Human growth hormone is described by some as the key to slowing the aging process. Get the facts about these claims.
What is HGH? Human growth hormone is naturally produced in the pituitary gland, which is located at the base of the brain.
It plays a vital role in cell regeneration, growth and maintaining healthy human tissue, including that of the brain and various vital organs.
What is the best High Grown Hormone supplement?
According to a study in the 2008 issue of the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (Alpha-GPC) might increase human growth hormone levels.
Participants who consumed 600 milligrams of A-GPC two hours before resistance exercise had increased HGH levels post-exercise compared to those given a placebo.
In the 2007 "Clinical Interventions in Aging" research review, mono-amine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors were cited as reducing turnover of the neurotransmitters dopamine and nor-epinephrine, thereby reducing, delaying or preventing the pituitary's age-related decline in High Grown Hormone production. Walker lists gingko biloba as one herbal therapy high in these MAO inhibitors. Doctors advise caution in taking any MAO inhibitor if already taking prescribed MAO anti-depressant medications.
This natural slowdown has triggered an interest in using synthetic human growth hormone (HGH) as a way to stave off some of the changes linked to aging, such as decreased muscle and bone mass.
If you're skeptical, good. There's little evidence to suggest HGH can help otherwise healthy adults regain youth and vitality. Alternatively, HGH treatments may increase the risk of other medical conditions. Experts recommend against using HGH to treat aging or age-related conditions.
In most people, growth hormone deficiency is caused by a benign tumor on the pituitary gland (pituitary adenoma) or by treatment of an adenoma with surgery or radiotherapy.
For adults who have a growth hormone deficiency, injections of HGH can:
Increase exercise capacity
Increase bone density
Increase muscle mass
Decrease body fat
HGH treatment is also approved to treat adults with AIDS- or HIV-related growth hormone deficiency that causes irregular distribution of body fat.
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Increased insulin resistance
Type 2 diabetes
Swelling in the arms and legs (edema)
Joint and muscle pain
For men, enlargement of breast tissue (gynecomastia)
Increased risk of certain cancers
Clinical studies of HGH treatment in healthy older adults have been relatively small and short in duration, so there's little to no information about the long-term effects of HGH treatment.
There's no pill form of human growth hormone available. Some dietary supplements that claim to boost levels of HGH come in pill form, but research doesn't show a benefit.
HGH is considered a controlled substance by the Food and Drug Administration. Using HGH for a condition that isn't approved, such as building muscle or as an anti-aging treatment in older adults, is illegal.
9 HGH Benefits
Human growth hormone can be injected in larger doses to promote weight loss and increase muscle size, while a small doses can be used for general recovery, health and ignite the anti-aging process. Presently, there is a growing list of benefits of HGH treatment in children, adolescents and adults, such as:
Human growth hormone has been known to improve physical capacity of individuals by stimulating collagen synthesis in the skeletal muscle and tendons, increasing muscle strength and improving exercise performance as a result.
In the International Journal of Endocrinology, 14 healthy men at the ages of 50 to 70 were randomized into two groups for a study. Seven subjects were administered HGH therapy with seven placebo subjects, and they were re-evaluated after six months.
After six months, there was a significant increase in the leg press responsiveness muscles in the growth hormone group.
Administration of human growth hormone has been shown to speed up the regeneration of bone, making it a key part of bone healing. Applying growth factors like IGF-1 is known to stimulate the metabolism of bone.
In a study published in the journal BONE, growth hormone was systemically applied to recombinant species-specific rats by subcutaneous injections and was compared to the placebo group. As a result, the local growth factor application revealed a stronger effect on fracture healing than the systemic human growth hormone injection.
These observations suggest that the local application of growth hormone speeds up fracture healing significantly without systemic adverse effects.
Researchers have reported the beneficial effects of HGH in enhancing the healing of injuries and wounds significantly. A randomized, controlled, double-blinded study of six months of HGH therapy found that healthy older men who were administered growth hormone had enhanced collagen deposition during the wound-healing process, helping the healing process.
Obese individuals have limited response to growth hormone stimuli release, and after successful reduction of weight, growth hormone responsiveness can be partial or complete.
Growth hormone accelerates lipolysis, the breakdown of lipids, and involves hydrolysis of triglycerides into glycerol and free fatty acids. Impaired secretion of human growth hormone leads to loss of lipolytic effect.
Dietary restrictions and growth hormone treatment effects on anabolic and lipolytic actions as well as the changes in growth hormone secretions and insulin were investigated in a study published in Hormone Research.
Twenty-four obese participants were on a hypocaloric diet and treated with recombinant human growth hormone or a placebo. Growth hormone treatment caused a 1.6-fold increase in weight loss, with the greatest loss being visceral fat compared to the placebo.
In the placebo group, lean body mass was lost, whereas lean body mass was gained in the growth hormone group.
This study suggests that in obese participants who eat a caloric-restriction diet, growth hormone accelerates the loss of body fat and improves growth hormone secretion. Thus, human growth hormone can serve a therapeutic role to help obese people lose weight.
The pituitary gland stimulates the release of growth hormone and is essential for regulating bone growth, especially during puberty. Growth hormone stimulates the production of IGF-1, which is produced in the liver and released in the blood.
With age, human growth hormone decreases and may be the cause of older individuals not being able to form or replace bone rapidly. The IGF-1/growth hormone duo stimulates bone-forming and bone-resorbing cells, leading to increased bone mass.
Adults who are growth hormone-deficient have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, leading to decreased life expectancy.
