Human Growth Hormone: Turning Back the Hands of Time
Total Health Breakthroughs
February 14, 2008
By Al Sears, MD
Your body produces an abundance of a natural rejuvenator when you're young. But woe to us all; it then gradually tapers off with each passing year: It's called human growth hormone or HGH for short.
Kick HGH production back into high gear and it will literally rejuvenate every cell in your body - and reverse many of the consequences of aging such as...
Loss of energy
Thinning skin/wrinkles
Muscle and bone loss
Decreased sexual performance
Impaired vision
Weakened immune system
You may have heard about HGH recently. It has gotten a lot of coverage in the press because of all the steroid scandals plaguing Major League Baseball (even though it's not a steroid). Because it can give players an unfair competitive edge, it's illegal in professional baseball. This has stirred up a lot of confusion and unnecessary controversy.
The fact is, HGH is perfectly safe and there's plenty of clinical proof of its anti-aging power.
The watershed study that put HGH on the map came out in 1991 in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.1 In just 6 months, researchers transformed 12 weak, overweight, and lethargic men aged 61 to 81 into lean, strong, energized male specimens.
The doctor who led the study, Daniel Rudman, wrote, "The effects of six months of human growth hormone on lean body mass and adipose-tissue [fat] mass were equivalent in magnitude to the changes incurred during 10 to 20 years of aging." In other words, HGH turned back the clock decades for the men in the study after only 6 months of hormone therapy. Here are a few of the results Rudman's team observed:
Increase in Lean Body Mass (Muscle): 8.8%
Total Fat Loss: 14.4%
Thickening of Skin: 7.1%
Increase of Bone Density (Lumbar Spine): 1.6%
New Liver Growth: 19%
New Spleen Growth: 17%
Since Rudman's groundbreaking work, the evidence of HGH's effectiveness has steadily mounted. Its ability to heal and restore your body is no myth. It has a powerful impact in many areas of health:
Immune System: One study found that HGH regenerated the shriveled thymus gland in old rats until it was as large and robust as in young rats. The immune system boost created new antibodies, T-cells and red blood cells.2
Heart Health: HGH improves your cholesterol levels, raising your "good" cholesterol (HDL) and lowering your "bad" cholesterol (LDL). It also reduces diastolic blood pressure by about 10 percent, without affecting systolic pressure.
Lung Capacity: HGH improves your heart-lung function by increasing your ability to exercise, raising your maximum oxygen uptake and boosting your heart's stroke volume (the amount of blood your heart can pump with one beat).
Sexual Performance: In a study of HGH therapy in 202 aging adults, 75 percent of the men reported better sex and the ability to do it more often. Sixty-two percent had longer-lasting erections.3
While HGH injection therapy is an FDA-approved medical treatment, there are ways you can ramp up your levels naturally with a few simple steps. Here are two approaches I routinely use in my medical practice - with great success:
Eat More Protein: HGH levels rise with a high protein diet, especially when combined with exercise that increases muscle mass. The increase is moderate -- but even a moderate increase can have a dramatic overall impact.
Perform Strenuous Exercises: Strenuous exercise also increases levels of HGH in your body. Now I'm NOT talking about a brisk walk around the block. I mean gut-wrenching exercises like heavy squats and dead lifts. This is not a tip for the faint of heart. If you're athletic and in good shape, give it a try.
There are also a number of widely available supplements that will ignite your body's HGH engine:
Arginine: This is an essential amino acid your body can't make on its own. (Turkey and chicken are great sources.) Not only does it flip the "on switch" for HGH production; it neutralizes substances called "somatostatins" that block HGH's anti-aging action. Arginine also helps you burn fat and build muscle, boosting physical strength and endurance.
You can find arginine in health food stores and on line, usually as a powder. Take 2 to 5 grams on an empty stomach one hour before exercise or before bedtime.
Glutamine: This is another amino acid found in high protein foods. Your body relies on it heavily during times of stress. It also promotes healthy immune and digestive function. Without enough glutamine, your body starts to lose muscle and your immune system weakens.
Glutamine also raises HGH levels. Researchers from the Louisiana State University College of Medicine found that just 2 grams of glutamine raised HGH levels more than four times higher than those who took a placebo.4
I usually recommend 2 grams at bedtime for my patients.
Finally, you can opt for HGH injection therapy, which of course requires medical supervision and a prescription. Looking at this graph, you can see it's highly effective:
Your doctor can only authorize it if you're HGH levels test low. If you're able to proceed with therapy, ask your doctor to get you a handy HGH cartridge for home use. You won't have to deal with syringes and needles.
I've used HGH in patients up to 95 years old at my Wellness Center in Florida. And it works.
References
1. Rudman et al. New England Journal of Medicine. 1990. 323:1-6
2. Kelley et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 1986. 83:5663-7
3. L. Cass Terry and Edmund Chein, Medical College of Wisconsin and Palm Springs Life Extension Institute results, quoted in Grow Young with hGH by Dr. Ronald Klatz, M.D. HarperCollins, 1997.
4. Welbourne TC American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1995. 61:1058-1061.
This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise´s Total Health Breakthroughs which offers alternative solutions for mind, body and soul. For a complimentary subscription, visit Total Health Breakthroughs.
