Turning Back The Clock Through Better Growth Hormone Release

Growth hormone is a peptide hormone which promotes the build up of new muscle tissue and retards breakdown of muscle during or after exercise. Human Growth Hormone also has a potent fat breakdown (lipolytic) effect. In other words Growth Hormone contributes strongly to increased lean body weight and decreased fat weight.

Although we are discussing Growth Hormone, we are not recommending use of supplemental or exogenous growth hormone or any other anabolic hormone or substance which might be illegal or not approved for non prescription use.

The non-medical use of growth hormone can induce serious side effects. For these reasons, one should never attempt to use supplemental growth hormone not specifically prescribed by your physician. However…

“Increasing Your Own Natural Growth Hormone”

… is a totally different story and it’s the one on which the whole “Turning Back The Clock” concept is based.

In addition to fat loss and muscle increases, several medical studies found, subjects with higher levels of growth hormone also have more “killer cells” which defend against viruses and cancerous cells.

For example: when subjects were given growth hormone, equivalent to the amount secreted in 24 hours (.7 milligrams) the activity of their natural killer cells increased by 80%.

A very dramatic finding to say the least.

Also, for our purposes, their lean body mass increased 3 pounds and their fat mass decreased 5 lbs. All within just 2 weeks of receiving this small amount of additional growth hormone.

“Where does Growth Hormone Come From Anyway?”

Growth Hormone is released from the pituitary gland located at the base of the brain in response to a number of complex conditions. We’ll just talk about those that relate to building muscle and burning fat.

Generally, about 7/10th’s of a milligram of growth hormone is released naturally by the pituitary gland throughout a 24 hour period. About 50% of this amount is released within the first 4 hours of sleep. The remainder is released in response to a variety of stimuli such as…

1. Increased body temperature
2. Decreased blood glucose levels
3. Specific amino acid ingestion
4. physical exercise

Although sleep is the major stimulator of growth hormone, physical exercise is next in line. In fact Growth hormones peak higher during exercise than during sleep.

The magnitude of growth hormone released during exercise is influenced by several things…

1. Level of fitness
2. Exercise intensity
3. The amount of power output by the muscles.

Another problem is, as we get older we get less and less Growth Hormone release. Growth Hormone secretion begins to decline in the healthy adult population between 20-30 years of age. This effect is attributed to aging alone and probably is the result of a defect in the releasing mechanisms which control growth hormone release rather than a defect in the manufacturing or storage of the hormone in the pituitary gland.

Recent studies done by Chalew Zadik and reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrine Metabolism show that Growth Hormone (GH) peaks somewhere about age 20 and drops off sharply to age 40. From then it’s almost zero.

Yet when they examine 80 year old cadaver’s they find these 80 years old’s Pituitary glands to be full of Growth Hormone.

In other words, our body still manufactures ample amounts of growth hormone but as we get older we are unable to release as much into the bloodstream. Research has revealed the daily release of growth hormone decreases steadily from adolescence until about 40 years of age, and eventually decreases to levels which are hard to detect by the time we reach 60 years of age.

It has also been demonstrated that non-exercising individuals who are 20% or more above their recommended body weight will have impaired growth hormone release.

This effect is totally separate from that induced by aging alone. Fortunately, it has also been found that growth hormone release will return to normal when body weight returns to normal.

“How To Increase Growth Hormone Secretion As We Age”

Up to this point it might seem as though little can be done to increase growth hormone release, especially in those who might have an age or body fat related impairment in growth hormone release. But, before you give up, please read on … the entire story has not yet been told.

It has been found … nutritional supplementation can continue to influence growth hormone release even in older adults. Two recent studies using highly controlled experimental designs, have found that nutritional supplementation with the amino acids L-Arginine and L-Lysine can produce a rather large increase in growth hormone secretion over many hours. Peak levels found in circulation were greater than those produced by strenuous exercise or sleep and the elevated levels were sustained for up to 8 hours during the day.

“Works even while you’re asleep – Greater Even Than With Injectable Growth Hormone”

In this study, it was found the increase in growth hormone was greater than that which one would expect to find with the administration of injectable growth hormone. The main point being … growth hormone secretion can be significantly increased from oral arginine administration when combined with Lysine to take advantage of the synergistic effect.

In the highly controlled experimental studies described above, the amino acids were taken prior to bedtime and prior to exercise.

“Must Be Taken At A Specific Time”

“Arginine can increase slightly, but … when we add Lysine, it goes up 700%”. These amino acids must be taken together and on an empty stomach. This means you cannot have any food or beverage other than water 3 hours prior to ingesting the amino acids. Probably the most important time to take these amino acids is at night just prior to bedtime. However, these amino acids can also be taken just prior to exercise but remember, they should be taken following a period of 3 hours without food or a calorie generating beverage.

This must be done so the amino acids do not have to compete with other substances in the gastrointestinal track; thus, allowing easy passage of the nutrients to the bloodstream where they can eventually cross into the brain and stimulate the pituitary gland to release growth hormone.

When Arginine and Lysine are taken according to the “Turn Back The Clock Plan, increases in muscle strength and performance have been experienced in as little as 3-4 days.

Another interesting point … amino acid combinations, such as arginine and lysine have been found to improve certain aspects of immune function as well as the production of immune hormones from the thymus gland (factors known to be strongly affected by growth hormone).

In the arginine-lysine study, daily ingestion of these amino acids for 4 weeks in experimental animals markedly improved age-related impairments in the responsiveness of lymphocytes (white blood cells which regulate the immune response and fight infections) and the hormone producing capacity of the thymic immune gland was also normalized in old animals given the preparation.

More importantly, the researchers found the hormoneproducing capacity of the thymus gland in aging adults was restored to levels which would be found in young adults.

The amino acids were improving age-related losses in the endocrine system (most probably through improved growth hormone release) and this effect was
improving body functioning, as measured by changes in the immune system.

The reason why these amino acids appear to work so well is not completely understood, especially when considering the relatively low dosages administered. It might be, however that such specific combination act together in synergistic fashion to improve transport across cells in the pituitary, improving their utilization for stimulation of growth hormone secretion.

It has also been found … physical exercise can stimulate growth hormone release in older adults, and this increase in secretion can play a significant role in determining their fitness progress.