The Peptide Boom is Coming for South Asians
“Wolverine” and “glow” stacks are promising to solve health issues one community has long struggled with. But at what cost?
Two years ago, Shivam Shah’s muscles were hurting. The 37-year-old former professional tennis player had been putting in long hours at the gym, and he wasn’t recovering like he used to. While scrolling, he came across an interview with Avengers actor Jeremy Renner, who had been in a horrific snowplow accident just a few years earlier. To recover, the actor had added something unconventional to his treatment: peptide injections.
“I thought…if so many people are talking about it, let me do some research to find out exactly what it is,” the Indian athlete recalled. Peptides are short chains of amino acids that work as chemical messengers in the body, he learned, for a host of purported health benefits: better skin and hair, muscle repair, fat loss. And Shah wanted in, even though peptide injections were technically illegal, and his sister, a doctor, was advising him against it. “Doctors don’t know everything,” he said.
South Asians around the world are opting into the newest rage among biohackers and fitness influencers alike: peptides. But what are the risks, especially for a community predisposed to certain health conditions? The Juggernaut spoke to doctors, influencers, and health professionals to find out.