Peptides are getting plenty of attention on social media, with claims they can help with everything from injuries to muscle strength.
MU Health Care family medicine physician Dr. Regina DePietro says one thing to be concerned about unregulated peptides is contamination.
“When medications are regulated by the FDA, they're being tested periodically to make sure that they are not contaminated by any bacteria or anything like that," DePietro says. "When you have unregulated medication, we don't have that post-market surveillance making sure that our medications are safe.”
DePietro says consumers should understand what they're putting into their bodies before following the latest online trend.
“We just don't know what the adverse effects are," DePietro explains. "Does that mean that these will never be safe and studied? No, these might become medications that are approved eventually. I just think we don't have the research yet.”
Peptides being promoted online have been linked to claims involving muscle strength, injury recovery and cognition.
Missourinet