When most people think of HGH (human growth hormone), they think of bone growth in young people. However, HGH serves many roles in the body that are vital to good health for all age groups. Most people would be surprised how large a role HGH plays in healthy function of the body.
Men of all ages need and benefit from having adequate levels of HGH. It’s especially important for agingmen though, as HGH levels begin to drop after the age of 40. For this reason, it’s critical to maintain appropriate HGH levels throughout the duration of life. In recent years, supplemental HGH has been viewed as a viable solution.
HGH is created naturally in the body and serves as a producer of testosterone. When we’re young (in our teenage years and 20s) HGH levels are at their highest point. This is when we’re functioning at our optimal levels. We often take this feeling for granted until reaching middle age. Once we do, we crave the good health and benefits that HGH provided in our younger years.
The benefits from HGH and testosterone are many. Together, they contribute to a happy, healthy life and a robust sex drive. Listed below are seven key benefits from having healthy levels of HGH.
1. Protects Cell Integrity
2. Increased muscle strength
3. Enhanced weight loss
4. Better healing ability
5. Stronger bones
6. Normal sex drive and erectile function
7. Better sleep
What Happens When HGH Declines?
As you can see from the list, HGH is responsible for maintaining peak levels of health in men. However, some men are seeing a decline earlier in life than middle age. These men report declines in their 30s, and even their 20s. The good news is that in the last decade there have been advances in synthetic HGH, which can help to restore its benefits.
How HGH Works In The Body
Human growth hormone is produced in the pituitary gland. After it’s secreted, it remains in the bloodstream for a matter of minutes. This is just enough time for the liver to convert it into growth factors – the most vital being insulin-growth factor (also known as IGF-1).
When IGF-1 circulates throughout the body, it offers growth-promoting properties in every cell of the body, including the skin, muscles, bones and organs. When we’re young, all these systems function well. The skin looks vibrant, bones are strong and supple, the muscles elastic and shapely, and all the organs are at peak capacity.
But nature didn’t afford us the ability to sustain those levels forever. When HGH levels decline, as they inevitably will, IGF-1 lessens as well. This creates a cascade of health challenges in men. Thankfully, HGH supplementation has proven to slow down and reverse some of the symptoms.
Let’s look in more detail at the 7 benefits of HGH for men.
Protects Cell Integrity
You may know that antioxidants such as vitamin C and beta-carotene can fight against free radical damage. They do this by keeping destructive enzymes called “proteases” from becoming active. What you may not know is that human growth hormone can counter the proteases directly.
HGH stimulates cells to activate a defense called “protease inhibitors.” These protease inhibitors stop free radicals from damaging the cell. With less damage to the cell, the overall integrity of the cell remains strong. And since cells make up all of the components of the body, the entire body benefits by looking and feeling younger.
Increased Muscle Strength
Some clinical studies have shown that increasing HGH coincides with increased muscle mass and strength. One of the ways HGH does this is by increasing the “amino acid uptake” ability of muscle cells.
The muscles in our body are primarily made of protein, which is formed from amino acids. To maintain the muscle mass we have in our peak years, it’s essential muscle cells are able to access the same levels of amino acids throughout life.
Unfortunately, as we age, and our HGH levels decline, the body loses its ability to properly digest and assimilate those amino acids. This results in less amino acids being available to the muscle cells. Ultimately, this causes the muscle cells to shrink, losing mass and strength.
By maintaining healthy levels of HGH, it might be possible to counteract the decline of amino acid uptake due to age. It should be noted that regular weight resistant exercise is important to maintaining strong muscles through life as well.
Enhanced Weight Loss
This benefit is controversial, with some studies showing small amounts of weight loss and others showing none. The science behind why human growth hormone does cause weight loss is straight forward.
As mentioned earlier, HGH gets converted to IGF-1 by the liver. IGF-1 then circulates throughout the body. Most people don’t know that IGF-1 actually competes with the same cell receptor sites as insulin. By doing so, it indirectly causes less glucose (sugar) to enter the cells.
