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Why Are People Injecting Themselves with Peptides? | The New Yorker

newyorker.com · 6,557 words · saved by 1 readers

Health and wellness influencers are hawking unapproved treatments on the gray market. The future of the F.D.A.—and the health of consumers—is at stake.

Save this story Save this story About a decade ago, a group of competitive CrossFitters in Charleston, South Carolina, went looking for ways to improve their athletic performance without taking steroids. At the time, members of the fitness community were starting to inject themselves with peptides—short chains of amino acids, sometimes called microproteins, that often act as signalling molecules in the body. Certain peptides were said to enhance strength, energy, endurance, and recovery. They hadn’t been officially approved for use as drugs, however, and many had never been studied in humans.

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