Featured topic
Are peptide injections the breakthrough many people claim they are, or is the hype getting ahead of the science? Dr. Anthony Tam, MD, explains the growing popularity of peptides, the role they play in the body, and the important differences between approved medical treatments and experimental compounds.
Learn about potential benefits, known risks, and the questions you should ask your doctor before considering peptide treatment. Stay informed and make decisions based on evidence, not hype.
Interested in injectable peptides? Find out what doctors want patients to know: https://ama-assn.co/Peptides
- Sign up for our free weekly newsletter, "What Doctors Want Patients To Know™
- Subscribe to @americanmedicalassociation on YouTube for more physician-backed health advice, wellness tips, and preventive care information. Be sure to turn on notifications and never miss a video!
- Sign up for Morning Rounds and free daily newsletters from the AMA.
- Follow #AMA on social media.
Speaker
- Anthony Tam, MD, family medicine/sports medicine
Transcript
Dr. Tam: Are you chasing peptide perfection or peptide problems?
I'm Anthony Tam, and I'm a family medicine and sports medicine physician. I've been an AMA member for the last 10 years. Peptides are actually short-chain amino acids that help signal the body to do different processes. Think of peptides like text messages. They're not actually doing the work. They're actually telling the cells in your body what to do.
There are over 100 FDA-approved peptides that doctors can prescribe in the United States to help with different medical issues. Some of those include metabolism, appetite, and muscle growth. We use insulin to help treat patients with diabetes, and maybe a more well-known peptide are GLP-1's.
I'm Dr. Tam, it's really nice to meet you.
Patient: Nice to meet you as well.
Dr. Tam: So I hear you're coming in to talk more about peptide injections. Is that right?
Patient: Yes.
Dr. Tam: Good that you came in because we might need to get some lab tests and run some other tests to make sure that it's the right fit for you.
We've had a huge wave where people are now really focusing on self-care, which I think is great, but I'm now getting a lot of questions from my patients about new peptides that are not currently FDA approved. These peptides are categorized for research and are not approved for human use. Some of these new, unapproved peptides are used to regenerate vasculature or increase the tissue repair in certain areas in our body so that people might be able to get back to the gym or get back to sport even faster.
But unfortunately, we don't really have human clinical trials that really display and replicate those results that we're seeing. Some of the things that we've noticed from anecdotal reports when using these newer peptide injections have been injection-site irritation, headaches, GI upset such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation. However, we're really unknown in regards to what longer term side effects there might be without these human clinical trials to tell us all the information.
The landscape in medicine is forever changing. Reach out to your doctor to talk more about peptides because they'll have all the resources you need.
Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. If you have questions about your health or exercise readiness, consult your doctor before beginning a fitness program.
