Human Growth Hormone

The first step in our education is to become familiar with some of the terms and definitions used while discussing Human Growth Hormone.

What is a Hormone?

Hormones are tiny chemical messengers that help our body do different tasks. Hormones are made up of amino acids. Hormones are produced by the endocrine glands and then sent all over the body to stimulate certain activities or function. For example, Insulin is a well known hormone that helps our body digest food. Our growth, digestion, reproduction and sexual functions are also all triggered by hormones.

What is Human Growth Hormone?

Human Growth Hormone (HGH or hGH) is the most abundant hormone produced by the pituitary gland (pituitary is one of the endocrine glands). The pituitary gland is located in the center of the brain. HGH is also a very complex hormone. It is made up of 191 amino acids - making it fairly large for a hormone. It is the largest protein created by the Pituitary gland.

HGH secretion reaches its peak in the body during adolescence. This makes sense because HGH helps stimulate our body to grow. But, HGH secretion does not stop after adolescence. Our body continues to produce HGH usually in short bursts during deep sleep.

Growth Hormone is known to assist in tissue repair, muscle growth, healing, brain function, physical and mental health, bone strength, energy and metabolism. In short, it is very important to just about every aspect of our life!

What is Recombinant Growth Hormone (GH)?

Recombinant Growth Hormone is GH that is synthesized in the lab. It is a biosynthetic hormone that is identical to human growth hormone, but it is synthesized in the lab. Creating an exact replicate of HGH was not an easy task.

First scientist needed to isolate HGH. Once they achieved this step they could study the DNA make-up of the protein. Scientist quickly realized making recombinant GH would be no easy task since they had to accurately reproduce a 191 amino acid hormone.

What is IGF-1?

IGF-1 stands for Insulin-like Growth Factor 1. IGF-1 is also known as Somatomedin-C. As important as HGH is, it does not last long in our bloodstream. In just a few short minutes our liver absorbs HGH and converts it into growth factors. IGF-1 is the most important growth factor that is produced. So, IGF-1 is a hormone just like HGH, but it is easier to measure in the body because it stays in our bloodstream longer than HGH. You can think of HGH as the hormone that gets the ball rolling, but IGF-1 does most of the work.

What is a Secretagogue?

A secretagogue (se-krët´ah-gog) is an agent that stimulates secretion. For now that is all you need to know about these agents with a funny name, but as we move on the functions of secretagogues and HGH enhancement will become important.  

What role does HGH play in the body?

Human growth hormone and IGF-1 have been shown to play a significant role in:

• Conversion of body fat to muscle mass

• Growth of all tissues

• Energy level

• Tissue repair

• Whole body healing

• Cell replacement

• Bone strength

• Brain function

• Sexual function

• Organ health and integrity

• Enzyme production

• Integrity of hair, nails, skin and vital organs

Basically, anything that goes on in your body is in some way tied to HGH. This is why HGH is often called the "fountain of youth". Elevated HGH levels are what  will make you feel young again.

Does your body always produce HGH?

The good news is that your body must always produce HGH or you would not be able to function. The bad news is that as you get past about 20 years old, your body produces less and less HGH each year. By age 60 you will probably have lost 75% of the HGH that your body produced.

  Here are some average HGH secretion levels:

• At 20 years old we average 500 micrograms/day

• At 40 years old we average 200 micrograms/day

• At 80 years old we average 25 micrograms/day

Why does the body produce less HGH as we get older?

This is the million-dollar question. It really ties into the bigger question - Is aging a preventable disease? For years people have believed that as we get older our body basically wears out. The theory went that all of our organs, tissues, muscles, bones, etc. have a set life span and will get weaker as we age. When someone is 40 and complains that they can't do what they did at 20, we accepted this as the natural process of getting old.

Research into HGH shows that aging may be preventable to a certain extent. Let me clarify that, I am not saying that we will all become immortal (except for Dick Clark - he never seems to age).  Research indicates that our body is very capable at the age of 40 to have the same makeup as we did at the age of 20.

