Nine months. That’s how long it took senior Keshav Vasudeva’s ACL to heal after he tore it playing soccer. He doesn’t credit his recovery to physical therapy – he credits it to peptides.
According to a New York Times article, peptides are short-chain amino acids that aid in regulating hormones, promoting tissue repair, and reducing inflammation. Use of peptides has recently been trending on popular social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, driving many people to try for themselves.
Vasudeva, like many, didn’t always know much at all about peptides until TikTok introduced them to him, claiming that they were the “best thing ever.” He didn’t want to try them at first – he just wanted to figure out what the hype was about – but his perspective shifted when his ACL wasn’t healing at the rate he wanted.
“Everyone was swearing up and down by BPC-157 and TB-500 … my ACL wasn’t healing at the rate it was supposed to,” Vasudeva said. “I saw no reason not to try it [peptides] if all these people were getting amazing effects.”
After intensive research, Vasudeva decided to give BPC-157 and TB-500 a try and ordered them to supplement his physical therapy. The results came sooner than he expected.
“BPC 157 and TB 500 are basically peptides that, instead of adding something new to your body when you inject them, tell your body [and] brain to send more tissue and repair to parts of your body in need,” Vasudeva said.
According to Vasudeva, the supplement provided him better relief than physical therapy ever had.
“My mind was genuinely blown within maybe two weeks,” Vasudeva said. “My knee felt better than it had with nine months of physical therapy. “I was running again, and it was amazing.”
Afterwards, Vasudeva’s surface-level interest quickly transformed into a search for new peptides he could use.
“It kind of led me down a peptide rabbit hole where I started experimenting with a few different ones [outside of recovery],” Vasudeva said.
The experimental nature of these peptides can also lead to unintended consequences. During Vasudeva’s experimentation with peptides, he experienced an unintended side effect after taking GHK-Cu, a copper peptide marketed for skin health.
“I used to have a skin care routine that kind of annoyed me … so I started taking GHKCU, and almost instantly, I got an adverse side effect: my skin got really bad within like a week of taking it,” Vasudeva said.
So Vasudeva went back to the drawing board.
“I did some more research and [I learned] your zinc and copper levels should be in balance – there was an excess of copper without an excess of zinc, Vasudeva said. “So I started taking the zinc supplement, and almost instantly, my skin became the best it’s ever been.”
However, the rapid results from peptides seen on social media often hide medical risks far greater than a skin reaction, and Palo Alto High School Sports Medicine teacher Stacey Kofman warn that the market for peptides is unregulated and lacks FDA approval and clinical research to support the safety of peptides.
“Once [a peptide] breaks down in your system, it can cause other issues,” Kofman said. “It can cause some kidney function issues and some other metabolic issues, and so that’s not a good thing to have happen, right? … Because you’re getting something off-market that is not tested well – that’s one of the reasons why it’s banned.”
Kofman also explains the lack of scientific backing behind peptide use for recovery.
“For quick reduction of injury, healing wounds, things like that, there is no evidence that [peptide use] actually works,” Kofman said. “It can be more harmful than anything else.”
Kofman instead argues for a “nutrition first” approach, explaining that the short-chain amino acids people seek out in peptides can be obtained through eating a balanced diet.
“My norm is you’re going to get enough [nutrients] through your nutrition,” Kofman said. “If you eat the right foods, you can get enough short-chain amino acids through your nutrition, and that’s going to help you heal anyway … it’s more natural.”