Peptide therapy
Peptides are small chains of amino acids used by the body for some essential functions, such as regulating the immune system and managing hormones. In alternative medicine, they are created in labs or at compounding pharmacies and administered through injections, patches and nasal sprays. Sellers may also offer them in pills or creams.
Claims: The most popular peptides are semaglutides, used in FDA-approved medications such as Wegovy and Ozempic for weight loss and to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events. The success of those peptides helped fuel the promotion of other peptides as building muscle, boosting immunity, speeding healing, improving gut health and reversing aging.
Risks: Lab-created peptides used at alternative medicine facilities may be unregulated ones sourced from China and include chemicals that have never been extensively studied in humans. Reports have linked some unauthorized peptides to liver injury, renal failure, hepatitis, muscular paralysis and respiratory failure.
Regulations: It has been illegal to sell some of the most heavily promoted peptides for human consumption; they are supposed to be sold only for research. The FDA in 2023 listed 19 peptides as ingredients that should not be used by U.S. compounding pharmacies because of significant safety concerns. However, under pressure from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the FDA is expected this summer to change the status of some of the peptides so that consumers could obtain them from “ethical suppliers.”
Red flag: Being administered peptides without first having a physical examination.
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