Human Growth Hormone (HGH) - Muscle drug that pumps up danger

[Utopie]

Just read this today in the paper

Source : The Mirror
Link : Muscle drug that pumps up danger - Dear Miriam - Mirror.co.uk

Muscle drug that pumps up danger
By Miriam Stoppard on Jul 29, 10 12:00 AM in Today's Health Topic


It's terrifying that human growth hormone (HGH) is replacing anabolic steroids as the drug of choice for men desperate to show off a muscular body.

Not only is it illegal, it's also dangerous and has been linked to serious side effects including paralysis, blood clots and heart failure.

To make matters worse, research suggests it's probably not a very effective way to build muscles anyway.

The surge in the drug's popularity may be partly due to the fact that it's become a favourite of Hollywood actors wanting to quickly pile on muscles for a movie role. In 2007, Sly Stallone was fined by a court in Australia for possession of HGH.

Now cheap internet supplies of a version which users self-inject have made the drug easier to get and it's become commonplace in gyms around the UK. Earlier this year a gym in Bristol was forced to install needle bins to deal with growing numbers of used syringes its members were leaving lying around.

The bigger the better...

Certain groups of men have always strived to look big-muscled - a sort of personal quest to become Mr Universe - and it can become addictive.

One of my sons went though a muscle-building phase in his early 20s when he was boxing regularly to keep fit.

I went to see him train once and I looked around at some of the bicep-bound men with arms like tree trunks. I wondered how they could possibly fit into normal clothes.

Thankfully my son stopped before reaching mega-muscles status but even then,
15 years ago, he told me there were always illegal drugs around for those who wanted them.

Dying to be muscular?

HGH is the latest in a long line of drugs abused by the muscle-mad with little regard for their safety.

Anabolic steroids were common for many years, despite potential side effects including impotence, liver damage and an increased risk of cancer and heart attack. But I'm astonished that so many men are prepared to take HGH which, in my opinion, is even more dangerous than anabolic steroids.

I can only assume they must be doing so out of ignorance about what the drug is and how it could effect their body.

Why men take it to boost muscles...

They believe that using synthetic HGH will bolster muscle mass, raising energy levels and boosting libido.

It also shortens muscle recovery time, which means you can push yourself to work out harder and more often.

Does it even work?

The latest research has raised questions about whether HGH drugs really do have the powerful effect on the body that some believe.

Australian researchers recently reported the first scientific evidence that HGH can boost athletic performance. But they found that the improvement it caused was modest, and only worked for sprinting - it didn't increase overall strength or fitness.

The study volunteers who took HGH found they lost body fat and gained lean body mass but this was mostly the result of water retention, not bulking up muscle.

The suppliers

The only legal way to obtain HGH in the UK is by prescription for a severe growth disorder.

However, some private doctors get round this law for a fee as they are allowed to prescribe it privately to people they deem to have a deficiency.

There's a multitude of websites selling HGH but these are useless as most are selling it in pill or spray form and HGH only works when injected.

Also, who's to say what you are buying is really synthetic HGH?

It could be counterfeit, or worse it could be pituitary HGH, extracted from corpses - a practice banned by the NHS in 1985 due to the risk of transmitting diseases, including HIV.

Natural ways to boost your body

Human growth hormone is produced naturally by your body, so it may be possible to boost your levels without resorting to dangerous drugs. You can try some of the following...

● Exercising regularly but moderately - moderate exercise stimulates HGH production, but excessive exercise has the opposite effect.

● Getting eight hours sleep a night.

● Avoiding sugar and alcohol.

● Eating healthy lean protein such as red meat, chicken or fish. They contain lysine, an amino acid that stimulates HGH production.

● Keeping calm. Stress uses up HGH.

 

[Spectre]

I think high insulin levels lower GH secretion as well.