Human Growth Hormone (HGH): Definition, Functions, Uses, and More
Have you heard about the Fountain of Youth? Whoever drinks from it gets back into his youth years and enjoys youthfulness. Growth Hormone is the molecular fountain of youth. Its optimum levels in your body make you feel and look younger.
This article gives you detailed information on what is the growth hormone, how it works, its functions in your body, its uses for various purposes, and possible side effects with its overuse.
What is Growth Hormone
Human Growth Hormone is the primary anabolic hormone of the body. It is a single-chain peptide hormone made up of 191 amino acids. It is secreted in the blood by the pituitary gland (a pea-sized gland located just beneath the made of your brain).
It is released in the blood to reach all the body organs and carry out its complex functions, one of which is to stimulate growth and development. It promotes growth by facilitating cellular regeneration, reproduction, repair, and metabolism.
The pituitary gland secretes the growth hormone in a pulsatile fashion with spurts in the secretion occurring, especially at night during deep sleep.
Types of Growth Hormone
SomaTOtropin, the other name for growth hormone, is produced naturally in the body of humans and animals.
Somatropin is the synthetic growth hormone manufactured utilizing recombinant DNA technology. It is sold under the brand names of Norditropin, Genotropin, Humatrope, Serovital, Tev-Trope, and many other names.
How Growth Hormone Works
The growth hormone can act on tissues directly, but most of its functions are mediated by IGF-1 (a substance produced by the liver under GH stimulation).
Growth hormone and IGF-1 work by attaching to their receptors on the cell surface and turning on certain enzymes to promote metabolism and generate the energy necessary for tissue growth.
In biochemical terms, it promotes protein synthesis and fat breakdown to provide your body with the energy required for tissue growth.
Functions of Growth Hormone
Growth hormone has many, direct or indirect, significant functions in our body. Its primary function is to promote growth and development in your body. It does so by stimulating the metabolism in the cells.
Primary functions of the growth hormones are as follows:
- It promotes metabolism to provide energy for the growth and development of the
- It promotes protein synthesis in your body, which increases the lean muscle mass of the
- It promotes the breakdown of fatty acids and glycolipids, generating the energy required for growth and decreasing the fat stores of the body.
- It increases or maintains the blood glucose levels within their normal
- It improves the tone and texture of your skin, which makes you look
- It enhances immunity by stimulating the production of substances necessary for the immune system to work.
- It also increases libido and sex
- It makes you feel active and
Uses of Synthetic GH
There may be conditions in which the body fails to produce its Growth Hormone naturally. It may be due to a disease or as a result of the aging process. Synthetic GH is very commonly used to replenish the declined levels of growth hormone.
The main uses of synthetic GH are as follows.
FDA Approved Medical Uses:
The growth hormone is used to treat all medical conditions, which are somehow related to low levels of GH in the blood.
- It is used to treat Growth Hormone Deficiency in
- It is used to treat medical conditions like Prader-Willi Syndrome and Turner
- It is used to prevent muscle wasting in AIDS
- It is used to treat Short Bowel
- It is also used to treat chronic kidney
Non-FDA Approved (Illegal) Uses
Many people use HGH supplements to achieve the functions of the growth hormone mentioned above. But synthetic GH, in individuals who, otherwise, have normal GH levels, causes more harm than benefits, and many side effects appear with prolonged use.
The growth hormone is illegally used for the following purposes.
- It is used by bodybuilders to gain muscle mass in a short
- Older adults use it for the anti-aging
- It tightens the tone and texture of the skin to look
It must be noted that the unprescribed use of GH for illegal purposes can pose you at risk of many side effects like gynecomastia (breast enlargement in males), diabetes, severe headaches, heart attacks and early death (rather than slowing the aging process).
The Bottom Line
Growth hormone is essential for your body growth and development. It increases the metabolism to generate the energy required for tissue growth. The FDA approves the use of synthetic growth hormone is used to treat many GH deficiency disorders. But, the FDA does not approve, and it is illegal to use synthetic growth hormone supplements for purposes like bodybuilding, anti-aging, and weight loss. Overuse of synthetic growth hormone can cause severe side effects like severe headaches, vision problems, gynecomastia, diabetes, and heart attacks. You should never use synthetic growth hormones without consulting your doctor.