It was originally believed that the pituitary gland just didn't have the capacity to produce large amounts of HGH as we get older. However, recent studies have shown that aging pituitary glands are capable of producing as much HGH as young pituitary glands, if it is adequately stimulated. This shows that the somatotrophe cell, the cell in the pituitary gland that releases HGH, does not "lose power" as we age.

The questions still remains, if the problem is not with the pituitary gland, then why does HGH decrease as we age? One theory is that the pituitary gland does not "know" it should be producing more HGH. Our body has a feedback loop that says when the IGF-1 levels decrease, produce more HGH. For some unknown reason it is possible that this loop is broken and the pituitary gland has a harder time getting the signal to produce more HGH as we age.

Another theory is that as we get older our Somatostatin levels increase. Somatostatin is a natural inhibitor to growth hormone. So, as we age the somatostatin levels increase and this leads to a decrease in HGH.

As we speak a lot of very smart people are trying to come up with a definitive answer as to why HGH levels decrease with age, but as of now we just have theories.

  Is there any way to maintain high HGH levels as we age?

Yes.  A daily injection of this GH and it will lead to an overall increase of growth hormone in the body. It is important to understand that recombinant GH is only available in injection form. The 191 amino acid hormone is too delicate to be made in any oral form.

What effect does this increase in HGH have on the body?

This is where it gets exciting. While numerous studies have been done on the effects of HGH injections, the most ground breaking study was done by Dr. Rudman and published in the New England Journal of Medicine on July 5, 1990. The journal reported that men who had taken HGH injections had shown a 8.8 percent gain in lean body mass with a 14 percent loss in body fat - without any change in diet or activity! It bears repeating that there was no change in diet or exercise - and the subjects who received HGH injections had a 8.8 percent increase in lean body mass.

If you look at all the studies that have been done on HGH injections you get the following list of benefits:

• 8.8% increase in muscle mass on average after six months, without exercise

• 14.4% loss of fat on average after six months, without dieting

• Higher energy levels

• Enhanced sexual performance

• Regrowth of heart, liver, spleen, kidneys and other organs that shrink with age

• Greater cardiac output

• Superior immune function

• Increased exercise performance

• Better kidney function

• Lowered blood pressure

• Improved cholesterol profile, with higher HDL and lower LDL

• Stronger bones

• Faster wound healing

• Younger, tighter, thicker skin

• Hair regrowth

• Wrinkle removal

• Elimination of cellulite

• Sharper vision

• Mood elevation

• Increased memory retention

• Improved sleep

(* The above is taken from Grow Young with HGH by Dr. Ronald Klatz)

Is there any negative to taking HGH injections?

What are the disadvantages of HGH Injections?

• Extremely Expensive
  A year's supply of HGH injections can cost $20,000! Insurance will not cover the injections because you are not treating a "classified disease".

• Available by prescription only
  Recombinant GH is a drug that is available by prescription only. So, even if you had $20,000 a year to spend, you would need to get a prescription.

• Possible Negative Side Effects
  Anytime you introduce a large amount of a foreign hormone into the body there is the risk of side effects. In Dr. Rudman's study he found that some of the patients suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome and gynecomastia (enlarged breasts), swelling and joint pains.  This was believed to be dose related and the lower and more frequent dosing has pretty much controlled those side effects for people taking injectable HGH.

Sounds like having more HGH and IGF-1 is a good thing, but is there any other way to elevate HGH levels?

Welcome to the confusing world of HGH supplements! It is clear that elevated HGH levels can have a very positive impact on just about every aspect of your life. With this information in mind, thousands of companies have scrambled to make Dietary Supplements that increase HGH levels.

While there are some great products out there, which we will discuss later, there are also a lot of companies just out to make a quick buck.

  HGH Supplements - Facts and Fiction

Now things start to get fun. It is time to separate fact from fiction and look at some of the products out on the market today. Is it possible to increase HGH levels by taking dietary supplements? Let's find out...

