I agree absolutely with Jeff Behar on the importance of human growth hormone (HGH) and it potential benefits. As long ago as 1990 a published study showed that an injection of synthetic growth hormone three times a week for six months produced in men an 8.8% increase in lean muscle mass, 14.4% decrease in fat tissue, a 1.6% increase in bone density and a 7.1% increase in bone density (Rudman et al, “The Effects of Human Growth Hormone in Men over 60 Years Old”, The New England Journal of Medicine 322(1990), 1-6).
I should though tentatively disagree with the statement, “…production of human growth hormone declines with age… .” The primary problem with getting older is not that production of HGH in the pituitary gland falls, but rather that the release of HGH into the body gradually reduces with age. That is why this is such an exciting area of nutrition, the question being ‘how do we increase the release of HGH to achieve the benefits, which Mr Behar so well identifies?’
My answer is, as regular readers of my comments may already have guessed, L-arginine supplementation. The importance of Arginine in boosting HGH has been recognized for half a century. In one early study it was found that 30g of Arginine per day taken intravenously led to an increase of HGH in women by 1,100% (Merimee et al, “The Effect of Arginine on Serum Levels of Human Growth-Homone”, The Lancet, 2 (1965), 668-670). Having seen at first hand the impact of Arginine supplementation this result does not surprise me.
