GROWTH-HORMONE BOOSTERS CAN HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR FAT-BURNING POTENTIAL, LEADING TO A LEANER AND STRONGER BODY.

The term growth hormone (GH) has been making headlines, but not all of them have been good. The debate rages in the mainstream media over the ethics of injecting synthesized GH, but everyone agrees that the GH your body produces naturally is a boon to nearly all your system's functions. Here, then, is why you should consider boosting your GH and how to do it safely. A hormone released from the brain, GH is anabolic with respect to muscle and bone (it helps build them up), and catabolic when it comes to fat (it helps break it down). Yet our GH levels drop as we get older, and as a result we experience reduced muscle mass and strength, decreased bone density, increased abdominal and subcutaneous fat, and a reduced capacity for exercise. Talk about bringing a fit girl down.

Several supplements, however, may be able to offset this unfortunate decrease in GH — sometimes by themselves, sometimes when combined with exercise — and enhance your body's natural production. Promoting even a slight increase in GH levels could help you gain more muscle, lose more fat, keep your joints and libido healthy and your immune system strong. Read on to learn about boosting your GH supply and sculpting a leaner, more defined physique.

ALPHA-GPC

Alpha-GPC (alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine) helps support brain function and stimulates GH release, and supplement scientists believe it's one of the more exciting products on the market today. A study presented at the International Society of Sports Nutrition Conference showed that when alpha-GPC was taken 90 minutes before a workout, it increased peak force and postworkout GH levels. Seven resistance-trained subjects took either 600 mg of alpha-GPC or a placebo before performing Smith machine squats (six sets, 10 reps each). Peak GH was found to be 44 times higher in the alpha-GPC group compared to just 2.6 times for the placebo group. The alpha-GPC group also had more strength on the bench press as well as greater fat utilization compared to the placebo group.

ARGININE

Studies show that resting growth-hormone levels increase after subjects take a 5-9-gram dose of this conditionally essential amino. (Within this range there's a dose-dependent increase, but taking more than 9 grams isn't necessarily better.) Arginine stimulates GH release and can increase resting levels by at least l00%, while exercise does so by 300%-500%. Yet combining arginine and exercise attenuates the GH response, so it's best to take it at rest. Or you could take it preworkout for a performance boost, then again later in the day for its GH benefit. Several animal studies show that arginine supplementation also shifts nutrient partitioning to promote muscle over fat gain.

Arginine + Lysine

Leave it to supplement science, however, to try to make a good thing even better, as evidenced by these two combinations.

An essential amino acid critical for building muscle protein, lysine also appears to enhance calcium absorption and retention, which can promote bone health and regulate bodyfat. The body uses it to produce carnitine, which helps transport fat into the mitochondria of cells where it's burned as fuel.

Lysine is also used to produce enzymes, antibodies and hormones, and appears to enhance arginine's effect on GH. In fact, the combination of arginine and lysine is even better than arginine alone. In one study, 16 subjects were separated into four groups: two took 1.5 grams of both arginine and lysine, one preworkout; the other two took the placebo, one preworkout.

Growth-hormone concentration was found to be higher in the two groups that exercised, but consuming the arginine and lysine didn't increase GH any further. Subjects taking these supplements at rest exhibited higher GH than the resting placebo group. Just like arginine, the duo seems to be far more effective when taken hours from your workout.

Arginine + Glutamine + HMB + Taurine

An amino acid that aids growth by increasing levels of the branched-chain amino acid leucine in muscle fibers, glutamine also helps limit breakdown and prevents the immune system from stealing glutamine from muscle fibers.

Glutamine can also increase the amount of calories and fat burned both at rest and during exercise, and boosts GH levels when combined with arginine, HMB (beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate) and taurine. In one study, 17 healthy subjects did 12 weeks of weight training while supplementing with a placebo or 15 grams of a combination of arginine, glutamine, HMB and taurine. Lean body mass, strength and power increased in both groups, but the supplement group experienced more gains than the placebo group. Supplementation was also shown to increase resting and exercise-induced testosterone levels and resting growth-hormone concentrations, and reduce preworkout cortisol concentrations.

GABA

While GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is an amino, it's also one of the most abundant inhibitory neurotransmitters in the brain. When 11 resistance-trained subjects took 3 grams of either GABA or a placebo before rest or resistance exercise, GABA elevated GH levels at rest but increased the GH response even higher when combined with resistance exercise.

GLUTAMINE + GLYCINE + NIACIN

Researchers had 42 healthy subjects ages 40-76 take 5 grams of this supplement combination or a placebo twice a day for three weeks. Those taking the combo had GH levels that were 70% higher than the placebo group.

SOY PROTEIN

Fitness-lovers love protein, and now we have another reason to love soy: It may be a potent stimulator of GH. Scientists compared the effects of an amino-acid mixture similar to soy protein to arginine and lysine on GH secretion in eight healthy women and discovered that GH output was higher in subjects taking the soy protein like amino. A second study confirmed that GH was elevated after subjects consumed a complete soy protein, and researchers concluded that soy, either hydrolyzed or intact, stimulates GH release.

STRATEGIES VARY FOR DIFFERENT GH SUPPS, SO MAKE SURE YOUT AKE THE RIGHT ONE AT THE RIGHT TIME

Nothin'But a GH Thing

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