What supports this

Match each health claim to the kind of product behind it

The key question is not whether a page sounds scientific. It is whether the proof is about the exact product, the way it is taken, and the use being offered to you.

Four kinds of product, four levels of proof

FDA-approvedChecked by the FDA for the uses on its label
Approved, used another wayAn approved medicine given for a reason not on its label
Made to orderMixed by a pharmacy and not checked by the FDA before sale
Research chemicalNot a medicine and not a legal way to get treatment

Approved products

Approval belongs to one product and its label

In the United States, the FDA has approved semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound), as of September 2026.

What the label says it treats, and whether it is a pill or a shot, both matter. Approval of one product does not approve every item with a similar name.

An off-label use is a use that is not listed on that product’s approved label. It still involves an approved product, but the reason for using it is different.

Names that need a pause

Popular online does not mean reviewed

Check the record, not the buzz

As of September 2026, a search of FDA records found no drug application, the request a company files to get a medicine approved, for BPC-157, ipamorelin, epitalon, MOTS-c, thymosin alpha-1, or retatrutide.

That absence does not prove a product is harmful. It means there is no approved U.S. medicine for those names in the records searched. If you are offered one of these names, you are not being offered an approved medicine.

Source: FDA drug application records.

Search the exact name

No application record

Ask what was studied

A study of one product does not prove anything about a different version of it: a slightly different chemical make-up, a mix with other ingredients, a different way of taking it (such as a pill instead of a shot), or a finished product from another maker.

Ask whether the study involved people, what it compared, how long it followed them, and whether the product matches what is being offered.

ClaimExact product

Compounding

Made to order is not the same as reviewed

A compounded medicine can fill one patient’s individual need, but as of September 2026 it has no FDA approval.

The agency does not review it for safety, effectiveness, or quality before it goes on sale.

As of September 2026, a facility being “FDA registered” does not make its products “FDA approved.” Registration does not mean the agency approved the facility or its products.

Source: FDA compounding questions and answers.

North Carolina’s expectation

New treatments need honest answers

As of September 2026, the North Carolina Medical Board says a new or off-label treatment should rest on good evidence, such as careful studies in people published in medical journals, and the clinician should talk with you honestly about benefits, harms, cost, and what is not known.

The board also warns against using patient or celebrity endorsements as proof.

This guidance from the board is not a law passed by lawmakers. It explains how the board reads its rules and what it looks for when it investigates a complaint, so it shows what the board expects a clinician to do.

Source: North Carolina Medical Board statement on new treatment.

Next on the pathway

Know the signs that mean pause

Open pause and check