Human Growth Hormone: Everything You Need to Know About HGH

Human growth hormone can turn back your body’s internal clock, helping you rapidly build muscle, slash fat, and increase libido, all while sending energy levels through the roof, but when it comes to discussions on HGH, there are often more questions than answers.

The body naturally produces growth hormone in the pituitary gland, and, as its name implies, it is responsible for cell growth and regeneration. Increasing muscle mass and bone density are impossible without HGH, but it also plays a major role in maintaining the health of all human tissue, including that of the brain and other vital organs. When secreted, HGH remains active in the bloodstream for only a few minutes, but this is enough time for the liver to convert it into growth factors, the most crucial of which is insulin-like growth factor-1, or IGF-1, which boasts a host of anabolic properties. Scientists began to harvest HGH from the pituitary glands of cadavers in the 1950s, but didn’t synthesize the first HGH in laboratories until 1981, with its use as a performance-enhancing drug becoming popular shortly thereafter. Healthy adult men typically have just less than 5 nanograms per milliliter circulating in the blood. Healthy females can produce about twice that amount for child-bearing purposes. Levels for both sexes peak during puberty and drop sharply starting in the early 20s.

Remember when creatine was billed by the mainstream media as potentially dangerous? Now it’s the most heavily researched supplement in the world, and studies bear out the fact that it’s one of the safest and most effective supplements you can take. Medical professionals say that the dangers surrounding HGH are similarly overblown. “Complications [with HGH use] are very minimal,” says Eric Braverman, M.D., who specializes in anti-aging at Path Medical Center in New York City. “Some people experience fluid retention, and a blood sugar rise, but even these are very rare un- less you take a lot. Only a few people ever come in with big feet or big livers—from mega-doses—and they weren’t my patients. It’s very rare.”

Aside from HGH’s crucial role in building muscle mass, not all of its benefits are necessarily evident to the naked eye. HGH has been shown to slow the progression of age-related degenerative diseases, as well as increase sex drive, help maintain mental acuity, and engender a general sense of well-being. The flip side of the coin - low HGH - can result in the exact opposite: muscle loss, fat gain, low sex drive and energy levels, and a poor sense of well-being.

Two major factors that contribute to increased HGH levels are ones you can control without drugs: weight training and proper sleep. The more you exercise, the more HGH you release naturally. A recent study observed significant increases in circulating HGH and IGF-1 after intense resistance exercise in a group of trained men, but found no significant diferences in untrained men who performed the same workout. HGH is also secreted while you sleep, and studies have shown a spike in HGH levels at the onset of deep sleep, so getting the recommended seven to nine hours per night is essential to maintaining HGH. Diet is the third major factor in keeping HGH levels topped of.