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In the futile effort of many baby boomers to hold onto their youth as the effects of aging take their toll – many are moving to the a possible fountain of youth – Human Growth Hormone (HGH).

What is Growth Hormone?

Growth Hormone (GH) is a protein secreted by our pituitary gland which essentially tells the bodies cells to grow and multiply. Originally this hormone was taken out of cadavers (dead people) but due to the high risk of acquiring Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), modern science now reproduces Growth Hormone synthetically. The “Human” addition to the Growth Hormone refers to the fake or synthetic derivative.

Why is HGH used in the medical profession?

The most common use of Human Growth Hormone was for treating children with biological retardation (ei: falling behind height curves) as a result of their own bodies not producing enough on their own. It’s also used in the case of people injured who can benefit from an increase in rapid muscle and bone mass production or to counteract conditions which lead to severe wasting. You must inject HGH to realize its effects, simply taking a pill, no matter the concentration of HGH present, DOES NOT WORK.

Why do people self-medicate (used loosely) themselves?

Although this has been in the news over the past few months, from Sylvester Stallone being caught entering Australia with a case of these hormones to the chronic abuse of HGH by athletes (bodybuilders in particular), there are various reasons for people taking the leap.

1.It works!
Inject enough HGH into your body and you WILL notice a dramatic change in not only your bodies composition but also strength and size. I have read report after report indicating that the users experience a rejuvenation of sorts, from amazing sleep to soft new skin and everything in between.

2.Easily available
Since HGH is synthetically produced, theoretically an unlimited supply can be created, although this has done little to cut treatment costs (running from $10K to $40K US a year), it does mean that finding sources, both legit and on the black market are easily found.

3.Everybody is doing it
Hey, if celebrities can do it, we can to right! WRONG… a rapidly growing population of baby boomers finding it socially acceptable to screw around with their hormonal balance does little to help “the cause” when supplementation isn’t medically warranted. If your friend jumps off a bridge, does that make it any safer for you to do it as well?

Hey, if it’s so great – why doesn’t everybody inject HGH!

Now, I know that most likely you are neither born with Acromegaly nor a professional bodybuilder so to the average baby boomer, what does HGH supplementation mean? What are the consequences? Well, think of Growth Hormone as gas. When you want to drive faster down the highway, you put “pedal to the metal” and as a result, end up loosing fuel efficiency at the cost of greater speed. Although not proven scientifically, the signs seem to indicate that taking extra GH has the same effect on your lifespan, sure you look great but at the cost of longevity. There is also a number of risks with HGH supplementation that you should know about as well, none to be taken lightly if I may add as they are avoidable by not taking it in the first place such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, joint pain (may become severe), decrease in insulin sensitivity, change in body morphology (increase in bone and muscle with reduction in fat), feeling of “pins and needles” on feet and hands and an increase in fluid retention.

Extremes of Growth Hormone Production and Supplementation

I would love to be 9ft tall weighing 850lbs of raw muscle but to be honest, life would be pretty cool being the planets only super hero Jokes aside, there are some severe consequences to having too much HGH in your system at any age.

Remember Andre Rene Roussimoff (also known as Andre “The Giant”) – he was a “up to” 7 ft 4 weighing over 600lbs (depending on the promotion). He was probably among the strongest people on earth and grew like a weed during his youth. The consequence of all this extra GH running through his veins? Acromegaly, which essentially is an over-production of tissue, bone and size which caused him severe pain once he got out of the great teenage years. Although he lived a very full life due to his condition, he also suffered greatly through many surgeries to relieve pressure causing pain throughout his body simply due to its bulk. Sadly, we cannot adjust our genetic potential as a species to fit extremes of most kinds.

Bodybuilders are incredibly abusive of HGH, unlike Andre “The Giant”, their growth plates have sealed up (ei: can’t grow in height) so with their constant self-induced injections, they simply grow across. If you notice in the past 15 years, bodybuilders these days, especially in the pro-ranks all seem to be 9 months pregnant, have a very strong (almost caveman like) facial features and most importantly, wider then most houses. You, my friend, are seeing what HGH can lead to when taken to medically unsafe, extreme quantities. Sure, these guys are approaching 285 lbs “cut” with almost no bodyfat to be found but I hope these extremes help you understand what “too much of a good thing” can cause.

HGH = Cancer?

There is heated debates as to how much a role GH plays in cancer production but more importantly, if supplementation with HGH causes or makes a Cancer worst then otherwise would have taken place. Cancer is essentially healthy cells going into overdrive, multiplying like crazy due to hormonal, physiological or genetic instructions – to say that GH may be like adding gas to a flame isn’t a stretch as all cells have GH receptors, it actually sounds very logical to say there is a cause/effect going on here. I believe the jury is still deliberating on this but keep this in mind, it isn’t something to be taken lightly.

Will I ever take HGH?

What bothers me most about medically unwarranted long term use of HGH supplementation is the benefits/consequences of self-medication are unknown… like laser eye surgery, I prefer to wait a few decades till clear guidelines to minimize risk are established. I am lucky in a way, baby boomers fighting against their own mortality will lead to incredible advances in Gerontology (treatment of age related conditions) that will benefit my lifespan greatly, so I wouldn’t be surprised if a doctor told me in a few decades to take it, that I would of course.

The Bottom Line

If you want to play with fire, don’t complain if you get burned.