassileth said.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cReally, the doctor\u2019s job is to vet the pharmacy,\u201d she said. \u201cThe doctor has to be involved right now, because it\u2019s so hard to get access to normal, safe prescriptions.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Mohammed, of Gameday, said he hopes this potential step by Kennedy means peptides will be used in partnership between a patient and their doctor, eliminating the risks associated with ordering peptides directly online from unknown sources, without ever seeing a doctor.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cFrom the FDA standpoint, I\u2019m thrilled to see that they\u2019re bringing peptides back between the patient and the physician,\u201d he said. \u201cIt became a little bit like the Wild West, and we need to get a little bit better control. So I\u2019m not against access. It just needs to be tethered to evidence-based and manufacturing discipline.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Goldwaser described the plan to lift restrictions as a \u201ccomplex\u201d issue.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cOn one hand, moving these substances into regulated compounding pharmacies could provide better oversight, ensuring that if a patient chooses to use them, they are at least receiving a pharmaceutical-grade product rather than a \u2018back-alley\u2019 version,\u201d he said. \u201cOn the other hand, many in the medical community worry that lifting restrictions prematurely (before rigorous human data is available) may normalize the use of unproven therapies and potentially put public health at risk.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Overall, the HHS action comes down to potentially loosening restrictions to lead to a \u201cbit more access\u201d to certain peptides, said Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, a pulmonary and critical care medicine physician at Johns Hopkins and author of the new book, \u201cMedicine for the Greater Good<\/a>,\u201d who has been following the popularity of peptides.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cPeptides are great when you can unlock their potential, but they still need to be properly supervised and monitored,\u201d he said. \u201cI view peptides like a tool, and so you should be mindful of: When am I done with my tool? What\u2019s my end goal? And how do I minimize adverse effects from the tool?\u201d\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the early 2020s, interest in GLP-1 weight loss drugs exploded. Now, as we move deeper into the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378308,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[134,111,139,556,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-378307","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nutrition","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Wegovy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/02-2026-03-31t113328z-1785447528-rc28d4apl863-rtrmadp-3-novo-nordisk-wegovy.JPG\")
<\/p>\n![\"Beyond](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/03-gettyimages-1581640187.JPG\")
<\/p>\n![\"Experts](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/04-gettyimages-541552092.JPG\")
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\n Establish which ones might help you achieve your personal health goals.
\n Know the risks versus benefits for you.
\n Make sure the peptide is coming from a safe and credible source.
\n Tell your doctor about any other medications or supplements you take.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/05-gettyimages-1286131360.JPG\")
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