The use of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) to enhance sports performance has been in question for quite some time. From time to time we have seen cases of involvement of HGH. Sports have probably never been as saturated with performance-enhancing drugs as they are today. HGH usage has become widespread and it is not only in the sports segment. Recently Hollywood action hero Sylvester Stallone was caught smuggling Human Growth Hormone into Australia. He took HGH and testosterone to build the lean, muscular body he needed for the new Rambo movie, and chances are that some of the Bollywood stars are involved too.

Using these hormones might make you look manly but one is paying heavy price for flirting with synthetic growth hormones. HGH is a naturally occurring hormone made by the pituitary gland, the pendulous master gland that hangs off the base of the brain. Small amounts of the hormone are released by the anterior half of the gland until puberty, but once the adolescent growth spurt is over, levels decline. HGH has several legitimate medical uses. It is a treatment for dwarfism in children and Turner’s syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting girls that is caused by a missing or incomplete X chromosome.

ANTI AGEING
HGH reputation as an anti-ageing remedy gained ground in the early 1990s, as it reverses the loss of muscle and gain of body fat that accompanies old age. HGH secretion falls steadily in adulthood beginning in your 30s at a rate of 14% per decade taking with it your vigor and muscle tone. Growth hormone maintains your lean body mass, keeps your metabolism high and regulates organ growth, enhancing strength and stamina, sex drive, memory and the immune system, and even erasing wrinkles. Studies have proved HGH safe and effective at doses much higher than adults take to fight aging. Other proponents of HGH stress that the hormone’s benefits are primarily seen in truly deficient states, which include fat loss, mood elevation, skin  improvements, repair and recovery of tissues etc.

SIDE EFFECTS
There is a long list of possible side effects. Studies of HGH have been too short to provide direct evidence about adverse effects from long-term use. Instead, inferences have been drawn from patients with acromegaly, a disease caused by excessive secretion of growth hormone by the pituitary gland. Acromegaly results in myriad problems.

THE ALTERNATES
Diet can make a difference: High protein meals stimulate secretion, high-carbohydrate foods and the resulting high blood sugar levels suppress it. Get plenty of beans, soy, and lean red meat, chicken.
Pump up with exercise you can also boost HGH levels with exercise. Levels in the blood can increase 10-fold during a long session of moderate exercise, but a short, rigorous workout might have an even bigger effect. HGH response is more closely related to the intensity than the total amount of exercise. Fighting nature always has some or the other adverse effect, it is always better to follow the natural way to keep us fit and healthy.