Explainer / Peptide shots, the beauty fad that sparked a black market – but do they really help with fitness, anti-ageing and longevity like biohackers claim? Here’s how to use them, plus their benefits and risks

Jan 25 , 2024

Peptides have become popular among the bodybuilding community, who use it to increase muscle mass ... but how effective and safe are they really? Photo: Getty Images

Peptides are the hottest new performance-enhancing treatment used by Hollywood stars, billionaire investor Christian Angermayer, and an 86-year-old who claims to be ‘physically immortal’

While the fitness supplement peptide creatine is well-researched, others haven’t yet been tested on humans, making them dangerous to use – but are peptides the same thing as steroids?

If you’re not doing peptides, you’re doing it wrong. That’s according to avid gym-goers and longevity biohackers.

Peptides have become the buzziest new performance-enhancing treatment for people trying to optimise their bodies. So much so that GQ is calling peptides “the hottest thing on the fringes of fitness and anti-ageing”.

Peptides are the hottest new treatment when it comes to fitness and anti-ageing – but should everyone really be taking them? Photo: Shutterstock

“There’s this new kind of wedge in between supplements and prescription drugs that are called peptides,” Dr Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist from Stanford (with a cult following of longevity seekers), said recently on the Flagrant podcast. “I’ll tell you right now, a lot of the bodies you see in Hollywood films are on peptides.”

But the word peptide is actually quite vague and meaningless when it comes to describing a health intervention. The truth is we all have peptides inside our bodies right now – they’re just chains of molecules (specifically, amino acids) that we produce naturally.

Here’s what you should know.

Why do people use peptides?

Many people turn to peptides for its alleged anti-ageing benefits. Photo: Shutterstock

Peptides are big in anti-ageing circles. Business Insider recently reported on an 86-year-old who says she’s “physically immortal” – she is doing peptides. So is billionaire longevity investor Christian Angermayer. Many biohackers claim peptides can improve brain power and joint health.

In the fitness world, some athletes swear by certain peptides for faster recovery from workouts and better stamina.

Those specialising in men’s health are using peptides to “restore” or “balance” hormones, specifically testosterone, or to boost libido.

And the bodybuilding community has embraced peptides as a tool to boost muscle growth and burn fat faster, often used with various supplements in combinations known as “stacks”.

Some bodybuilders have also embraced peptides as a more natural alternative to steroids – which are also, notably, illegal to use without a prescription, although their common use is something of an open secret among the community.