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WHAT IS hGH ?
"Everything has been figured out, except how to live."
-Jean-Paul Sartre
INTRODUCTION
Throughout recorded history, man has sought after the fountain of
youth. Though we are still on that quest, the time has come that we
understand many aging processes and how to control them. We know about the
destructive effects of free radicals on our cells, and the importance of
antioxidants in neutralizing this damage. Genetic research is unveiling
DNA codes that predetermine our ability to rid our bodies of toxic
compounds from our environment that may promote the growth of cancer. The
most widely recognized and addressable influence on aging is the decline
of hormone production that begins in the mid-thirties. We are familiar
with the replacement of estrogen and progesterone in menopausal women,
while recently testosterone replacement for men and women has become more
widely accepted. Physicians are finding that when a wider array of
hormones is replaced, patients attain much greater results than with any
single hormone and, in some cases, one may protect against the side
effects of another.
While the use of hormone replacement has advanced the field of
anti-aging medicine, in common practice it is flawed.
We need to question the ethics of using synthetic hormones as replacement
rather than the natural ones that are cheaper, safer, and recognized by
the body. Beyond that, we need to question what other anti-aging hormones
are available, and if they too are declining, what advantages are there in
replacing them to youthful levels?
Can we go beyond preventing the symptoms of aging to turn back the
biological clock?
According to the studies on growth hormone, we can.
Perhaps one of the most interesting differences between GH and other
hormones is that the body keeps making large amounts of GH right into old
age, while other hormones diminish in their production. The challenge in
restoring youthful levels of GH for most of us is not increasing our
production or injecting the hormone itself, but releasing it from its
sequestered state. We now know how to unlock the gates that keep GH from
circulating in the body.
What is hGH?
Hormone is Human Growth one of many endocrine hormones, like estrogen,
progesterone, testosterone, melatonin and DHEA, which decline with age.
While many of these hormones can be replaced to deter some of the effects
of aging, hGH reaches far beyond the scope of any one of these hormones to
not only prevent biological aging but
to significantly reverse a broad
range of the signs and symptoms associated with aging. In effect, hGH
therapy has been shown to turn back the biological clock by 20 years or
more!
hGH, also known as somatotropin, is the most abundant hormone secreted
by the pituitary gland. It is produced at a rate that peaks during
adolescence when accelerated growth occurs. Daily growth hormone secretion
diminishes with age to the extent that a 60-year-old may secrete 25% of
the hGH secreted by a 20-year-old.
Growth hormone is primarily released in
pulses that take place during the beginning phases of sleep, then it is
quickly converted in the liver
to its powerful growth promoting
metabolite, Insulin-like Growth Factor type 1 (IGF-1)--also known as
somatomedin C. IGF-1 elicits most of the effects associated with growth
hormone and is measured in the blood to determine the level of growth
hormone secretion.
IGF-1 promotes glucose transfer through cell membranes as a source of
fuel for cells, which is an insulin-like effect. Thus the term IGF-1,
or insulin-like growth factor. Most of the beneficial effects of hGH
that we will explore are directly associated with IGF-1.
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The decline of growth hormone with age sometimes referred to as
somatopause is directly associated with many of the symptoms of aging,
including wrinkles, gray hair, decreased energy and sexual function,
increased body fat and cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and more.
Many of these symptoms have been associated with younger adults who have
growth hormone deficiency; in a sense, the biological age of these adults
has surpassed the chronological age. The good news is that clinical
evidence demonstrates that by replacing growth hormone we can dramatically
reverse these symptoms to restore hair color and growth, regain bone
tissue, increase energy, and significantly reduce body fat.
Decline in Growth Hormone with Age
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Why do hGH levels decline with age? Researchers have examined the
evidence and some theories suggest that the effects of changes in GH
regulating hormones like somatostatin and growth hormone releasing hormone
(GHRH) account for GH decline.
The encouraging evidence is that the aging
pituitary maintains the ability to release growth hormone, if it is
properly stimulated to do so. Proper diet, exercise, and secretagogues,
when used correctly, allow the pituitary to significantly increase levels
of growth hormone. Secretagogues are substances on the cutting edge of
scientific research that stimulate the pituitary to secrete growth
hormone;
we will look at these materials in detail and examine the
exciting clinical evidence that demonstrates how effective they are.
We
will also examine the relationship between diet, exercise, and hGH.
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Until recently, growth hormone therapy has only been available in the
form of injections that have been prohibitively expensive and difficult to
use. Now, there are natural substances that have been well documented to
stimulate growth hormone in a way that may exceed the effectiveness of
injections or compliment injection therapy.
According to researchers,
these cutting edge natural secretagogues may have the ability to more
closely mimic the body's youthful GH secretion patterns than any other
therapies previously available.
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