People have been talking about using peptides for health for a while. And while this trend has been percolating, the details around it remain murky.
The term itself is confusing—peptides are technically short chains of amino acids, after all, and that can be used to describe a lot of things, including skincare ingredients. But peptides have a huge following in the longevity community, and they’ve recently been championed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy announced on a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that he plans to loosen restrictions on 14 peptides that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) previously prohibited compounding pharmacies from producing. According to Kennedy, the FDA is considering taking many of these peptides off a banned list and that it could happen within the next few weeks. He didn’t list the potentially unbanned peptides by name.
Kennedy acknowledged that there isn’t robust scientific data to support the use of these peptides, but he argued that some people are getting access to them anyway. “My hope is that they’re going to get moved to a place where people have access from ethical suppliers,” he said.
Given that“peptides” can mean a range of things, it’s fair to be confused about what we’re even talking about. Here’s what doctors want you to know.
What are peptides, and what do they claim to do?
The term “peptides” is a little vague and can apply to a lot of different things. “Proteins are made up of amino acids, and when amino acids are linked together, they form peptides,” Arin Bhattacharjee, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at The State University of New York at Buffalo, tells SELF.
Peptides typically consist of a sequence of five to 35 amino acids, while proteins can be composed of hundreds to thousands of amino acids, Dr. Bhattacharjee explains. “From a pharmaceutical perspective, peptides are generally easier to manipulate and treat diseases with, compared to proteins,” he adds.
Peptides act as “messengers” to turn off or increase different processes in the body, like your metabolism, immune function, and wound healing Kelly Johnson-Arbor, MD, a toxicologist at MedStar Health, tells SELF. She cites a laundry list of common medications that classify as peptides, including insulin, human growth hormone, vasopressin, and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1s).
“There are many FDA-approved peptide drugs on the market,” Dr. Bhattacharjee says. But others— like the growing list of compounds that are buzzy among fitness and anti-aging influencers—have limitations, mostly because of safety concerns, Dr. Bhattacharjee says. Some people are using these peptides to try to build muscle, extend life, recover from injury, lose weight, and even boost their sexual desire. There’s a long list of compounds in this wellness category, but these are some of the more popular ones right now (only one of which is FDA-approved):
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