Insulin (non-diabetic use)

Peptide hormone · rapid-acting analogs · F-tier (Dr. Alex Tatem) · Strong evidence

The first peptide medicine, and one of the most dangerous drugs a non-diabetic lifter can use: it can drive blood sugar low enough to cause seizures, coma or death.

Dr. Tatem’s take

F tier — not because it doesn’t work, but because the risk “does not make sense for even 99.9% of lifters.” It’s “one of the most dangerous compounds that a non-diabetic competitor could ever use.”

In Dr. Tatem’s tier list

• “The original first peptide to ever hit the market,” first isolated from animal pancreas rather than the recombinant insulin used today.
• The “insulin cartel”: three companies (Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi) control the US market, and prices rose over 1,000% from the late 1990s.
• On its own insulin does little for hypertrophy; it’s used by men on high-dose growth hormone to force excess blood glucose back into muscle — how the 1980s–90s “mass monsters” were built.
• It’s also “a really great way to get a coma, seizure, or even death.” Verdict: F tier.

History & background

Insulin was isolated in 1921 at the University of Toronto by Frederick Banting and Charles Best, working with J.J.R. Macleod and James Collip; 14-year-old Leonard Thompson became the first patient in January 1922. Banting and Macleod received the 1923 Nobel Prize, and the patent was sold to the university for $1 each to keep it affordable.

Insulin came from cattle and pig pancreases until recombinant human insulin (Humulin) was approved in 1982 — the first recombinant drug. US list prices rose sharply from the 2000s, prompting price caps in 2023.

Benefits

• Pushes glucose (and nutrients) into muscle; used by some bodybuilders alongside high-dose GH.

Risks

• Severe hypoglycemia → seizure, coma, brain damage or death.
• Risk is worse when used secretly or alone.
• No safe non-diabetic dose.

Dosing protocols (informational, labeled by evidence)

• Clinical trial / label: FDA labels (diabetes only) — Individualized by a prescriber, usually in units per kg, adjusted to blood-glucose readings, SubQ, Per prescription, Chronic

Status: FDA-approved for diabetes only. Banned in sport at all times (WADA S4).

Grade and commentary: Dr. Alex Tatem. Watch: Truth About Popular Peptides Tier List (What Works, What’s Overhyped) | Pt. 3. Subscribe: @DrAlexTatem.