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How unregulated peptides became the latest health trend

Some research peptides sold online have not been tested on humans

From boosting muscle mass to improving metabolism and skin, there鈥檚 now tonnes of claims about what peptides can do on social media. Peptides are short amino acids produced by our bodies naturally, and they aren鈥檛 a new concept, they鈥檝e been used in medicine for centuries, Insulin, used to treat diabetes being the most common one.

But the peptide wellness shot craze has led to growing amount of people buying 鈥榬esearch peptides鈥� which are unregulated and not approved for human use. 麻豆社鈥檚 health and wellbeing reporter, Ruth Clegg tells us all about the grey market of research peptide drugs, the health risks of taking them and why people are opting to become peptide 鈥榣ab-rats鈥� despite this.

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Presenter: Iqra Farooq
Producers: Emily Horler, Benita Barden and Mora Morrison
Editor: Verity Wilde

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9 minutes

Last on

Fri 3 Apr 2026 02:50GMT

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  • Thu 2 Apr 2026 17:50GMT
  • Fri 3 Apr 2026 02:50GMT

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