Many hormones are involved in the growth and development of humans. It is still not clear exactly how they all interact to produce a fully developed adult but the importance of Human Growth Hormone (hGH) is known to be great. HGH is produced in the pituitary and it releases growth promoting factors, collectively called somatomedins, from the liver and other tissues. Somatomedin C increases cartilage production in the long bones mainly at the epiphyses. As this cartilage is converted into mature bone when the individual reaches the end of puberty, the greater the cartilage production, the longer the bones will become.

HGH has been used in the treatment of individuals suffering from growth disorders for over 40 years and the treatment has always been completed before the person reaches adolescence. Its use has been limited mainly because its only source was from the pituitary glands obtained at autopsy from dead humans. Pharmacologists have managed to produce synthetic hGH however and now it is much more readily available.

There are reports from the United States that hGH has already been used to create taller individuals who would gain a distinct advantage in sporting activities such as basketball, high jump etc., where height is a distinct advantage. It is clear that hGH will increase stature and at the same time increase muscle size. Synthetic hGH is identical to the naturally occurring hormone and cannot be distinguished from it. It is also obvious that as the drug will have to be administered before the sportsman or sportswoman reaches adolescence, detection of it at the height of his or her career will be impossible.

Although taking hGH as part of a controlled medical programme is perfectly safe, the side effects of taking high dosages without proper medical supervision are most alarming. It is possible that a condition called acromegaly will develop. The symptoms include enlarged internal organs, thickening and coarsening of the skin and a number of other disturbing symptoms. These side effects will not become obvious until after the person has finished his or her sporting career.

There are safe ways to enhance your body's production of human growth hormone link

The best ways to enhance the production of human growth hormone (hGH) is through three mechanisms, diet, amount of deep sleep and level of activity.

Foods with high levels of protein increase the production of human growth hormone within your body, so meals that contain white and red meats, fish, eggs and soya beans will actively increase the level of hGH in your body and act as metabolism boosters.

Some top level athletes take a protein shake in the evening as metabolism boosters (because meats etc take a long time to be digested), as the onset of the hGH secretion (which works on your body’s circadian rhythm) begins an hour before night time resting.

Also, eating foods with a low glycemic index maintains fairly constant blood sugar levels and some studies indicate that eating foods under a GI value of 50 increases HGH secretion within the body. So just by eating carbohydrates with GI values of 50 or below, you may be inadvertantly using natural metabolism boosters.

Dehydration has also been studied and has been shown to significantly reduce the secretion of hGH especially during or after strenuous exercise, so keeping water levels up will aid in your body’s production of hGH - again another metabolism booster.

So, just by being conscious of what you eat and the effect it has on your body, you can naturally affect the rate of hGH secretion within your body.