Growth Hormones-you need them, here’s how to boost them!

If you were the scrawny kid in school who took forever to sprout up, and still found yourself lower than the national average as an adult, you can relate.  Much of your complaint may be genetics, but some of it could be a deficiency in human growth hormones (HGH) and lack of supplements in the diet such as zinc, iron and vitamin A.

In adults, lack of growth hormone can lead to the inability to maintain body weight or bone density.  I know some of us would welcome the problem of not being able to put on weight (pick me!), but for those with gaunt bodies prone to easy bone breakage, it is a very real dilemma.  Adults deficient in growth hormone are also subject to a loss in muscle strength and mental health; they cannot concentrate like others can, and find complex tasks beyond their abilities.

Fortunately, HGH levels can be safely increased a couple of ways:

• Injections. Patients diagnosed with HGH deficiency are often prescribed shots of recombinant HGH, a man-made growth hormone, with good results.  A 2010 study found in the medical periodical ‘Metabolism’ reports that patients receiving growth hormone injections had less body fat and lower blood sugar compared to those not receiving treatment.  This proves that HGH therapy improves body composition and the metabolism of sugars.

• Drugs. Stimulant medications called HGH releasers are an option for patients skittish about needles.  They can be taken by mouth weekly, and have been proven to also raise HGH levels.  In fact, chemists are working on a way to increase the performance of HGH so it can be taken every three days with the same results as painful daily injections.  The experimental drug PEG-T3C (sounds like a Star Wars character), has been altered to stay active in the body eight times longer than recombinant HGH.  In a study on rats receiving PEG-T3C every third day, scientists found increases in body weight comparable with those given shots every day.

• Vitamins. Are you giving your children vitamins?  You should be.  In a day and age when eating a balanced, healthy diet has taken a back seat to the convenience of fast food restaurants and processed, prepackaged meals, your children are very likely deficient in the essential nutrients they need.  In a 2010 study, scientists evaluated the effects of a nutritional program carried out on HGH-deficient children.  These tots were abnormally small for their age, but they benefited significantly from the program which prescribed the intake of iron, zinc and vitamin A supplements.  While the results were less compelling than children taking recombinant HGH, those on the diet still increased in height and weight.  Now you can thank your parents for forcing you to sit at the table until you’d eaten your brussel sprouts.

• Exercise. Yep, good old-fashioned exercise never hurt anyone…and it may increase natural growth hormones.  A 2010 report in ‘Clinical Endocrinology’ measured HGH response to physical activity in both obese and healthy adults.  First both groups performed intense periods of exercise.  It was found that HGH levels increased in both, but particularly in the healthy adults. So they then spent 4 weeks reconditioning the obese subjects, before having them repeat bouts of intense exercise.  What they found was interesting; endurance training alone had no effect on increased HGH, but when combined with strength training, HGH levels rose significantly.  These results propose that obesity alters the body’s hormones, and that certain types of exercise may correct this change.

The Bottom Line…

Think about it, man used to work the land and eat off it.  And for the most part, man was fit and healthy.   We live in a world where we’ve become increasingly apathetic, everything’s marketed for our convenience, and we don’t take care of ourselves.  No wonder we’ve an increase in population affected by HGH deficiency.  We’re stunting our own growth!

If you believe you’ve a little one deficient in human growth hormone, or you’re feeling the effects of aging and might be experiencing lowering levels of HGH, consult your physician.