With less glucose in the cell to use as energy, the body turns to another energy source: fat. Typically, the body prefers to use glucose as fuel, but HGH causes the body to draw from fat reserves for energy instead. This reduces stored fat in the body, which results in weight loss.
There’s a reason why fit 20-year-olds don’t have a lot of body fat while fit 50-year-olds always seem to have some extra fat in places they don’t want. Once your HGH levels decline, keeping fat off the body becomes a difficult task.
Better Healing Ability
Scientists and athletes have been experimenting for over 50 years with HGH for faster healing. While some athletes claim extraordinary healing abilities after taking HGH, there is a lot of confusion over whether these claims are true or not.
We certainly know that human growth hormone is important for cell regeneration and cell growth. It works by stimulating cell metabolism and causes the liver to make new cells for the body’s cartilage. These two processes play a hand in muscle, organ, and bone growth.
With increased cell rejuvenation, the body can therefore heal itself faster of fractures, torn muscles, ligaments, and sprains. Most people believe steroids can help you heal faster, but it’s actually human growth hormone that is responsible for quicker healing times.
Stronger Bones
In our peak years, with human growth hormone at optimal levels, bones are strong and healthy. As we already learned, HGH stimulates the production of IGF-1. Studies show that adequate levels of HGH and IGF-1 combine to form healthy bones. This is because adequate levels of both stimulate the bone-resorbing and bone-forming cells.
The result is normal levels of bone formation and bone mass. However, when HGH drops, production of IGF-1 also drops. Consequently, the bone cells do not grow and form normally, resulting in brittle bones and lower bone mass.
It is therefore essential to maintain healthy levels of HGH to keep bones strong. Studies have shown only consistent weight resistance exercise comes close to mimicking the effects of HGH on bones.
Certainly, the older we become, the more bone health becomes an issue. Some doctors believe HGH can counteract the very damaging effects of osteoporosis and other such bone diseases.
Normal Sex Drive And Erectile Function
HGH has been shown to increase production of the sex hormones. It does this by affecting the hypothalamus of the brain, which controls libido. Adequate HGH levels prompt the brain to secrete testosterone (in men), which is what’s responsible for sex drive. Studies indicate that erections are dependent on adequate levels of human growth hormone in the blood.
Sexual arousal also involves good blood flow. We know that HGH improves cardiovascular functioning and the heart. This is turn allows for more blood and oxygen to be pumped through the body. Since erections rely on good blood flow, we can see how HGH indirectly helps erectile disfunction.
Better Sleep
HGH is largely responsible for good sleep. Young, healthy people average 7-8 hours of sleep per night. They typically sleep better and longer than elderly people due to having higher levels of HGH. Some studies suggest this is because HGH produces a neurotransmitter called endorphine-b while reducing dopamine in healthy individuals.
The combination of this chemical reaction in the brain allows for a more relaxed state and mitigated feelings of stress. As a consequence, better and longer sleep is achieved. However, as we age, HGH declines and so does the production of endorphine-b. At the same time, dopamine increases. This results in a lower quality of sleep and fewer hours of sleep time.
Sleep is very important for regulating everything in the body, including hormone levels. So it’s really a catch-22 with regards to HGH. The more you have, the better you’ll sleep, and the more adequate your hormone levels will be. Unfortunately, just the opposite is true. If poor sleep has been an issue for you, HGH supplementation might be the solution.
Conclusion
If you’re a male in your 20s or older and suffer from any of the challenges mentioned in this article, you may be a candidate for HGH. Many men who take it report overall increased happiness. Some studies show measurable decreases in body fat, increase in lean muscle mass, and better-looking skin.
While HGH supplementation remains a hotly debated topic, more and more research is showing conclusive proof of its effectiveness. Keep in mind, HGH therapy is not about pumping up your hormone levels to artificial levels. It’s about restoring your hormones to their natural levels, when you were at peak health.