Every web site claims they have a simple supplement that will cause my HGH to skyrocket. Do these supplements work?

For the most part - no! I hate to be the one to break the news to you, but most companies in the HGH market are out to make a quick buck with exaggerated claims. Here are some claims you will see on the web and our feeling on their accuracy...

• Claim: HGH will give you a 8.8% increase in muscle mass and a 14.4% loss of fat - without dieting or exercise!

This is the old bait and switch. Technically, they are not lying when they quote Dr. Rudman's number. With HGH Injections, Dr. Rudman did see a 8.8% increase in muscle mass and a 14.4% loss of fat. The problem is, they are not selling HGH Injections! These companies do not provide any evidence that their pill, powder or spray will have the same results as HGH Injections. So, they bait you with all the positives of HGH injections and then switch you to their untested supplement.

• Claim: Our spray/pill/powder contains real HGH!

This statement is at best a tremendous exaggeration and at worst a complete lie. There are a couple of reasons why companies who claim to have a significant amount of HGH in their products are not being truthful. First, HGH is a prescription drug. If you put significant amounts of HGH in a dietary supplement it is no longer a supplement - it is a drug. As a drug it must meet FDA approval and only sold with prescription. So, the phrase HGH dietary supplement is an oxymoron. If a product has a significant amount of HGH, it is a drug.

HGH is a delicate and complex 191 amino acid hormone. This brings up the second problem with the above claim - you can not take HGH orally. So, even if a company wanted to break the law and sell HGH as a pill/spray or powder - it would not work because the HGH would break down before it ever reaches the bloodstream because of the stomach acids.

Finally, you have a financial problem with the above claim. Give Eli Lilly a call and see how much 200 micrograms (the amount a 40 year old secretes each day) of recombinant GH cost. You will quickly find out that the math just doesn't work. How can they sell a 1 month supply for $100 when the raw material would cost over $1,000 a month?

There is a case when the above claim can be true - but very exaggerated. The FDA has determined that if there is less than 2001 nanograms (ng) of the HGH drug present in a supplement - it is NOT considered a drug. The theory is that in such small trace amounts, the drug has no impact so it is not classified as a drug. Let's look at what a nanogram is...

1,000 nanograms (ng) = 1 microgram (µg)
1,000,000 micrograms = 1 gram

So, even a product that had the highest legal amount of HGH would only have 2 micrograms. Dr. Rudman gave his patients 49,500 microgram - three times a week! What this means is that technically and legally you could make the claim that your product contains real HGH. The problem is, that claim is pure marketing hype. It is not a significant source of HGH.

As you recall, the homeopathic approach works by using miniscule amounts of a substance. So, some homeopathic HGH remedies could contain up to 2000 ng of real HGH. In honest homeopathic products the goal is not to replace your HGH with the HGH in the bottle. The theory is that even the smallest amount of HGH can stimulate your own body to produce more HGH.

• Claim: Our product is FDA approved!

There are no FDA Approved Dietary Supplements. The simple truth is that the FDA does not approve or disapprove of Dietary Supplements. The Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 says that Dietary Supplements do not need FDA approval. This is why there are so many supplements on the market - there is no approval process. The best advice is buyer beware.

Are there any supplements worth taking?

Research indicates that the best way to elevate HGH levels is to stimulate the body to produce more HGH. Rather than introduce more HGH into the body, you can stimulate your own pituitary gland to produce more HGH. Remember that studies have shown that an old pituitary gland has the same capacity to produce HGH as a young pituitary gland. If we can find a way to stimulate our pituitary gland we will have the best of all worlds. You are not introducing a foreign GH, so you eliminate the side effects. Also, our body is very good at self regulating - it will not produce an excessive amount of HGH which could be harmful. In effect, you body knows best what the correct dosage of HGH is to release for your body.

This line of supplements are called HGH enhancers. 

HGH Enhancing Supplements

Congratulations, if you have made it this far you now know more about HGH then most people who sell it! On this page we will introduce you to an HGH supplement that really is effective. I want to be clear that we do not make any supplements we recommend. We could sell every supplement under the sun, but we only want to offer what we feel is most effective. Okay, on with the article...

