What the Peptide Craze Reveals About Americans’ Relationship With Risk

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

tends to favor health choices he sees as natural — whether that means eating “real food” like meat and vegetables instead of ultra-processed food or suggesting, falsely , that nutrition and vitamins are a good alternative for fighting off measles instead of vaccines. But there’s at least one area where the health secretary breaks with his own tradition .

He’s among the many influential voices in health and wellness in favor of people injecting themselves with experimental drugs known as peptides — much to the concern of mainstream public health experts, who warn that these drugs haven’t been sufficiently studied for efficacy or potential side effects, including higher cancer risk. With demand for peptides on the rise and would-be self-optimizers seeking out the drugs on gray and black markets , Kennedy said on Joe Rogan’s podcast in February that he thought the Food and Drug Administration would take action within a couple of weeks to make them more accessible.