Influencers tout injectable peptides as key to youth and beauty. Scientists say they're 'a giant scam'

Crocodile dung. Tapeworms. Altogether meat facials. At some repoint in story these wildly pop — and wildly unproven — treatments were how the (richest) men and women of the daylight tried to hold on to youth, beauty and strength. 

Right now, plenty of influencers will tell you that injectable peptides are the answer. 

But the research and the scientists? Not so much.

While there are well-studied injectable peptides used in medicine, namely insulin and GLP-1s, like Ozempic, these peptides that influencers push are neither approved by Health Canada nor have they been studied in large-scale human trials. Instead, they are often sold through a “grey market,” meaning they’re sold legally for research purposes but purchased for unintended uses.

In fact, the regulatory agency issued warnings in April 2025 and again in August against purchasing these unregulated drugs online. Globally, the World Anti-Doping Agency has also banned many of these injectables for professional athletes.

The U.S., however, is taking a different turn. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Announced on Joe Rogan’s podcast in February that he’s looking to ease Food and Drug Administration regulations tightened in 2023 on the compounding of 14 popular peptides by pharmacies.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that change could happen any day now, much to the chagrin of the scientists and health researchers it interviewed.

At the molecular level, naturally occurring peptides are amino acids. These are the building blocks which, when about 50 combine, create a protein. Inside your body, peptides help regulate hormones, digestion and appetite. They also support the immune system and muscle growth and repair, among other things. 

Many of the unregulated synthetic injectable peptides are marketed as growth hormone stimulators to help you build muscle faster and with less effort, while others are touted as the holy grail of youth.

"The evidence for these things versus the claims that people make is essentially empty," said Stuart Phillips, the Canada Research Chair in Skeletal Muscle Health. "There are no large-scale human trials. There are no efficacy trials. There are no safety trials."

What’s happening right now is a classic case of "science-ploitation," said Tim Caulfield, a Canada Research Chair who specializes in the legal and ethical issues around commercialization in medicine at the University of Alberta.

He says the unproven theories are being pushed by the "manosphere" — certain online communities whose content critics say can promote misogynistic and harmful views. It’s also rampant among "looksmaxxing" influencers, he says, and "tech bros" trying to project success who believe "you should be constantly trying to optimize."

Caulfield compares it to the sudden influx of unregulated stem cell products that emerged several years ago, following advancements in stem cell research unrelated to what the products were actually marketing. And with Ozempic as much a part of pop culture now as it may be a life-changing drug, he said it’s one of the catalysts for the injectable peptide push on TikTok, Instagram and podcasts. 

In the U.S., Rogan has been confidently telling the 11 million people who listen to each episode of his podcast how the "Wolverine stack" — injecting two peptides, BPC-157 and TB-500 — has helped him, as well as professional athletes, recover from injuries associated with training. Guests have also mentioned similar benefits shown in animal trials. 

While these anecdotes may sound convincing coming from a professional communicator, Caulfield says, it’s not driven by data. Replicating the results of an animal study in large-scale human trials that then lead to regulatory approval has a success rate of around five to 10 per cent, based on several analyses.

"If you were a betting person, you would bet against an animal study being relevant to humans in the clinical context," Caulfield said.

The manufacturers of these peptides are largely unregulated, which means there’s no guarantee that the drugs are being made in a sterile environment. That means an injection could introduce bacteria into the body and, in a worst-case scenario, says Caulfield, lead to sepsis — a life-threatening response to infection that can cause major organs to shut down. 

It’s also unclear whether the peptides people pay for are what they get. Alongside grey market producers, commercial labs have sprung up that test samples of injectable peptides for purity. But these, too, are unregulated, Phillips cautions, and the need to test these products should also be a red flag.   

"That actually says you're acknowledging that you see that there's no real guardrails on this market," he said.

How looksmaxxing can harm young men and boys

And if the peptides are biologically active, Caulfield says, there’s no predicting how they will interact with the body or what the right dosage is because of the lack of study.

Peptide BPC-157 has been touted as speeding up tissue repair by increasing blood vessels in the body based on an animal study, something scientists have warned could potentially encourage the growth of cancerous or pre-cancerous cells.

"If they actually are biologically active, what harm could they be doing to the body?" Caufield said. "What long-term biological impact might they have?

For Phillips, one of the most obvious issues is that you’re paying for snake oil until rigorous scientific testing proves otherwise. 

"It's just a giant scam," he said. "If they were as good as they are acclaimed, why aren't they patented? Why hasn't pharma sewn these things up?"

Caulfield's advice? Don’t order unproven pharmaceuticals online and inject them into your body.

"I really don't think you should be ordering a pharmaceutical product that we know has not gone through clinical trials," he said.

And as for those looking for the fountain of youth? Well, there’s no easy button, pill or cream.

"The truth is the boring stuff works," Phillips said. "Being physically active, eating a prudent diet, having a good social circle, having a sense of purpose — and good sleep."

Senior writer

Tim Caulfield interview produced by Sameer Chhabra

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