How can we enhance our body's HGH production?

The key is to find supplements that act as a secretagogue.  Secretagogues cause the pituitary gland to secrete more HGH. Over the last 10 years a tremendous amount of research has been done on what nutritional products increase HGH production.

One of the leaders in this area has been Dr. Giampapa. Dr. Giampapa is the founder of the Longevity Institute International (LII) and is profiled in the landmark book - "Grow Young with HGH" by Dr. Ronald Klatz. For years Dr. Giampapa did HGH injections at the LII. While his patients saw great results, it was expensive and side effects could be an issue. Dr. Giampapa knew that a blend of supplements that could stimulate the body to produce more HGH was the best solution. Researchers finally came up with the right blend and called it Secretagogue-One™ (manufacturer by MHP).

What is Secretagogue-One™ and how does it work?

Secretagogue-One™ is a proprietary blend of amino acids and precursor nutrients which enhance the body's natural production of HGH and IGF-1. Studies have shown that amino acids such as arginine, glutamine and lysine can significantly increase the production of HGH. In addition, supplements such as GABA and Broad bean can have a very positive effect on HGH production. The problem has been that you had to take a cocktail of pills to get all the supplements you needed. In addition, some on the amino acid can not be taken in pill form because of their delicate structure.

Secretagogue-One™ works by combining all the nutrients you need into one effervescent powder. You don't need to worry about taking the right mix of supplements, you just take one packet of Secretagogue-One™.

Here are the exact ingredients in Secretagogue-One™:

Are there other products that use the same method as Secretagogue-One?

Yes - to varying degrees. The problem is getting amino acids and peptides past the stomach and into the bloodstream is not an easy process. The acid in our stomach can destroy the amino acids before they ever reach the pituitary glands. MHP came up with a pharmaceutical grade glucose polymer that allowed their formula to be given orally, and kept the amino acids and peptides intact so they can reach the pituitary glands.

So, there are other products which have taken the same approach - find a way to stimulate the body to produce more HGH, but not with the same success. Without the glucose polymer it is very hard to stop the stomach acids from destroying the formula. Secretagogue-One™ has been so successful that the Longevity Institute International is using it in place of HGH injections for many of its patients.

Can you show me some clinical evidence that Secretagogue-One is effective?

Of course. Here are some very interesting quotes from Kevin Hopkins, a Nutritional Biochemist at the Hopewell Pharmacy and Compounding Center. What makes them very interesting is that one of their primary businesses is to supply prescription injections of HGH. So, they would have every reason to try to knock Secretagogue-One, a $79 product that competes with their $1500 injections.  Here are some quotes from Secretagogue research data.

"Secretagogue-One is a cost effective way for the patient to achieve elevations in IGF-1".

"As stated earlier, our primary role is prescription hormonal therapy. If we can do this and physicians will prescribe actual growth hormone for longevity, why then are we interested in Secretagogue-One? It's simple. Results with Secretagogue-One in patients have demonstrated an increase of 21% to 46% in IGF levels. This elevation is sufficient to achieve cardiovascular protection, a decrease in body fat, and an increase in lean mass."

"We are constantly approached by middle-aged bodybuilders and exercise enthusiasts seeking a reduction in body fat and just general physique enhancement. This is where Secretagogue-One becomes increasingly marketable."

"After using Secretagogue-One in roughly forty patients, we have noticed a rapid decrease in body fat, an increase in vascularity, and better muscle tone."

-Kevin Hopkins, Nutritional Biochemist at Hopewell Pharmacy and Compounding Center.

Here is a quote from Dr. Vincent C. Giampapa, the founder of the Longevity Institute International

"We have been using Secretagogue-One in our longevity centers throughout the world in place of synthetic injections of HGH. The results have been astounding. In my fifteen years of practicing HRT (hormone replacement therapy), I have never seen anything like it. Patients are experiencing all the benefits of having youthful levels of Growth Hormone without any side effects."

