Growth hormone is a crucial factor for stature development and directly influences height growth. In recent years, using growth hormones to increase height has gained popularity. In fact, should you consider using height growth hormones?
What is Height Growth Hormone?
The growth hormone, known as Human Growth Hormone (HGH), is a peptide endocrine hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in the body. It plays a pivotal role in determining overall growth.
How growth hormone affects the body.
Natural Height Growth Hormone
Natural height growth hormone is an endocrine hormone produced by the body, primarily by the pituitary gland. HGH is continuously produced throughout childhood, peaking during puberty. In adulthood, it maintains body structure and metabolic functions.
Besides influencing height, natural growth hormone also impacts the activity of various other endocrine glands. Leading a healthy lifestyle is key to optimizing natural height growth hormone levels.
Supplementary Height Growth Hormone
Supplementary height growth hormone is an endocrine hormone added to the body through supplements. Taking pills and receiving injections are common methods for supplementing growth hormone. If you intend to supplement height growth hormone with such products, it’s advisable to consult a physician or healthcare expert.
What happens when there’s a deficiency of growth hormone?
A deficiency of growth hormone occurs when the pituitary gland doesn’t produce an adequate amount of hormone required by the body. This condition is more common in children than in adults. A lack of growth hormone can lead to short stature, reduced bone density, increased cardiovascular risk factors, and decreased energy levels.
Identifying signs of growth hormone deficiency
One of the most common signs of growth hormone deficiency is short stature, where a person’s height grows significantly slower compared to peers of the same age.
Because the growth process spans many years, and individuals develop at varying rates, signs or symptoms of growth hormone deficiency can be challenging to identify. In addition to short stature, other signs and symptoms may include delayed puberty, late tooth eruption, muscle weakness, small penis size at birth, and low blood sugar levels.
The impact of growth hormone on stature development.
Causes of growth hormone deficiency
Injury to the pituitary gland, congenital conditions affecting the area beneath the hypothalamus, or external factors can be causes of growth hormone deficiency. Possible factors leading to damage include:
- Brain tumors in the region beneath the hypothalamus or the pituitary gland
- Head trauma
- Radiation therapy for cancer (if the treatment area is the region beneath the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland)
- Infiltrative diseases of the region beneath the hypothalamus or the pituitary gland (e.g., hemochromatosis)
- Autoimmune conditions (lymphocytic hypophysitis)
However, growth hormone deficiency is just one of the factors that can affect development. Short stature can also result from other conditions (e.g., thyroid dysfunction, malnutrition, gastrointestinal disorders).
At what age can growth hormones be used?
According to healthcare experts, children aged 2 and older can begin using growth hormones. The use of growth hormones typically concludes when bone age reaches 15-16 years in males and 14-15 years in females. However, the cessation may occur earlier if the growth rate is less than 2 cm (0.787 inch) per year.
The process of using growth hormones should commence early and proceed consistently to ensure a growth rate close to that of typical individuals. During the first 3-6 months, supervision by a doctor or healthcare professional is essential.
Should you consider growth hormone injections for height increase?
Growth hormone therapy is primarily recommended for individuals with stunted growth due to pituitary gland disorders. For those outside of this category, it’s generally advisable to avoid growth hormone injections.
Do not inject HGH if you do not have a case of short stature.
Here are three things to know before deciding on growth hormone injections:
- It doesn’t guarantee significant height increase: Growth hormone injections may add 2 to 5 centimeters (approximately 0.8 to 2 inches) per year. However, it’s a temporary solution, and you may still end up shorter than the average height for your age. Moreover, if growth plates have closed, the therapy won’t yield any results.
- Potential for dangerous side effects: Growth hormone therapy can lead to side effects such as muscle pain, joint discomfort, headaches, hand and foot swelling, edema, and even life-threatening complications. Besides growth hormone, the body requires a balance of various other hormones.
- High cost of growth hormone injections: To achieve maximum effectiveness, you may need at least three growth hormone injections per week. The treatment duration can span several years, possibly until the end of puberty. The cost of a single vial of growth hormone typically ranges in price (On average, a single vial of growth hormone can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars.).
Importantly, if you are in good health, you can optimize your natural growth hormone levels through a healthy lifestyle.
Other Ways to Supplement Growth Hormone
Getting enough sleep and engaging in regular exercise are two ways to optimize your height growth hormone levels. Additionally, you can also consider incorporating supplements into your diet to improve the situation.
Adequate Sleep
Quality sleep plays a pivotal role in the body’s production of growth hormone. During deep sleep stages, the pituitary gland releases a significant amount of growth hormone. Ensuring you get enough restful sleep each night, ideally between 7 to 9 hours for adults, can support natural growth hormone production.
Chart of HGH Levels Released During Sleep.
High-Intensity Exercise
You may be advised to engage in regular exercise if you want to enhance your height. Besides increasing joint flexibility, exercise also stimulates the production of growth hormone. Although any form of exercise stimulates the production of HGH, weightlifting and stretching exercises are considered more effective.
Supplementing growth hormone through weightlifting
Weightlifting can help optimize your growth hormone levels. However, this doesn’t mean lifting excessively heavy weights. This exercise is effective when performed with the right amount of weight and proper form. Additionally, weightlifting helps build endurance, increases bone density, and strengthens muscles and tendons.
HGH Levels Can Be Boosted Through Exercise.
Performing stretching exercises
Stretching exercises can increase blood flow to growth plates and reduce pressure on tendons and ligaments. This ensures that the bone cartilage receives sufficient nutrients for maximum growth. Moreover, these exercises contribute to joint flexibility, enhance tendon and ligament strength.
You only need to dedicate about 45 to 60 minutes each day to exercise, combined with a healthy lifestyle and a balanced diet to give your height a better chance of increasing more quickly.
Read more: Height Development Menu for Children Aged 1-3
Using Amino Acid Supplements
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, with approximately 20 different types that positively impact the body and serve various functions. Among them, four play a role in bone and cartilage development: L-Arginine, L-Leucine, L-Lysine, and L-Ornithine. However, only three of them have the ability to stimulate HGH, which are L-Arginine, L-Lysine, and L-Ornithine.
Here are two tips to optimize HGH levels by supplementing with these three amino acids:
Combine with Physical Exercise
Research suggests that supplementing with L-Arginine and L-Ornithine after physical exercise contributes to optimizing growth hormone levels. On the other hand, supplementing before exercise may reduce effectiveness.
Most effective during the growth years
Amino acid supplements yield maximum effectiveness when used during the growth years. The ideal age range for this is between 10 and 18 years.
In essence, using growth hormones for height increase is not inherently harmful. However, if you do not have a pituitary gland disorder, it is best to avoid using them. Instead, maintain a healthy lifestyle to optimize the natural production of growth hormones that your body requires.
Hi everyone, I’m Tony Scotti, an expert in the field of height increase with many years of experience researching and applying height increase methods, and have achieved promising results. I have created increase height blog as a personal blog to share knowledge and experience about what I have learned during the process of improving my own height.
