Human growth hormone (HGH) is a protein-based hormone which stimulates growth and cell regeneration in humans. Cell regeneration is the process where an old, dying or work cell is restored back to its original state. Growth hormone (GH) is produced and secreted by the pituitary gland in the brain. HGH is used to treat various ailments in people. Children who suffer from growth disorders due to their pituitary gland not functioning properly can benefit greatly from GH treatments. Adults with GH deficiency can benefit from GH treatments due to its regenerative properties. People with GH deficiencies can suffer from frail bones, decreased energy, negative attitudes, reduced sexual function, and a plethora of other negative side effects.

By utilizing the bodies naturally occurring growth hormone, healthy men and women can improve their physical and mental health dramatically. By maximizing the effectiveness of GH secreted by the pituitary gland, one can expect increases in physical and mental health that would be impossible otherwise. In order to take full advantage of HGH, one must take the time to understand when and how the pituitary gland secretes GH, and how you can maximize its effectiveness.

In a healthy adult, HGH is produced and secreted from the pituitary gland in a "pulse" rhythm throughout the day. Depending on the individual, secretion occurs every three to five hours. The largest (and therefore most beneficial) secretion of HGH occurs around one hour after falling to sleep. Since the pituitary gland secretes the most HGH during sleep, it is easy to see why getting the full recommended eight hours of sleep is so important. More than 50% of HGH secretion is experienced during REM sleep. HGH secretion from the pituitary gland will vary depending on multiple factors. Age, diet, exercise, height, gender, stress levels and hormones all have a significant effect on how much HGH your pituitary gland will produce. Simply put, if you eat an unhealthy diet, don't exercise (enough, or even at all), and live a stressful lifestyle, your body will produce less HGH than a healthy, active and fit individual. Taking advantage of your natural HGH levels is best done by following a healthy lifestyle.

HGH has a plethora of functions, most of which are considered anabolic. During the day, your body is either in a catabolic (breaking down) state, or an anabolic (building up) state. People with poor diet and lack of exercise are in a constant catabolic state, where fit people with healthy diets spend most of their time in an anabolic state. For best health, it is wise to attempt to maintain an anabolic state for as much and as long as possible. Maintaining anabolism requires a healthy diet full of nutrients, and exercise. Eating five to six smaller meals a day helps the body stay in an anabolic state. Skipping breakfast, lunch or dinner will leave your body in a destructive, catabolic state. Some of the beneficial functions of HGH include:

1) Increased calcium retention (causes a strengthening of bones)
2) Increased muscle mass
3) Promotes fat loss (lypolosis)
4) Increases protein synthesis (protein is the building block of muscle, the more protein you can synthesize, the most muscle you can build)
5) Promotes gluconeogenesis in the liver
6) Stimulates the immune system

The trick to taking advantage of the above benefits is to lead an active, healthy lifestyle. Eat properly and ensure you get all of the necessary nutrients your body needs. Take extra care to ensure that you can dedicate a full eight hours to sleep every night. Make sure you include regular cardio and weight training in your life to maximize the benefits of HGH secretion. Remember that stress has a directly negative impact on secretion of HGH from the pituitary gland, and as such, avoid stress at all costs. If you're unable to avoid stress, set yourself some "time outs" through the day, in order to calm down. Practice relaxation techniques in order to allow your body to do its thing. Never having any downtime is bad not only for physical health, but mental health as well. If you're interested in losing body fat, you need to take advantage of everything that HGH has to offer. To do that, make sure you get plenty of rest. Taking a nap mid day, even just a short nap, will increase HGH secretion for the duration of the nap, helping you reach your health and fitness goals sooner. The same holds true if you're interested in gaining muscle mass. Getting plenty of rest, including naps mid-day will improve your results and reward your hard work and dedication in the gym.

There are many types of supplements available which are designed to safely maximize HGH secretion from your pituitary gland. Unlike unnatural HGH injections, HGH stimulator's cause your body to secret the most natural HGH that it can. Supplementing with HGH products will not see results as fast as HGH injections, as supplements can only improve your natural HGH secretion, whereas injections add a large amount of HGH into your system, allowing for fast results. HGH injections have many negative side effects. Excessive levels of HGH over long durations can cause some very negative, and even fatal side effects:

1) Increased size, thickness and density of the jaw, fingers and toes.
2) Constant sweating
3) Carpal tunnel syndrome
4) Enlargement of all internal organs, excluding the brain. (Enlarged internal organs are the most common cause of HGH-injection related deaths)
5) Muscle weakness
6) Insulin resistance and even a rare form of type-2 diabetes.
7) Reduced sexual function.

Athletes from almost all forms of competition have found HGH supplementation or injection's beneficial. Increased strength, endurance and mental sharpness are all greatly beneficial to an athlete in competition. As a result of improved performance through unnatural HGH injections, most major governing bodies have banned the use of HGH injections. Until recently, usage continued as a result of blood tests not being able to distinguish natural from injected HGH. However a new method of testing has resulted in the ability to differentiate the two. As a result, athletes are moving away from HGH injections, and towards natural HGH supplementation. Naturally increasing HGH levels is not banned by most governing bodies, and even if it was, naturally increasing HGH levels would be impossible to detect, as a result of the HGH being natural and not artificial.