From YouTube influencers to Reddit threads, the internet’s health and wellness space is awash with talk about peptides.
This term refers to a class of compounds composed of short chains of amino acids. In the wellness market, synthetic peptides are often sold to consumers as injectables, and some health influencers claim they can provide a wide range of health benefits, from muscle recovery and longevity to improved sexual function. Some peptides, including GLP-1 drugs commonly used for weight loss and diabetes, have been thoroughly studied and federally approved for medical use. Many other forms of peptides are not.
But even poorly researched peptides have the potential to end up on pharmacy shelves. The Department of Health and Human Services, with support from Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is reportedly planning to allow specialty pharmacies to compound certain synthetic peptides. Health Secretary Kennedy Jr. told podcaster Joe Rogan in a February 2026 interview that he was a big fan of the shot. As reported, this move will result in an interim access policy targeting several specific peptides that are not currently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Such a move would be controversial from a regulatory perspective. Multiple peptides, including one of the compounds reportedly included in the health department’s proposal, are on the FDA’s list of injectables that “may pose significant safety risks.” The compound, known as BPC-157, has shown potential anti-inflammatory properties in some animal and laboratory studies, but has not yet undergone large-scale human trials for safety or efficacy.
“There are several reasons for this, but one of the main reasons is the lack of evidence, including robust human studies, of safety and efficacy,” said Dr. Caleb Alexander, professor of epidemiology and medicine at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
However, consumer interest in and regulatory momentum for peptides is growing. So here’s what you need to know about peptides, from why they’re such a hot topic to whether they’re safe and effective to use.
What is a peptide?
Peptides are “like the building blocks of proteins,” says Dr. Alison Dempsey, a dermatologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
Several different types of peptides occur naturally in the body, including insulin and endorphins. According to Harvard Health Publishing, peptides can also be synthesized in the lab. GLP-1, like Ozempic, is an FDA-approved synthetic peptide, Dempsey said.
The peptides currently making headlines include variations on injectable synthetic peptides that are not approved by the FDA, such as BPC-157 and GHK-Cu, the latter of which is marketed as a potential anti-aging drug, said Dr. Peter Cohen, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and an internist at Cambridge Health Alliance.
Why are peptides gaining popularity among wellness influencers and some other consumers?
Cohen said synthetic peptides have gained traction in part because of the success drugs like Ozempic have had in combating health problems such as obesity and diabetes. “It probably gave rise to the idea that there was a magical world of other peptides that we had access to that would do similar magical things in other fields,” he says.
But Cohen and other medical experts have concerns. After all, a compound’s status as a peptide “doesn’t mean it’s close to Ozempic in any way, shape, or form, both in terms of chemical structure and effects on the human body,” Cohen says.
Synthetic peptides promoted on social media and sold on the so-called gray market — often manufactured by foreign sellers and sold to U.S. consumers outside the normal U.S. drug regulatory system — come with claims such as promoting longevity, improving sleep quality, strengthening the immune system and even enhancing skin health and sexual function, Alexander said.
Especially among those who consider GLP-1 to be a kind of miracle drug, consumers may simply want to believe that the chemicals in weight loss drugs can have similar effects on other elements of human health. “Unfortunately, when it comes to marketing peptides, word-of-mouth has greatly outpaced where we are in all kinds of research,” Dempsey says.
What do health experts recommend for consumers?
Health experts who spoke to CNBC Make It recommend avoiding injectable peptides that aren’t FDA-approved, especially if you don’t know where or how they were made. Always consult a health care professional before making any major changes that may affect your health.
“My recommendation is not to use new, unstudied injectable peptides, because we simply don’t know if they work. And even if they do, we don’t know if they’re safe,” Cohen says. If you buy peptides on the gray market, you may receive completely different compounds and doses, and some may be contaminated with bacteria or other concerns, he says.
“We are concerned not only about the potential risks, but also the uncertainty about the level of benefit that can be derived from these products,” Alexander said.
“The United States has an excellent regulatory system governing prescription drugs,” Alexander added. “We urge proponents who truly believe in these products to spend their own money and do the research necessary to understand the true safety and effectiveness of these products.”
