The key difference between SARMs and peptides is that Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators or SARMs are non-steroidal compounds or supplements which act as prohormones and alter the androgen receptors while peptides are short amino acid sequences which are natural or synthetic which aid in muscle building.
Muscle building is a practice among most athletes that represent various types of sports. Athletes take different varieties of supplements and nutrition to sustain their muscle growth. Furthermore, the evolution of protein supplements is an interesting topic among most research on sports supplementation. Initially, protein supplements were available as prohormones, then as peptides and finally as SARMs (Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators). SARMs are artificially synthesized whereas peptides exist naturally and can also be artificially synthesized.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What are SARMs
3. What are Peptides
4. Similarities Between SARMs and Peptides
5. Side by Side Comparison – SARMs vs Peptides in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What are SARMs?
SARMs also was known as Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators are artificially synthesized non-steroid supplements used for muscle building by most athletes. They are legal and innovative. They have a higher anabolic to androgenic ratio. The ratio starts from 3:1 and extends up to a ratio of 90:1. Therefore, the muscle growth and the fat loss rates are higher in SARMs in comparison with the steroidal supplements. They also do not have some side effects of steroids such as excessive hair growth. The SARMs work by acting as prohormones. They modulate the activity of the androgen receptors such as the testosterone receptors. Thereby, they increase the efficiency of the hormone activity. These are anabolic activators. Thus muscle growth directly enhances by them.
Figure 01: Muscle Building
There are many ongoing research studies on SARMs. As they are artificial, there is a need to perform a lot of clinical and pre-clinical trials in advance of the production of a commercially available product. Hence, the approval from approving bodies such as the FDA is necessary for the legalization process of SARMs. Although the risks and side effects involved with the SARMs are not yet clearly elucidated, there are many legally approved SARMs available in the market at present. Some of them are; MK – 2866, Ligandrol and Cardarine.
What are Peptides?
Peptides are short sequences of amino acids. Amino acids join with each other by covalent peptide bonds to form peptides. The shortest peptides are dipeptides, whereas peptides naturally exist as dipeptides, tripeptides or polypeptides. Thus these are polymeric compounds. A peptide has an amino terminal end and a carboxyl-terminal end. The properties of a peptide depend on the individual amino acids present in a particular peptide. Thus, the peptide can be a charged peptide, an acidic peptide, an alkali peptide or a neutral peptide. Accordingly, peptides are important in forming complex 3D protein structures.
Figure 02: Peptides
Also, peptides can be synthetically produced to aid muscle building in athletes. These commercially available peptides are legal and have fewer side effects in comparison with the available other peptides. But, with the invention of SARMs, the popularity of the muscle building peptides have decreased due to the faster effects of SARMs. The commonly available peptides used for muscle building are; GHRP – 2, Ipamorelin and HGH – fragment. They also show anabolic activity in muscle building.
What are the Similarities Between SARMs and Peptides?
- SARMs and Peptides are non – steroidal compounds.
- The uses of both are in muscle building and fat reduction.
- Also, both are synthetic supplements.
- Moreover, athletes use both to enhance their training and fitness.
- Furthermore, they have anabolic actions.
- However, in both scenarios, the side effects are not completely elucidated.
What is the Difference Between SARMs and Peptides?
SARMs are a popular non-steroidal supplement that the athletes use to build their muscles. On the other hand, peptides are short amino acid sequences that the athletes take as supplements for muscle building. Hence, this is the key difference between SARMs and peptides. Furthermore, SARMs have high popularity among the users than peptides since SARMs show a higher efficiency in muscle building with no or less number of side effects over peptides. The below comparison chart shows the difference between SARMs and peptides in more detail.
Summary – SARMs vs Peptides
Both SARMs and peptides are active supplements in muscle building. They differ from each other based on their production and availability. SARMs are synthetically produced at all times. In contrast, the peptides can be produced naturally within the living systems as amino acid sequences or can also be synthetically produced for specialized purposes. Thus, this is the key difference between SARMs and peptides. Also, in muscle building, both SARMs and peptides have an anabolic reaction. With the evolution of sports supplementation, SARMs have gained more popularity as they have more efficient and rapid effects.
Reference:
1.Asprey, Dave. “SARMs: A Potential Way To Build More Muscle.” Bulletproof, Bulletproof, 12 June 2018. Available here
2.Peptides-Health. “Peptides vs SARMs – Making the Choice.” PeptidesHealth.info/>, 16 Sept. 2018. Available here
Image Courtesy:
1.”3186524″ by anaterate (CC0) via pixabay
2.”Beta-peptides”By V8rik at English Wikipedia, (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia