Human Growth Hormone

Human Growth Hormone
by Elora Gabriel

Is aging as inevitable as death and taxes? Or, is it a condition of hormone deficiency, and specifically, a deficiency of Human Growth Hormone?

Dr. Ronald Klatz has written the definitive text on human growth hor-mone (HGH), entitled Grow Young With HGH. According to Dr. Klatz: "HGH is the ultimate antiaging therapy. It affects almost every cell in the body, rejuvenating the skin and bones, regenerating the heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys, bringing organ and tissue function back to youthful levels. It is an antidisease medicine that revitalizes the immune system, lowers the risk factors for heart attack and stroke, improves oxygen intake in emphysema patients, and prevents osteoporosis. It is under investigation for a host of different diseases from osteoporosis to postpolio syndrome to AIDS. It is the most effective antiobesity drug ever discovered, reviving metabolism to youthful levels, resculpting the body by selectively reducing the fat in the waist, abdomen, hips, and thighs, and at the same time increasing muscle mass. It may be the most powerful aphrodisiac ever discovered, reviving flagging sexuality and potency in older men and women! It is cosmetic surgery in a bottle, smoothing out facial wrinkles; restoring the elasticity, thickness, and contours of youthful skin; reversing the loss of extracellular water that makes old people look dried-up. It reverses the insomnia of later life, restoring the 'slow wave' or deepest level of sleep. And it is a mood elevator, lifting the spirits along with the body, bringing back a zest for life that many people thought was lost forever."

Growth hormone is produced by the pituitary, the body's master gland. Levels of HGH fall 80% between ages 21 and 61. Researchers state that most people over 40 are deficient in growth hormone.

On July 5, 1990, the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a study by Daniel Rudman, MD, and colleagues at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Twelve growth hormone deficient men between the ages of 61 to 81 were treated with injections of synthetic HGH for a period of six months. These frail, flabby men all lost fat, gained muscle, and had thicker (younger) skin. Dr. Rudman stated, "The effects of six months of human growth hormone on lean body mass and adiposetissue mass were equivalent in magnitude to the changes incurred during 10 to 20 years of aging." In other words, six months of growth hormone had taken 10 to 20 years from the bodies of these men!

Following these impressive results, Rudman then gave HGH to a group of 26 elderly men. He found their livers, spleens, and muscles, which had shrunk with age, had regrown back to their youthful sizes. Rudman's work and other studies on HGH have demonstrated the following benefits:

EFFECTS OF HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE

Excellent weight loss without dieting or exercising.
8.8% increase in muscle mass (aver-age) after six months, with no change in exercise pattern.
Higher energy levels, and increased exercise performance.
Enhanced sexual performance for men and women.
Regrowth of heart, liver, spleen, kidneys and other organs that shrink with age.
Greater cardiac output, superior immune function, as well as better kidney function.
Lowered blood pressure, improved cholesterol profile, higher HDL and lower LDL.
Younger thicker skin, wrinkle removal, elimination of cellulite.
Hair regrowth.
Sharper vision.
Mood elevation.
Increased memory retention.
Improved sleep.

But isn't HGH prohibitively expensive? Synthetic growth hormone injections have produced impressive results, but cost between $800 and $2,500/month. And some side effects have been reported.

A much cheaper route is to obtain professionally formulated growth hormone releasing products. These nonprescription products are made entirely from natural sources, and provide maximum safety without side effects. They contain secretagogues, or substances that stimulate the pituitary to release HGH. Researcher Garrett Jones, from Age Reversal Associates, has done an intensive study of the various formulas available. An essential criterion for growth hormone releasing products is the ability to raise the level of IGF1, or insulinlike growth factor, in the blood. (IGF1 is the major marker for HGH levels, since growth hormone is difficult to test for directly, and produces many of the benefits associated with HGH). Jones believes that one such product is highly comparable in effectiveness to the injections. "In the development of a natural HGH secretagogue that stimulates the release of the body's natural HGH hormone, this research has incorporated advanced pharmaceutical delivery, rare botanicals, glandulars, and nutritional cofactors to produce a proven antiaging HGH therapy with unprecedented results," says Jones. To obtain a copy of Mr. Jones' report, please send a large, self addressed stamped envelope to Tides of Life, 606 1/2 Laurel Avenue, Black Mountain, NC 28711.

For those who enjoy the do-it-yourself approach, another option is to obtain Dr. Klatz' book and study the method called "stacking". Stacking means packaging the right nutrients in the right proportions and taking them at the right time. The major players in this game are the amino acids Iysine, arginine, ornithine, and glutamine. Klatz believes the combination of these nutrients has a synergistic effect. And Mauro Di Pasquale, MD, a world expert in growth hormone releasing compounds, says that "You don't have to increase growth hormone very much to get a 10 to 20% rise in IGF1 level, which can have a definite effect on the body."

Vigorous physical exercise, as well as fasting, also cause HGH levels to rise dramatically. With all of these tools at our disposal, for the first time the average person now has a realistic hope of turning back the clock.

The information in this article is for educational purposes only, and is not intended as medical advice.

Elora Gabriel is a writer and health researcher who has published many articles on natural hormones. She can be reached at 704-669-2515.