Jul 15, 2026 · 29 min · 6 segments
There is some recent research that’s testing out cancer treatments that can utilize the power of our immune systems to attack cancer cells. It’s called CAR T-cell therapy and it involves programming…
Shreya ShuklaGuest
Samantha YammineHost
A few things in modern life are certain, death, taxes, and dubious claims from wellness influencers on social media touting the next miracle drug.
And the latest product captivating those trying to optimize their health, peptides.
But is this new fad actually supported by science? Well, the hype is certainly real.
Nature News reported that Google searches for peptides rose from 1.3 million per month in 2024 to around eight million per month in 2026.
They're naturally occurring short chains of amino acids that perform essential functions in the body engineered into highly tested medications.
But these wellness claims are typically being made about experimental synthetic peptides and how effective they are for things like wrinkles, healing injuries, anti-aging, boosting metabolism, better sleep, muscle definition.
I mean, there's even one that apparently stimulates melanin production to make you look more tanned.
Recently, there's been a massive influx of people purchasing the drugs online and injecting themselves with them.
Peptides might seem to be an attractive therapeutic because they're small and targeted, giving them fewer off-target interactions with different molecules in the body.
And I mean, there are currently about 100 FDA-approved peptide medications, with roughly 150 more going through clinical trials.
Unregulated peptides being sold online often haven't been tested in humans, and they can be manufactured in labs with zero oversight.
They haven't been submitted to a regulatory body to review the long-term safety or how well the peptides work, and there also isn't an external organization testing for purity or contamination in the labs themselves.
That creates a risk of the presence of endotoxins in the formulas, not to mention unknown effects of injecting yourself with an untested chemical compound.
It's a common peptide that's typically manufactured for laboratory research to study tissue repair in animal models, not intended for people to buy and inject themselves.
Researchers worry that without clinical trials in humans, we can't be sure if the benefit, if any, outweighs the risks.
Also, peptides that occur in the body are fine-tuned to what we need, and throwing those numbers out of whack can have some pretty disastrous consequences.
Health Canada warns they can cause hormonal imbalances, issues with blood sugar, liver or kidney damage, and blood clots, along with plenty of other risks to do with the lack of regulation in producing the compounds.
One preprint study found that out of 6,000 samples, roughly 40% or up to 70%, depending how you defined it, didn't meet basic purity and dose standards.
The US government, along with pharmaceutical companies, are taking steps to adjust regulations in the industry.
A few things in modern life are certain, death, taxes, and dubious claims from wellness influencers on social media touting the next miracle drug.
And the latest product captivating those trying to optimize their health, peptides.
But is this new fad actually supported by science? Well, the hype is certainly real.
Nature News reported that Google searches for peptides rose from 1.3 million per month in 2024 to around eight million per month in 2026.
They're naturally occurring short chains of amino acids that perform essential functions in the body engineered into highly tested medications.
But these wellness claims are typically being made about experimental synthetic peptides and how effective they are for things like wrinkles, healing injuries, anti-aging, boosting metabolism, better sleep, muscle definition.
I mean, there's even one that apparently stimulates melanin production to make you look more tanned.
Recently, there's been a massive influx of people purchasing the drugs online and injecting themselves with them.
Peptides might seem to be an attractive therapeutic because they're small and targeted, giving them fewer off-target interactions with different molecules in the body.
And I mean, there are currently about 100 FDA-approved peptide medications, with roughly 150 more going through clinical trials.
Unregulated peptides being sold online often haven't been tested in humans, and they can be manufactured in labs with zero oversight.
They haven't been submitted to a regulatory body to review the long-term safety or how well the peptides work, and there also isn't an external organization testing for purity or contamination in the labs themselves.
That creates a risk of the presence of endotoxins in the formulas, not to mention unknown effects of injecting yourself with an untested chemical compound.
It's a common peptide that's typically manufactured for laboratory research to study tissue repair in animal models, not intended for people to buy and inject themselves.
Researchers worry that without clinical trials in humans, we can't be sure if the benefit, if any, outweighs the risks.
Also, peptides that occur in the body are fine-tuned to what we need, and throwing those numbers out of whack can have some pretty disastrous consequences.
Health Canada warns they can cause hormonal imbalances, issues with blood sugar, liver or kidney damage, and blood clots, along with plenty of other risks to do with the lack of regulation in producing the compounds.
One preprint study found that out of 6,000 samples, roughly 40% or up to 70%, depending how you defined it, didn't meet basic purity and dose standards.
The US government, along with pharmaceutical companies, are taking steps to adjust regulations in the industry.
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