The recent wellness peptide craze is leading people to inject largely unregulated peptides into their bodies for a range of reasons such as perceived anti-ageing and anti-inflammatory properties. Peptides are short chains of amino acids that stimulate growth hormone and can help to build muscle and enhance normal body functions.<\/p>\n
These substances are easy to access and their availability is growing, as ex-professional bodybuilder Mark told Matt Heath and Tyler Adams on Newstalk ZB this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem we\u2019re having now and that I\u2019m even having as a trainer in this industry is being approached by teenagers looking to buy steroids because of the social media influence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow all the influencers are not afraid to tell anyone what they\u2019re taking, they are openly admitting that they\u2019re on this or that course of stuff. Then teenagers think, why can\u2019t they be on that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark exited bodybuilding after feeling the required use of testosterone and anabolic steroids to take him to the next level in the sport would be too damaging to his health.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got to a point where I was like there\u2019s no way I\u2019m taking that amount of gear I don\u2019t even like taking the amount I\u2019m having now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Peptides were being picked up in the gym, Mark said, and bodybuilding community and he was currently injecting a peptide for an injury in his shoulder and seeing great results.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe big new thing in New Zealand is peptides … they\u2019re [peptides] out there and available but you\u2019ve got to know the right people and have the right contacts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hughes said current drug-checking technology was not able to provide comprehensive testing for a lot of new peptide substances, making it difficult to identify exactly what people were taking.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe science hasn\u2019t quite caught up to the demand,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
New Zealand Drug Foundation principal science adviser Emily Hughes says people using new types of performance and image-enhancing drugs (PIEDs) shouldn’t be worried or feel shame about accessing drug harm reduction services. Photo \/ Sylvie Whinray <\/p>\n
The lack of regulation surrounding mail-to-order weight-loss drugs or non-anabolic steroids ordered from overseas meant they might not have undergone quality testing, and no doctors would be involved with the care or monitoring of a patient taking these substances.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re being sold by online retailers that say they are lab certified but there\u2019s no actual quality control like with an actual medicine that\u2019s prescribed by your doctor,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cA big concern is not just that they could be the wrong peptide or the wrong steroid, but also that it could contain moulds or heavy metals or other things that might be dangerous to inject.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peptides are a new wellness trend that involve injecting the body with short chains of amino acids to support muscle and tissue healing.<\/p>\n
Many of these drugs are being heavily marketed on social media by influencers who swear by their benefits, with TikTok and Instagram content showing videos of people injecting themselves with different combinations of peptides to make their skin glow or to aid muscle recovery from the gym.<\/a><\/p>\n Hughes said anabolic steroids have been around for ages in New Zealand and increases in their use have been more steady over time, but new types of drugs such as SARMS- chemical substances that mimic the effects of testosterone and peptides, are rapidly becoming more popular.<\/p>\n