HGH Supplements

Since the beginning of time, humans have sought the proverbial Fountain of Youth. Today, as of 2009, some alternative health advocates claim to have found it or something that closely resembles it. Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is touted as an anti-aging miracle and it is produced naturally in the human body. As we age, we produce less and less, and some feel that by replacing our lower levels of HGH with a synthetic form of the hormone, we can postpone the aging process.

Physiology

• Human HGH, produced in the pituitary gland, promotes the development of healthy human cells. During childhood and puberty, the pituitary gland produces substantial amounts of HGH, containing over 150 amino acids, allowing children to grow naturally. HGH contributes to dense muscle mass, strong flexible bones and controlled sugar levels. By the time a person reaches their thirties, HGH production drops and the human body begins to feel the effects of muscle and cell aging.

Form

• The HGH available in supplements is of a lower dosage than that found in intramuscular injections. Sold over-the-counter as an herbal supplement, various manufacturers claim that their products can help replace lost HGH production due to natural aging. Although a 1990 study, published in the New England of Medicine, indicated success in elderly men who received injections of HGH, no conclusive studies exist for the use of supplements. However, HGH-supplement advocates report personal successes.

Releaser

• HGH marketed in supplements is often called an HGH "Releaser." Styropin, available in gel capsule or sublingual spray, combines an insulin growth factor with an agent that promotes pituitary gland secretion (secretagogue) and homeopathic ingredients in order to boost the pituitary gland's natural production of HGH.

DHEA

• Made popular in the 1990s, anti-aging gurus and bodybuilders claimed the supplemental use of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), the natural growth hormone produced in a human's adrenal glands, would increase longevity and prevent age-related disorders. DHEA is available over-the-counter in the United States and by prescription in Europe. While studies in rats indicated physical improvements, a 2006 study at the Mayo Clinic showed no difference in humans taking DHEA.

Marketing

• Although some manufacturers of HGH supplements and HGH Releasers advertise their products as having received approval from the Food and Drug Administration, this is not a truthful claim. The FDA does not regulate supplements other than to issue warnings about known dangers. In addition, be aware of products that cite the results of tests on subjects who received HGH intramuscular injections and apply those test results to their HGH supplement products. These are two separate products.

Warnings

• Few side effects occur with the recommended usage of supplements sold as HGH or HGH Releasers, although some users report blood sugar problems, headaches, nausea, abdominal cramping and diarrhea. The use of the injectable variety of HGH, however, produced the sobering side effect of producing Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a human form of Mad Cow disease in some test subjects who received HGH derived from human cadavers.

Outlook

• Until testing on the supplemental version of HGH provides conclusive evidence that taking the supplements is beneficial in reversing the effects of aging, consumers use these formulations at their own risk. However, if tests show that HGH Releasers can reliably jolt the pituitary and adrenal glands into increased production of HGH hormones, there is a chance that humans may benefit from the supplements.