Should I Inject Myself With Human Growth Hormones? The Truth About HGH

Human growth hormone (HGH) is a synthetic or biologically produced hormone which is responsible for, unsurprisingly, human growth. The human body naturally produces large amounts of human growth hormone when it is in its growth phase (ie, childhood.) HGH continues to be produced in adulthood, but in much lower levels.

In the late 1970s, some smarty pants scientists realized that introducing HGH back into the body during adulthood could result in increased muscle mass, increased energy levels, better circulation, increased brain function, fat reduction, and increased metabolism. Prior to this, HGH had only been used to treat HGH deficient children.

The good news, is that HGH does work, in fact, it words so well that HGH is now a banned substance among athletes because it is known to be an artificial performance enhancer.

At one time, human growth hormone was harvested from cadavers. This lead to the onset of terminal Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (Mad Cow Disease) in some users, and the practice was subsequently stopped. Nowadays HGH is synthetically produced, which removes the danger of dying of mad cow disease, but which still comes with its own delightful set of side effects.

You see, nature decreases the levels of HGH in the human body (most notably in the thirties and beyond), because adults are no longer in a growth phase. Those who promote HGH have hailed it as an elixir of youth, and it is true that those who take HGH effectively do experience increased energy levels, a faster metabolism, a more acute mind and so on.

I included the word 'effectively' in the above sentence because there are a plethora of so called HGH products which do absolutely nothing. HGH is a relatively fragile compound and must be stored and transported with care if it is to have any efficacy at all. HGH sprays do absolutely nothing, because HGH is not effectively aerosolized, and because it cannot be absorbed through the oral membrane anyway.

That aside, even if you do get your hands on 'the good stuff' and have it injected intravenously, proponents of HGH forget to mention that excessive HGH can result in diabetes, heart failure, growth of the hands and feet in a condition which is described as leaving the aforementioned appendages as 'spade-like'. It can also cause enlargement of the heart (which isn't a good thing), water retention (ew, bloating), liver and thyroid damage. In other words, it can really mess you up.

Taken under the care of a physician, and sourced from a reputable source, HGH probably won't kill you, but you could still suffer unwanted side effects, like hair growth all over your body.

So should you take HGH? It depends how much you fear the natural process of aging and being human, and how much you are prepared to risk monetarily and health wise to delay the inevitable.