HGH May Build Muscle, But Does Not Improve Athletic Performance
March 17, 2008
Boston (dbTechno) - According to a new study, human growth hormone, the performance enhancing drug linked to professional sports players such as Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and others, has been found to not actually improve athletic performance.
A new study looked at human growth hormone and found what impact it actually had on the body, and the results of the study may shock some, as well as educate.
The study was carried out at Stanford University, as they looked at 27 studies involving 440 participants.
The results were released on Monday by the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The lead author of the study, Dr. Hau Liu of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, California stated, along with colleagues that it does not help athletic performance in any way.
Dr. Liu even went as far as to state that it may worsen athletic performance a bit.
The study found that human growth hormone does add muscle, but they found that it does not appear to improve strength, or the ability to do exercise.
They did find that human growth hormone actually caused side effects such as swelling and fatigue.
Human growth hormone, or HGH, is made by the pituitary gland and helps with growth.
It has become one of the most prominent drugs used by professional athletes, as there is currently no way to test for it and detect it easily.
One thing that they did not look at, were the long-term effects of HGH.
This certainly adds a twist to those who state that it helps professional athletes prolong, and enhance their careers.
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Thought it was funny that with a story about HGH, there is a google ad for ordering HGH below the story.
Picture is gross.
who is the man in the photo. is this photo shop?
This is such a poorly researched article and fear mongering. HGH is not a “performance enhancing drug”; it is a hormone, a master hormone. Your body naturally makes it. It will reduce unwanted fat by up to 25% in normal adults and increase bone density and muscle mass in normal adults. You will never look like a body builder with out pumping some serious weights. The picture accompanying the article would leave the reader with the wrong impression. Research does show that laboratory mice live up to 50% longer after receiving HGH treatment. Once again, it has to do with dosage. Does one glass of red wine a day make you an alcoholic? I think perhaps side effects out weighs the benefits if you drank a bottle a day. Swelling may come from taking too high of a dosage of HGH; thus one has carpal tunnel. Therefore cut back the quanity. Some how I find it hard that when those who choose to vilify HGH over look the fact it does promote better skin, less wrinkles, increase you immune system, regrow connective tissue and is prescribed to help those with cancer and AIDS/HIV. Hmmm? Lastly, more athletes have died from drugs and alcohol related illness and accidents than HGH or steroids ever did. Do your research and don’t commit intellectual suicide. Question the “establishment” and find out for yourself.
freak
His name is Markus Ruhl - no, it’s not photoshopped. He’s one the the biggest big guys out there. That doesn’t mean he’s the best though, he rarely ranked (retired) high. His symmetry is poor. But he’s a freak and proof that steroids won’t kill you, he’s been doing it for a long time.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that steroids are good, but anything in moderation is fine. AND just because you take steroids, doesn’t mean you’ll look like that over night. There’s a lot of work that goes along with it. Steroids take you past your genetic potential at a slightly increased rate of change as growing naturally.
It’s a generalistic, semantic article… if HGH adds muscle, (and if it adds muscle later in life), how is that -not- an enhancement and prolongation of career? Adding muscle adds strength… but it may not add extra strength to the muscle… and, in sports, that muscle should be added in approved ways. It “doesn’t help athletic performance in any way”, except… adding muscle. Illegal sports enhancement shouldn’t be allowed, there -are- the rules of the games, but adding muscle and HGH under a doctor’s care is another matter.
“but anything in moderation is fine”
Don’t be a dumb ass.
“Don’t be a dumb ass.”
That’s a very enlightened response to my post. I never looked at the concern from that angle before… thank you for supplying facts and personal experiences to validate your claim.
Most people don’t even know why steroids are taboo other than “just because”. Under the right conditions and while being observed, steroids (and HGH which is not the same thing) can be beneficial. I find it odd that it is illegal for a man to want to take steroids to increase his LBM. But a homosexual who wants to appear more like the other sex (lady to appear more masculine) is legal. And that doesn’t appear (per the media) to be life threatening - but it is the same substance.
If your argument is based on the media hype, you’re in no position to debate me. Please do some research. You are so far beyond being able to understand anything I may say that this is just converging on uselessness. The really sad part is that you really believe that you’ve made a statement. You are a shocking waste of natural resources - kindly re-integrate yourself into the food-chain. Just go die in your sleep you mindless flatulent troll.
