Health Alert: Peptides available online could cost you your life
Dutch health authorities are warning that peptides sold online can be extremely dangerous and may even be fatal. The Inspectie Gezondheidszorg en Jeugd (IGJ – Health and Youth Care Inspectorate) says buyers have no certainty about what these substances contain or how they affect the body.
Peptides are small proteins found naturally in food and also used in approved medicines. Some, like Ozempic, are prescribed for weight loss. Online sellers promote peptides for muscle growth, skin rejuvenation, and longer life, but experts say these claims are unproven and risky.
Several Dutch-language webshops, including 24Peptides, PeptideLab, Peptides Kopen Nederland, PeptideResearch, NextGenPeptides, and Peptide Koning, sell a wide range of peptide products. These are advertised as muscle builders or life-extending substances, despite lacking official medical approval.
Nutrition expert مارتاين كاتان warned that serious accidents are likely. He said these substances are uncontrolled and partly self-invented medicines with unknown long-term effects. Most sellers claim their products are “for research purposes only,” which they use to avoid medical responsibility. The IGJ says selling medicines without a permit, even under such labels, is illegal under the Opiumwet en Geneesmiddelenwet (Opium and Medicines Acts).
The IGJ is investigating several websites, while the Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit (NVWA – Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority) advises people to consult doctors instead of buying health products online. According to medical use expert رود كولن فان براكل, the market is growing, and increasing amounts of designer medicines are being seized in drug raids, showing the scale of the hidden trade.