The human growth hormone is the holy grail of all hormones. It’s believed to hold the secret to slowing down aging, unlocking explosive performance capabilities and taking your fitness and overall health and wellness to the next level. And best of all: it’s naturally produced in your body! But just like most things, there are some tricks of the trade to boosting your HGH production and maximizing the benefits that come with it.
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What is the Growth Hormone?
The human growth hormone, which is commonly referred to as hGH, is a natural hormone in the body that gets produced and released by the pituitary gland. This is key information to pay attention to in order to fully understand the growth hormone, as the pituitary gland is connected to your hypothalamus, which controls functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and digestion.
Now, the main function of the hGH is to promote growth in children. This includes height, muscle growth and bone length. This begins during childhood and the levels of growth hormone rise and reach their peak during puberty. However, once this task has been completed and the growth plates in the bones have fused, hGH no longer works to assist growth/height.
At this point, growth hormone continues to regulate various aspects of your metabolism, including the amount of fat, muscle, tissue, and bone you have in your body. It also helps manage insulin and blood sugar levels, making it a vital hormone throughout your entire life.
What is Unnatural hGH?
Human growth hormone can be prescribed by a physician, which is typically done if a child has impaired hormone levels and can’t reach their full height naturally. Physicians may also prescribe hGH to adults, particularly if they suffer from a growth hormone deficiency.
However, there is also a black-market trade of this hormone, especially among bodybuilders, athletes and aging adults. Taking this hormone without a prescription is considered illegal. It’s also used to increase muscle strength but this has proven to be false.
Benefits of Natural hGH
As mentioned previously, the main functions of human growth hormone are promoting growth in children, and influencing body structure and metabolism. It has also been used to treat a variety of health conditions in adults, including muscle loss and short bowel syndrome caused by HIV or AIDS.
But what does hGH mean for your overall health and wellness? Let’s check it out.
- Increase exercise efficiency
- Improve bone density
- Reduce body fat
- Build muscle mass
- Speed up metabolism
- Enhanced weight loss
- Builds stronger bones
- Maintaining healthy insulin levels
- Managing blood pressure levels
- Can help counter the effects of aging
- Better bone healing
- Reduces risk of cardiovascular disease
- Natural treatment for erectile dysfunction
- Improve mood and cognitive function
- Enhanced sleep
Natural Ways to Increase Growth Hormone
There’s no denying that the benefits of hGH are appealing, which has likely resulted in you wondering how you can naturally increase your HGH. The keyword there is naturally. Unless you are receiving hGH treatment from a physician, it’s important to steer clear of synthetic versions as these often come with far more risks.
With that said, let’s take a look at the best ways to increase your growth hormone naturally.
Exercise
Studies found that the release of HGH is mainly triggered by exercise, especially forms of exercise that have an intensity above the lactate threshold and that last for a minimum of 10 minutes. As such, doing more strenuous exercises can be a great way to boost your HGH.
High-intensity interval training, a type of workout that alternates between brief and intense periods of exercise, is a perfect example of the type of exercise to do.
Take L-glutamine Supplements
Supplementing l-glutamine can have many benefits for your health and wellness, especially when it comes to your exercise and performance, as helps maintain acid-base balance, and boost glycogen stored in your muscles. However, studies also found that people who take l-glutamine supplements also see an increase in HGH and testosterone. You can also add more glutamine-rich foods to your diet, such as spinach, meat, eggs, fish, and plain, unsweetened yogurt.
Supplementing with L-arginine
L-arginine is another popular supplement used to increase hGH. In fact, it’s been shown to increase resting growth hormone levels by a minimum of 100% and 300-500% when exercising. The body typically makes all of the l-arginine you need to help the body build protein. However, you can also take it in supplement form or get it naturally by eating more red meat, fish, poultry and dairy.
Laugh More
Believe it or not (believe it because it’s proven to be true), laughter can help increase HGH levels naturally. This comes from a study that found people saw their human growth hormone and endorphins by 27-87%.
Boost Your Vitamin C
Studies found that people who have lower levels of vitamin C have reduced growth hormone secretion, as well as higher rates of obesity, an increased waist-hip ratio, and a greater risk of heart disease. So, topping up on your vitamin C can help boost HGH production and your overall health nd wellness.
Try Intermittent Fasting
Fasting can have a positively effect on various aspects of your health, including on your insulin levels and body fat. As a result, it can also boost HGH levels. Studies have even found that you only need to fast for three days to see a 300% increase in human growth hormone. Intermittent fasting is an excellent solution to provide these benefits, as it consists of a diet plan that alternates between periods of fasting and eating. There are also several different types of intermittent fasting, so you can find the one that best suits you.
Get Your Blood Sugar in Control
Increased insulin levels can suppress the production of growth hormone in the body, so getting your blood sugar levels in control can be a simple and natural way to boost your hGH. To do so, reduce your intake of foods that are high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, such as white bread, white rice, and pasta.
Time Your Meals
There are two things to keep in mind when timing your meals to maximize hGH production: the body naturally produces higher levels of growth hormone while you sleep and insulin levels typically increase rapidly after meals and take 2 to 3 hours to stabilize. With these things considered, try to eat your last meal at least two hours before hitting the hay to get the most out of your natural HGH production.
Reduce Body Fat
There is a direct link between low HGH production and high levels of abdominal fat. The good news: you can lose weight to counter this affect. Losing weight will not only boost your human growth hormone but it also comes with a plethora of additional benefits.
Prioritize Your Sleep
Remember how important it is to understand the pituitary gland when it comes to understanding hGH, as mentioned at the beginning of this article? Well, your pituitary gland releases the most growth hormone while you sleep. Your HGH levels also increase and decrease based on your sleep cycle. So, by focusing on getting the high-quality sleep you need each night by prioritizing and honoring your sleep cycles, you can naturally increase your human growth hormone. Some helpful tips for doing just that include sticking with the same sleep-wake times (even on weekends), reducing blue light exposure before going to bed and using some calming sleep aids, such as lavender sprays and chamomile tea.
Human growth hormone is super important and for several bodily functions, including muscle growth, bone density, and fat metabolism. And while the body does produce is naturally, there are several ways to boost its production and maximize the benefits.