I take homeopathic HGH on a regular basis for a specific glandular condition and It beats the heck out of the two treatments my Doc wanted to use: cortisone or antibiotics. From what I understand, HGH supplements can also aid in tissue healing and probably has other side benefits, since it is naturally occurring necessary human growth hormone.
I don’t understand why HGH is under attack. It seems ignorant for the press to go after athletes who want to use it to help recover from injuries. If they are only allowed to use knowledge from the 19th century, then why not attack them for lifting weights?
I know Markus Ruhl and most of the guys that compete at that level of BB and yes HGH works, remember when the “scientific community” said steroids do not work to enhance athletic performance? If it did not work no-one would use it, supplements always come and go, if they work they stick around if they do not then people stop buying them. It does not matter what the researchers found. If it does not work then why do they want to ban it from sports? If it has not performace enhancing qualities then why worry about someone having an unfair advantage? Also that photo has been altered, he wishes he was that big, he is not. The world needs to get over the use of drugs in sports, it has always been there and always will be.
“You are a shocking waste of natural resources - kindly re-integrate yourself into the food-chain. Just go die in your sleep you mindless flatulent troll.”
That is the greatest thing i’ve ever heard. I emailed that quote to my wife. And you are absolutely correct. Many in our society, my self included in some cases, have allowed themselves to be spoonfed their morals and beliefs by the media/corporate/government/academic complex. It can be easily forgotten that research is funded by the government in most cases. The government is funded (that is, politicians are lobbied) by corporations to a large extent. Ergo, what comes out of academia can and is controlled by corporations to a significant extent. Not to mention the fact that the non-government funding that goes into research comes largely from pharmaceutical companies (at least medical/mental health research). Long story short, there is no conspiracy about an establishment. There really is an establishment. And it has an agenda. To dismiss something simply because the establishment has suggested you do so is in fact intellectual suicide. If one can legally purchase and subsequently become addicted to such extraordinarily toxic substances as Night Train (cheap wine) or any other liver, brain, kidney, etc. damaging alcoholic beverages, or nicotine products, why can’t one make a choice to purchase something that, in moderation, at worst gives at least some of the benefits that are purported. It boggles my mind.
I think we need to allow steriods and HGH in athletics so that we can finally get something worth watching on pay-per-view.
I mean come on WHO CARES, Why does the goverment and everyone and there mother care if a athlete uses steriods or growth hormones to build bigger what evers, Its not like by watching roger clements im going to start growning boobs or my testicles are going to strink, his migth but not mine.
There should be a law that says you can do what ever you want to your own body since it belongs to you, but you can’t put drugs into it, and you can’t cut your self, but in other countries i can put a bamboo shoot though my cheeks and have some one stand on it and every one will dance around me.
Shoot if that happen here imagine how fast i would get sent to the looney bin.
Everyone will argue that it makes a game unfair but to be honest thats genetics and potential and then theres steriods. If it were legal for anyone to get dosed then there would be more studies done with respect to performance enhancement.
At least these guys are doing it to them selfs and not hurting anyone else. its not like there boxing, or playing football, or any other major full contact sport.
So my point is Why do you care about some one else that has choosen to experiment with there body when it is non of your buissness to stick your nose in theres.
Well I think steroids and growth hormones should not be allowed for atheletes. These are men and women who train hard to win, and to get an unfair advantage by consuming steroids and such is cheating in my mind. Imagine if they legalised the steroids and hgh, all the athletes around the world who have access to these will have an unfair advantage over others, and also we would end up seeing many many athletes opting for them. It would come to steroids and artificial hormones to determine who wins a game.
I am totally in favor of hgh to be prescribed for those of us who need it, it seems like a great thing for the body, and I also disapprove the media showing HGH in bad light in lieu of athletes.
Question: Is HGH illegal?
At first glance, I thought the guy was using the restroom.
“There should be a law that says you can do what ever you want to your own body since it belongs to you”
Then we’d have a bunch of steroid raged, crazy people, running around humping things. Not good.
“Steroid raged, crazy people humping things?”
Steroids and HGH are so 20th century. We have genetically engineered animals. We adenoviruses we can tag with IGF-1. Wake up people there is nothing, nothing, no laws or anything you can do to stop the performance enhancement of humans or any animals.
