Your Peptide Is a Black Box the FDA Chooses to Ignore
Do you really know what’s in your enhancer?
Photographer: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images
One of the greatest risks – and drivers – of aging is sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass that affects almost 30% of older adults. Think of an 80-year-old man who has lost much of his strength. He’s at high risk for falls. If he breaks his hip, his chances of dying within a year could be as high as one in three. We know how to build muscle. Anabolic steroids work. But his doctor won’t prescribe them, because the US Food and Drug Administration’s approval system was designed around one question: does this treat a disease?
Being weaker than optimal isn’t a disease, even though for for most 80-year-olds, it’s likely a bigger risk to their longevity and well-being than most of the diseases covered by the FDA’s drug approval system.