Inside the world of internet peptides
Social media influencers hype risky peptides like BPC-157 and melanotan. Experts warn of dangers as unregulated compounds surge in wellness circles.
A constellation of social media wellness influencers, YouTubers, and podcasters have been extolling the health benefits of peptides. There seems to be a peptide for just about anything you could dream of. Want to lose weight? There are GLP-1s, of course. Would you like to have a year-round tan? You could give melanotan a shot. Have a nagging sports injury? Try BPC-157 on for size!
Peptides are chains of amino acids produced naturally in the human body, and they influence a whole host of bodily functions, from metabolism to inflammation to muscle growth. Synthetic peptides have been used in medicine for quite some time — insulin, for example, is a synthetic peptide.