-Dr. Vincent C. Giampapa

It is not just scientist and us who believe this product works - body builders give it a very high customer satisfaction rating.

"Based on volume statistics and consumer surveys, this product has become the most popular growth hormone releasing peptide formula on the market...Secretagogue-One has by far, the highest approval rating of any GH releasing peptide formula surveyed and is becoming a popular among top amateur bodybuilders."

4 Star - Excellent Rating by Customer Satisfaction Surveys

- ProSource 1999 Buyers Guide

How does Secretagogue-One compare to injectable HGH?

Should everybody take Secretagogue-One?

No. If you are young and full of energy, you probably don't need Secretagogue-One. As you have learned from reading our articles, HGH levels decrease with age. Therefore, the older you are the more profound an effect Secretagogue-One will have on you. We recommend it for people over the age of 30 and definitely if you are over 40.  Of course remember that the effect of secretagogues are finite since one of the other premises of aging is that our endocrine gland that produce hormones can only produce  a finite amount of hormone in its lifetime.  At a certain point in time, secretagogue will stop working and exogenous HGH replacement would be the only option.

Of course, you should always check with your Doctor before taking any dietary supplements.

How often do you take Secretagogue-One?

You take one packet with 4 ounces of water every night before you go to sleep. Each box has 30 packets - so a 1 month supply. The powder is effervescent with an orange flavor.

How much does Secretagogue-One cost?

The retail price is $74.95 for a 1 month supply.

Are there other ways to naturally increase HGH levels?

Yes. Diet, exercise and lifestyle all have an impact on HGH levels. Certain foods can spike HGH levels and exercise leads to an increase in HGH. In addition, something as simple as getting more sleep can increase your HGH levels. Our pituitary gland produces HGH while we are in deep sleep. Therefore, the more we sleep the more opportunity we have to produce HGH.

We believe that using Secretagogue-One is the fastest way to increase your HGH levels. However, positive changes in diet, exercise and lifestyle can make Secretagogue-One an even more effective product.

I highly recommend a book called "Natural Hormonal Enhancement" by Rob Faigin. Even if you don't like to take any supplements - this book is amazing. It is basically a bible on how to develop an eating plan that will naturally increase your GH levels. With over 1700 references to medical studies, it is hands down the best book on Natural Hormonal Enhancement we have ever read.

What about the homeopathic HGH supplements?

Homeopathic HGH supplements are very difficult to evaluate. The whole concept of homeopathic medicine is to use miniscule amounts of substances to trigger a response by the body. In addition, more of substance is not always better. The only real way to tell if they are effective is to try them and see if they elevate IGF-1 levels.

There has seen some positive results from a few Homeopathic HGH supplements. But the literature documents that many of these products do nothing!

  CONCLUSIONS ON HGH

The effects of elevated HGH levels can be truly amazing. Raising HGH levels is the closest science has come to the elusive "fountain of youth". Unfortunately, the advances of science have also led to an avalanche of con artists. It seems as if suddenly everybody has a pill that will make us young again. The truth is that most pills will just make you poor again!

Fortunately, there are a few legitimate HGH enhancing products on the market that are safe and effective.  Of all the current choices, to this date, Injectable HGH  has the most reliable effect on increasing IGF-1 levels and thus the numerous benefits of youthful levels of HGH. Remember, most of the statistics on the success and benefits of HGH are based on data from the studies of Injectable HGH.  HGH Enhancers, like Secretagogue-One, that were developed by scientists, have a lot of promise. There are also different dietary measures that are being investigated that can increase the growth hormone levels naturally. There is a lot of ongoing research including Inhalant forms of HGH that are now being looked at with hopes to decrease the cost of HGH replacement.  Of course, exercise also impacts the IGF-1 levels greatly, so it is always a great idea to include a consistent exercise program to your busy schedules.  

I will try to keep you updated as the new information becomes available to me.

  Cris Armada, Jr., D.O.

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