Your body produces an abundance of a natural rejuvenator when you're young. But woe to us all; it then gradually tapers off with each passing year: It's called human growth hormone or HGH for short.
Kick HGH production back into high gear and it will literally rejuvenate every cell in your body - and reverse many of the consequences of aging such as...
Loss of energy
Thinning skin/wrinkles
Muscle and bone loss
Decreased sexual performance
Impaired vision
Weakened immune system
You may have heard about HGH recently. It has gotten a lot of coverage in the press because of all the steroid scandals plaguing Major League Baseball (even though it's not a steroid). Because it can give players an unfair competitive edge, it's illegal in professional baseball. This has stirred up a lot of confusion and unnecessary controversy.
The fact is, HGH is perfectly safe and there's plenty of clinical proof of its anti-aging power.
The watershed study that put HGH on the map came out in 1991 in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.1 In just 6 months, researchers transformed 12 weak, overweight, and lethargic men aged 61 to 81 into lean, strong, energized male specimens.
The doctor who led the study, Daniel Rudman, wrote, "The effects of six months of human growth hormone on lean body mass and adipose-tissue [fat] mass were equivalent in magnitude to the changes incurred during 10 to 20 years of aging." In other words, HGH turned back the clock decades for the men in the study after only 6 months of hormone therapy. Here are a few of the results Rudman's team observed:
Increase in Lean Body Mass (Muscle): 8.8%
Total Fat Loss: 14.4%
Thickening of Skin: 7.1%
Increase of Bone Density (Lumbar Spine): 1.6%
New Liver Growth: 19%
New Spleen Growth: 17%
Since Rudman's groundbreaking work, the evidence of HGH's effectiveness has steadily mounted. Its ability to heal and restore your body is no myth. It has a powerful impact in many areas of health:
Immune System: One study found that HGH regenerated the shriveled thymus gland in old rats until it was as large and robust as in young rats. The immune system boost created new antibodies, T-cells and red blood cells.2
Heart Health: HGH improves your cholesterol levels, raising your "good" cholesterol (HDL) and lowering your "bad" cholesterol (LDL). It also reduces diastolic blood pressure by about 10 percent, without affecting systolic pressure.
Lung Capacity: HGH improves your heart-lung function by increasing your ability to exercise, raising your maximum oxygen uptake and boosting your heart's stroke volume (the amount of blood your heart can pump with one beat).
Sexual Performance: In a study of HGH therapy in 202 aging adults, 75 percent of the men reported better sex and the ability to do it more often. Sixty-two percent had longer-lasting erections.3
While HGH injection therapy is an FDA-approved medical treatment, there are ways you can ramp up your levels naturally with a few simple steps. Here are two approaches I routinely use in my medical practice - with great success:
Eat More Protein: HGH levels rise with a high protein diet, especially when combined with exercise that increases muscle mass. The increase is moderate -- but even a moderate increase can have a dramatic overall impact.
Perform Strenuous Exercises: Strenuous exercise also increases levels of HGH in your body. Now I'm NOT talking about a brisk walk around the block. I mean gut-wrenching exercises like heavy squats and dead lifts. This is not a tip for the faint of heart. If you're athletic and in good shape, give it a try.
There are also a number of widely available supplements that will ignite your body's HGH engine:
Arginine: This is an essential amino acid your body can't make on its own. (Turkey and chicken are great sources.) Not only does it flip the "on switch" for HGH production; it neutralizes substances called "somatostatins" that block HGH's anti-aging action. Arginine also helps you burn fat and build muscle, boosting physical strength and endurance.
You can find arginine in health food stores and on line, usually as a powder. Take 2 to 5 grams on an empty stomach one hour before exercise or before bedtime.
Glutamine: This is another amino acid found in high protein foods. Your body relies on it heavily during times of stress. It also promotes healthy immune and digestive function. Without enough glutamine, your body starts to lose muscle and your immune system weakens.
Glutamine also raises HGH levels. Researchers from the Louisiana State University College of Medicine found that just 2 grams of glutamine raised HGH levels more than four times higher than those who took a placebo.4
I usually recommend 2 grams at bedtime for my patients.
Finally, you can opt for HGH injection therapy, which of course requires medical supervision and a prescription. Looking at this graph, you can see it's highly effective:
Your doctor can only authorize it if you're HGH levels test low. If you're able to proceed with therapy, ask your doctor to get you a handy HGH cartridge for home use. You won't have to deal with syringes and needles.
I've used HGH in patients up to 95 years old at my Wellness Center in Florida. And it works.
References
1. Rudman et al. New England Journal of Medicine. 1990. 323:1-6
2. Kelley et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 1986. 83:5663-7
3. L. Cass Terry and Edmund Chein, Medical College of Wisconsin and Palm Springs Life Extension Institute results, quoted in Grow Young with hGH by Dr. Ronald Klatz, M.D. HarperCollins, 1997.
4. Welbourne TC American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1995. 61:1058-1061.
This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise´s Total Health Breakthroughs which offers alternative solutions for mind, body and soul. For a complimentary subscription, visit Total Health Breakthroughs.