The "drug du jour" is what Chuck Kimmel, president of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, calls human growth hormone, otherwise knows as HGH, in this worrying piece in the New York Times’ Play magazine. The worrying part is the number of people–the Journal of the American Medical Association says tens of thousands–who are taking HGH as anti-aging or “age management†therapy, despite some serious concerns about the hormone’s safetly.
The Times reports that few clinical studies have looked at what happens when healthy people
supplement their H.G.H. levels for sustained periods of time, but
advocates point to one report in particular, from The New England Journal of Medicine
in 1990. Twelve men in their 60’s and older were given injections of
H.G.H. for six months. They received high doses, about double those
given to adult patients with growth-hormone deficiency. At the end of
the study, the men had a 14 percent decrease in body fat, an 8.8
percent increase in lean body mass and a 1.6 percent increase in the
bone density of their spine, equivalent in magnitude, the authors
concluded, “to the change incurred during 10 to 20 years of aging.â€Â
That’s the good news. The bads news, the Times tells us, is that doctors who recommend growth hormone tend to ignore an editorial that
ran in the same issue of The Journal and that warned about the use of
H.G.H. by healthy people. The editorial noted that H.G.H. can alter the
body’s ability to metabolize carbohydrates, leading to blood-sugar
imbalances and, in some cases, diabetes. It can cause bones to thicken, contributing to joint pain and severe arthritis.
Amounts of H.G.H. even slightly beyond the normal range can result in
high blood pressure, edema and, in the worst cases, congestive heart
failure. In a later editorial, which cited a more recent study, The
Journal added that healthy people who took extra doses of H.G.H. gained
muscle mass, but they didn’t get stronger. Only those who lifted
weights did. Several studies have linked high production levels of growth hormone to the development of prostate tumors and invasive breast cancer.
Bottom line: Geezer advises reading all of the Times’ piece, and just saying "Thanks, but no thanks."
Health, fitness and lifestyle tips for people over 50 who still like to play hard
Sunday, June 1, 2025
thank you for update.
Very nice site. I also have a site at HGH very informtive.
Great article. I read a similar article of the pros and cons on weight loss diets at this weight loss blog
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Performance-Enchancing Drugs Compromise Health
Athletes who use a difficult-to-detect drug in order to enhance their performance risk serious health problems. Human Growth Hormone has seen a rise in popularity recently in cheating athletes because it occurs naturally and consequently is difficult t…
I have chosen more natural ways to boost my own GH, namely brief, intense exercise regimans. It is difficult to tell if it really makes a difference, but I usually feel good afterwards. The body is a complex biochemical milieu and the natural approach is more likely to stimulate appropriate pathways than exogenous hormones. My opinion.
Nice update for me … Thanks Alot
I have chosen more natural ways to boost my own hgh production myself.
I have chosen more natural ways myself