HGH - Human Growth Hormone

Most people think of HGH as the miraculous treatment for children doomed to dwarfism, which over the past thirty years has saved tens of thousands from this fate. The next great benefit of HGH therapy appears to be in the aging population. People with age-related deficiency of HGH become overweight, flabby, frail, and lethargic; lose interest in sex; have trouble sleeping, concentrating, and remembering things; tire easily; and in general, lose their zest for life. With HGH, all these so-called signs of aging can be reversed.

Indeed, nearly 20,000 clinical studies document around the world the broad benefits of pharmacological HGH therapy. These studies suggest a wide range of effects when HGH is replaced:

HGH is a FDA-approved drug. In August 1996, the FDA approved HGH for use in adult patients. Before this, it was authorized only for use to promote growth in HGH-deficient children. The new indication is somatotropin (growth hormone) deficiency syndrome (SDS), resulting from pituitary disease, hypothalamic disease, surgery, radiation therapy, or injury.

In effect, the FDA approval covers the use of HGH for anti-aging purposes since low levels of HGH or IGF-1 indicate a failure of the pituitary to release adequate amounts of this vital substance. In addition, the signs of SDS, such as decreased physical mobility, lower energy, and higher risk of cardiovascular disease, are exactly the same as those seen in aging adults with low HGH levels. The FDA approval for HGH in adults means that any physician may now prescribe it to their HGH-deficient aging patients without fear of practicing outside of conventional orthodox mainstream medicine.

Today, HGH is made in the laboratory by genetic engineering methods, generating an identical protein to the one made naturally in the human body. For this reason, allergic reactions to the drug are rare, and it is extremely safe for human use. The injections are similar to that of insulin-very small needles deliver HGH subcutaneously (under the skin). Most people find it easy to do and even less painful than a pinprick. While different doctors use different dose regimens, the usual recommendation is between 2 and 8 IUs per week (1 milligram equals 3 IUs, or international units).

Many specialists in anti-aging endocrinology are now dividing daily doses into two per day, one in the morning and one at night, to more closely approximate the way HGH is released in the body. The idea is to raise the levels of IGF-1 (IGF-1, a byproduct of HGH, is the substance often analyzed to determine correct dosage of HGH supplementation) to about where it was at age thirty to forty, which for most people is in the high 200s to low 300s.

How does declining Hgh effect our mind and body?

Hgh declines with age and is directly associated with many of the symptoms of aging, including: cardiovascular disease, increased body fat, osteoporosis, wrinkling, gray hair, decreased energy, reduced sexual function, impaired physical performance (muscle tone and strength), psychosocial deficits, poor sleep and others. Many of these hgh deficiency symptoms have also been found in younger adults who have hormone deficiency.

Most importantly, recent medical research has clearly demonstrated that by increasing growth hormone production, we can significantly eliminate the above symptoms, reversing the biological effects of aging

Hgh replacement therapy does what no other weight loss program does - it recontours the body, melting away fat and building muscle. Combine this with the added benefit of looking 10 to 20 years younger and you have the ultimate weight loss formulation.

The best part of hgh replacement therapy is that the greatest loss occurs in deep belly fat, the area that is one of the biggest problems for aging men and women.

In every hgh research study of Hgh pituitary deficient adults, as well as aging "normal" people, hgh growth hormone replacement therapy reduced body fat and increased lean body mass.

How does Human Growth Hormone Function in the body?

A key component is hgh cycles. It is important to know that hgh cycles throughout the day. As hgh cycles it is primarily released in a pulsating fashion, with serum concentrations generally lowest in the early morning and highest overnight during sleep stages III and IV. Human Growth Hormone is quickly converted by the liver into IGF-1 (also referred to as growth promoting metabolite somatomedin C), and then circulated throughout the body. IGF-1 is the factor that is measured in the blood in order to determine the level of human growth hormone secretion.

A critical concept in understanding human growth hormone deficiency is that it has two distinct types of effects:

Direct Effects are the result of human growth hormones binding its receptors on target cells. Fat cells for example, have growth hormone receptors, and growth hormone stimulates them to break down triglycerides and suppresses their ability to take up and accumulate circulating lipids.

Indirect Effects are mediated primarily by Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF-1), a hormone that is secreted from the liver and other tissues in response to human growth hormones. A majority of the effects of human growth hormones is actually due to IGF-1 acting on target cells.

Recent hgh research has revealed that the aging pituitary cells can still secrete as much growth hormones as someone in their 20's if they are adequately stimulated. This astounding discovery is the basis of homeopathic Hgh releasers and Hgh releaser supplements, and the second type of prescription hgh that is in the process of being developed. These alternative methods to Hgh prescription injections act to stimulate the pituitary to release the human growth hormone, which is actually still produced by our bodies as we age. These types of Hgh research therapies are not based on pumping the body up with synthetic Human Growth Hormone, but with releasing human growth hormone from its dormant state in the pituitary gland itself.