Sure steroids should be free to anyone that wants to use them.
It should also be that anyone who does, and ends up with organ failure or any other toxic reaction *shouldn’t* be eligible for Medicare or Medicaid when they break down.
Why should taxpayers foot the medical bill for stupidity?
Accept the risk AND 100% of the financial fallout for the choices made.
Deb.
“Accept the risk AND 100% of the financial fallout for the choices made.”
Agreed and that goes for smoking drinking all other drugs, xtreme sports any any other lifestyle choice like type II diabetes, where all you need to do is control how much you eat and exercise and the disease goes away. I agree wholeheartedly with you, all type II diabetics should be put on notice NO MORE FREE RIDES FOR HEALTH CARE, shape up loose the gut stop drinking and smoking or oFF the public health care dole for you!!!
It appears that my last post has been moderated and deleted.
I had links to books that you can buy on Amazon on how to take steroids, a similar response as DrSuperHero about people who drink or smoke too much that are really taking advantage of taxpayers. And thought that people who take steroids are generally healthy and take care of themselves… Also a response that people who take steroids are not like crack addicts - they won’t sell their TV for $10 to get more steroids.
I would also like to point out that Hitler gave steroids to his troops in WWII, yeah, the stuff has been around that long. Think that the Olympics haven’t been tainted since then?
I think my point was that steroids are no more dangerous than any other risk taking behavior, sex, drug, alcohol food etc… it is just a spurious point to hunt people down like witches over thing like steroids and growth hormone. Really now HGH does not work? THEN WHY DID OUR SENATORS HOLD MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF HEARING AT THE TAXPAYERS EXPENSE TO INVESIGATE!!!!!! All they needed to do is ask the Standord research department.
Deb,
You’ve been fed a lot of information from the media. Next you’ll tell me that marijuana will cause you to go crazy! Remember refer madness? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ5SwhtSZoU
If everyone had organ failure from taking steroids, there would be a LOT of dead people. Seriously, steroid usage is very common. Also, most people who use steroids have jobs, and insurance and can pay for the doctor’s visits. Steroids are not like other drugs like crack. I promise that there are very few people who would sell their TV for $10 to buy more steroids. So… the tax liability for people who use steroids is small - don’t forget that many people take steroids with little side effects. Especially if they’re taken while being monitored (blood tests) from a doctor. Think this doesn’t happen today? It is very common.
Personally I am advocating that steroids should be legal, regulated, and taken while under doctor’s care. Much like they’re given if a person wants a sex change or if a guy is impotent. Before Viagra, doctors would inject synthetic testosterone… know that that is? Yep, steroids.
Okay okay… wanna know how wide spread steroid usage is? Amazon sells books on how to take them:
and has been since at least the year 2000.
Back at the ranch, do steroids belong in professional sports? Absolutely. Why? Because people from other countries (where they are legal) will take them and come here and get drafted. Do you honestly think that Sammy Sosa is natural? He was off a year and then came back. Do you know why? Because the year he was off, he was back on steroids and not being tested by MLB. He came back and had a good year. He’s off again due to the steroid policy, and I bet that he won’t have another good year.
Specifically to Deb. I’m not disagreeing with you. Tax payers shouldn’t foot the bill for “stupidity”. But how different is this than people who drink too much or smoke too much? I suggest less. Because people who take steroids generally take care of themselves and are at least somewhat intelligent because there’s a lot to read before you just stick something in your body.
Happy belated St. Pat’s day,
-Dan
“Accept the risk AND 100% of the financial fallout for the choices made.”
Wow what a retarded statement. If thats the way you think, then the first time to get into a car wreck and are hurt because you where speeding, you shuld be liable for all financial fallout; I mean after all, you knew the risks for speeding… same goes with anyone who is hit by lighting while outside in a thunderstorm; surely they knew the risks for beig outside so they should be liable for all financial fallout. All in all getting in a wreck because you chose to speed, and leaving a house to go outside during a thunderstorm eventhough you know you could be hit by lighting are choices these people have made. If your going to count us steroid users out, it’s only fair to count EVERYONE out of health care aid!!! Thank you!
Next time think before you speak***
the man in the picture is no other then Marcus Ruhl. made in germany lol
Wo…!!1
Markus Ruhl as freak as possible..