Influencers are obsessed with peptides. What does the science say?

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 8 May 2026

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Peptides are everywhere right now—from weight-loss drugs to TikTok wellness hacks—but the science hasn’t caught up with the hype. Journalist Victoria Song joins Science Quickly host Rachel Feltman to break down what peptides actually are, why influencers are promoting “research-only” versions you can buy and inject yourself, and what risks are posed by this growing gray-market trend. From misleading marketing to real safety concerns, we unpack the Internet’s latest wellness obsession. Recommended Reading: “Influencers are pushing suspicious peptides. How much are you willing to risk?” by Victoria Song in the Verge. Published online January 23, 2026 “I don’t think Gwyneth Paltrow knows what a peptide is,” by Victoria Song in the Verge. Published online April 24, 2026 Peptides promise longevity and healing. Does the science back them up? Where do you stand on the use of peptides for health and wellness? E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Right, home from work, walk the dog, kids are back.
0:05.0	Mom!
0:06.0	Up the stairs for something.
0:08.0	Ugh, back down, no idea what I went up for.
0:12.0	Mom, what's for dinner?
0:14.0	Chop, sizzle, done.
0:17.0	Hello Fresh can't slow life down, but it makes bringing everyone together around the table a whole lot easier.
0:23.4	So it's phones down, forks up.
0:25.5	Hello Fresh. Bring back dinner time.
0:29.8	Hey Science Quickly fans. Rachel here.
0:32.6	If you love our show, I want to tell you about another podcast you should definitely be listening to, Science Friday.
0:39.8	Science Friday and Science Quickly definitely share a lot of podcast DNA, mostly because
0:45.2	Science Friday was the first science show I ever listened to. And I love it so much that I've actually
0:50.8	appeared as a guest host on the show. But even if you're a long-time fan like me,
0:54.9	you might not realize that Science Friday isn't just for Fridays anymore. Every day, the sci-fri
1:00.7	team puts the latest science news under the microscope, from the origin of the universe to AI
1:06.2	news you can actually use to the science of heavy metal screams.
1:18.6	Just like Science Quickly, Science Friday stokes your curiosity and pulls back the curtain on some of the most interesting science happening today.
1:22.2	So give Science Friday a listen wherever you get your podcasts. Music For Scientific American Science quickly, I'm Rachel Feldman.
1:49.3	Today we're doing a deep dive on an extremely hot topic, peptides. Hype around these basic chemical building blocks has infiltrated social media feeds and congressional
1:55.4	hearings alike.
1:57.0	To hear some folks tell it, various peptides can be used to solve just about any problem a human body could have.
	...

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