David PerlmutterPresident,, Perlmutter Health Center · Board-Certified Neurologist | Functional Medicine Pioneer | #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author | International Speaker | Host of The Empowering Neurologist Podcast

The Changing Peptide Landscape

3 Sept 2026 · 1 min

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In this segment of the interview, David Perlmutter asks about the current state of reliable data on widely used peptides, especially within influencer-driven communities. The co‑speaker explains that when the FDA reclassified many peptides from an approved status to a restricted or "naughty" list in 2023, demand surged but the market was pushed underground. Consumers turned to gray‑area suppliers, resulting in a mixed landscape: some products are safe and effective, while many contain unknown impurities and toxic contaminants. The speaker emphasizes a lack of transparency from many peptide vendors, warning that this opacity can pose serious health risks, even though the intention is not to sensationalize the issue.

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Where do we stand right now on good data related to the use of any of these peptides that are very widely used, you know, amongst the influencer-influenced community?
When the FDA kind of took them off of the good list and put them on the naughty list in 2023, it just kind of blew it up. You look at the amount of people that use peptides then to now, but the problem is they just shoved it underground and People went to sort of shady gray area markets that were researched. Some are fine, some are great, but they were forced to work within that construct. But many weren't great. Many weren't great and have a lot of impure toxicants that you don't even know. There's zero transparency to a lot of these companies and you don't know what you're buying. I don't want to be fearmongering about it, but it can be dangerous.