As men and women age, their bodies begin a natural reduction in the production of some of the hormones that were present in abundance in their earlier years. One of the most important of these hormones is the Human Growth Hormone (HGH). Human Growth Hormone is produced by the pituitary gland and is most active when we are children and adolescents, when it promotes our natural and rapid growth. Human Growth Hormone acts on the liver, producing IGF-1. Because this product decreases when a person begins to age or grow obese, HGH has been widely promoted as a remedy for aging and many other areas that humans worry about as they grow older.
A study was conducted in the 1990s that showed that when HGH was injected into men age 61-81 there was a reduction in fatty tissue and an increase in muscle mass. Immediately, entrepreneurs began to see the opportunities and marketed HGH as a veritable fountain of youth. They failed, however, to note that subjects in the experiment had had some side effects and that the results of long term injection of HGH into healthy adults were unknown. Moreover, the treatment was and continues to be extremely expensive.
Medicinal uses of HGH have been mostly restricted to children, despite what some companies claim. These children were injected with what should have been occurring in their bodies naturally, not with a substance that had begun to decline after their years of growth had passed.
Many companies have been shut down due to false advertising involving the use of HGH. Journals that originally ran the story about the study have themselves cautioned people that the study was by no means complete or conclusive, and that HGH is not yet proven to be some kind of wonder drug. Of even more importance, the side effects of injecting HGH into adults have still not been determined. Many agencies urge consumers to stay away from HGH and companies that promote HGH as a miracle substance, as the claims are at best misleading and at worst harmful.