HGH is currently being touted as a 'cure all' answer to prevent aging, increase muscle mass and decrease body fat, but is it all that it is cracked up to be?
HGH stands for Human Growth Hormone, and While many people think that HGH is simply a hormone that makes you grow taller when you are a child, this hormone is much more complicated than simply being in charge of growth.
In fact, I’d go so far as to say that growth hormone should be renamed “fasting hormone”, since HGH plays a vital role in ‘overseeing’ or ‘regulating’ your metabolism while you are fasting.
HGH does play an important role in both building muscle and burning fat. It acts directly on your fat cells telling them to release stored fat for energy when you are fasting. And it also activates key pathways involved in muscle building.
HGH’s effects on reducing body fat and building muscle mass led it to be banned by both the IOC and NCAA.
Luckily you don't have to inject HGH to get it's potent effects. This is because your body naturally produces it's own HGH.
Your body releases HGH every 3 to 4 hours, with your biggest release coming about an hour after you fall into a deep sleep.
HGH is also released during intense exercise. Research has clearly illustrated that as little as ten minutes of intense exercise can have profound effects on increasing Growth Hormone levels!
Lastly, HGH levels increase while you are fasting.
The bottom line is that having healthy growth hormone levels is a very important component of your overall health. Too much HGH can cause all sorts of problems - In animals extra GH may make them more muscular and leaner, but it also decreases their life expectancy!
Too Little GH also has negative effects in animals - Mice with no GH live longer than average mice, but are also 1/3 of the size!
The key is to optimize your HGH levels with proper sleep, period of fasting and intense exercise.
So my advice is simple. To optimize your HGH levels you should try following the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle by using flexible intermittent fasting (since short periods of fasting can increase your growth hormone levels). Secondly, if you want even more HGH release you should perform ten minutes of intense exercise every single day. Lastly, make sure you get a good night’s sleep every night, as your largest release of growth hormone occurs while you are sleeping.
