Dr. Henry CliffMany of you must have heard this before about HGH supplements.
“HGH supplements are youth fountains which can reverse your aging.”
Fancy isn’t it! However is it really what we think about HGH and anti aging or we are just fooling ourselves all the time. Here we are going deep into the million dollars supplement industry and will find out the facts and foes.
Human Growth Hormones
Produced by the pituitary gland, growth hormones are naturally secreted in the body. They are crucial and decisive in overall growth and development of the body. Interestingly as the human body ceases growth, the levels of HGH drop sharply thus becoming minimum in adult life. There is also another important hormone called insulin-like growth factor-1 or IGF-1 which brings the same changes in the body as HGH but it is produced by liver. In the human body the release of HGH in appropriate amounts is necessary and you should keep them under check.
Proper level of HGH boosts growth and development of the body. For improving levels of growth hormones, HGH supplements are an option. There are HGH injections but they are expensive and have many side effects. Alternatively HGH oral supplements are easy and a safer option.
Anti Aging and HGH
Comes the important part whether HGH and anti aging are related or not. According to medical findings HGH supplements not only effect growth of the body but also its composition. Reports show that people with deficiency of HGH have higher fat, lower bone density and less body mass- all of which mimics aging in patients. The very first use of HGH for reversing aging was by Dr. Rudman and his associates as published in 1990 edition of New England Journal of Medicine. The published report stated that the older men treated with HGH showed muscle mass improvement, enhanced and better bones and lowered fat amount.
The advertisements stating HGH as “anti-aging miracle” are not as effective as stated. Do not get lured by these advertisements as they can be seriously misleading.
According to DoctorOz.com, “Not everyone should go for HGH deficiency test. The syndrome of isolated growth hormone deficiency, without previous history of pituitary disease, is very rare. The testing is not 100%; the chance of a false-positive test is higher than the chance of the disease being real. If there is a high suspicion for HGH deficiency, at least two formal tests should be performed to reduce the chance of a false-positive result. The tests should include an insulin tolerance test and a GHRH-arginine test. These tests should only be performed by experienced clinicians, as the tests have some potential risks.”
The Effects
It is not that taking HGH supplements will not be beneficial. There are a number of benefits of using these supplements but only when you administer them properly. There is body growth enhancement, muscle mass improvement, bone density development and many more. As far as anti aging benefits are concerned there is improvement in skin tone and color, development of the muscle mass, removal of wrinkles and effective blood circulation improvement.
Keep side effects in mind
All is not good about the use of HGH supplements. Some significant side effects from the use of supplements have been reported as well. Some common problems reported by the users include:
- Swelling
- Joint pain
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Insulin resistance
- Increased risk of diabetes
Therefore be wise and careful while using these supplements.
In case of prolonged use, cases of acromegaly which leads to overgrowth of tissues and bones is also reported but not established medically.
What’s the conclusion?
There are all sorts of pros and cons related to the use of HGH supplements for anti aging therapy. You should take appropriate medical consultation and advice before making use of such supplements. Anti aging benefits can be there but only with regular use. Do not expect anything miraculous to happen.