In Sweden, 104 patients who are growth hormone-deficient were studied for cardiovascular disease risk. These patients had higher body mass and triglyceride concentrations compared to controls.
Results suggest lipoprotein metabolism is altered by growth hormone deficiency, increasing the risk for cardiovascular disease.
It’s been suggested in recent studies that human growth hormone is responsible for male reproductive function and sexual maturation while deficiency is associated with loss of sexual erection and desire.
Thirty-five healthy adult men and 45 participants with were exposed to tactile and visual stimuli in order to elicit penile tumescence in a German study. The increase in growth hormone was greater than 90 percent as determined during developing penile tumescence, followed by a transient decrease afterward.
This study suggests that penile erection may be induced by growth hormone through its stimulating activity on human corpus cavernosum smooth muscle, making it a potential natural remedy for impotence.
Abdominal obesity is prevalent in individuals who show low growth hormone and insulin-like growth hormone serum concentrations as well. Human growth hormone treatment has demonstrated positive results in adults who are growth hormone-deficient in treating obesity naturally.
Thirty men ages 48–66 with abdominal/visceral obesity were treated with recombinant human growth hormone in a nine-month, randomized, double-blind study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Abdominal and visceral adipose tissue decreased along with diastolic blood pressure, and improved insulin sensitivity was one of the favorable benefits of human growth hormone found.
A Lithuanian study investigated the changes in cognitive function, mood and concentration from baseline after six months of treatment with human recombinant growth hormone. Eighteen adult patients with HGH deficiency participated in the study, and growth hormone was administered in 12 international units per week.
As a result, cognitive function and mood significantly increased after six months of therapy, according to mood scales. This study suggests that administering growth hormone can be a possible treatment option to improve cognitive function and mood in adults who are growth hormone-deficient.
The majority of the growth hormone pulsatile secretion happens just after the onset of sleep and continues to rise when the first hours of sleep are reached.
Individuals who are going through sleep deprivation, such as people who work the night shift or late studiers, can be affected negatively throughout the day. Lack of sleep alters pituitary and hypothalamus function, further altering growth hormone release time.
When sleep was deprived for 24 to 36 hours in a study conducted by the University of Chicago’s Department of Medicine, human growth hormone release was drastically decreased and noticeably decreased in growth hormone peak values at night.
The 24-hour pulse rate of growth hormone became random and more frequent throughout these waking hours. This study suggests that sleep deprivation can reduce growth hormone release the morning after and can severely disturb and alter the sleep-wake cycle.
Signs and symptoms of growth hormone deficiency vary with age, and children can have different symptoms than an adult. Children being significantly shorter than other children their age and growing less than two inches per year are common symptoms of growth hormone deficiency.
Children with normal growth hormone levels typically grow about 2.5 inches a year from age 1 until they hit puberty, when they can grow up to four inches a year. However, a decline in human growth hormone does not have any impact on a child’s intelligence.
Adults may experience a combination of symptoms from human growth hormone deficiency, including:
Depression
Hair loss
Sexual dysfunction
Decreased muscle strength and mass
Memory loss
Lack of concentration
Dry skin
Increased triglycerides
Fatigue
Cardiovascular disease risk
Increase LDL (“bad”) cholesterol
Insulin resistance
Reduced bone density
Temperature sensitivities
Increased weight, especially around the waist
A deficiency can be caused by damage to the pituitary gland or hypothalamus that occurred before a child was born. This congenital cause is due to genetic error, so the risk of this occurring is increased if one or both parents also have a deficiency.
It can also be caused by something that occurred during or after birth (an acquired cause). There are also several possible acquired causes.
A child is generally more at risk for growth hormone deficiency if he or she has a brain tumor, brain injury or radiation treatment to the head.
You’re probably wondering, how can I naturally increase HGH? Here are some of the top ways:
Research suggests that the exercise-induced growth hormone plus endurance exercise associated with load, intensity, duration and frequency are the determining factors in the regulation of HGH secretion.
An exercise intensity above lactate threshold and for a minimum of 10 minutes elicits the greatest stimulus to the secretion of HGH HIIT workouts are effective in promoting beneficial well-being, health and positive training outcomes, while stimulating HGH.
Supplementing with L-glutamine is known for enhancing exercise performance, maintaining acid-base balance and increasing the storage of glycogen in muscle.
In an Iranian study, 30 healthy non-athlete males were randomly divided into placebo and glutamine supplementation groups and put through the same three days a week eight-week resistance training program.
Both groups increased in performance, but the glutamine groups showed greater increases in lower- and upper-body strength, explosive muscle power, blood testosterone, IGF-1, and HGH compared to the placebo group.
Most studies have shown when administering oral L-arginine to participants, arginine alone increases the resting growth hormone levels at least 100 percent, while exercise can increase growth hormone levels by 300 percent to 500 percent.
4.According to a study in the 2008 issue of the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (Alpha-GPC) might increase human growth hormone levels.
Participants who consumed 600 milligrams of A-GPC two hours before resistance exercise had increased HGH levels post-exercise compared to those given a placebo.
5. Iin the 2007 "Clinical Interventions in Aging" research review, mono-amine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors were cited as reducing turnover of the neurotransmitters dopamine and nor-epinephrine, thereby reducing, delaying or preventing the pituitary's age-related decline in High Grown Hormone production. Walker lists gingko biloba as one herbal therapy high in these MAO inhibitors. Doctors advise caution in taking any MAO inhibitor if already taking prescribed MAO anti-depressant medications.
By Human Growth Hormone: HGH Benefits, Uses and Side Effects - Dr. Axe (draxe.com)