Is human growth hormone effective for anti aging?

Answer:

Yes. In the past every time this question was answered on the internet it was always along the lines of "there have been no studies" or "there is no conclusive proof". Well, things have changed in September, 2019. HGH was the main component in the first ever human trial, (published in nature) which showed the reversal of aging. Let that sink it - a first ever demonstration of biological age reversal in humans.

In the trial, named TRIIM (The Thymus Regeneration, Immunorestoration and Insulin Mitigation) the researchers originally set out to see if they can restore the function of the Thymus gland - an organ which starts to wither and die around the time we hit puberty. In the trial nine healthy individuals aged between 51 - 65 years used a year long regimen of 3 drugs - Human Growth Hormone, DHEA and Metformin. The results were surprising to the researchers. When testing the aging biomarkers before and after the trial they expected to see slower aging but not reversal. During the 1 year long regiment the average biological (epigenetic) age was reversed by 2.5 years - the first time this has ever been shown in humans.

The levels of naturally produced growth hormone in humans are reduced by half every 10 years of life. This means a 10 year old's body produces 50% less HGH than a baby's body. A 20 year old person would then have only a quarter when compared to the growth hormone levels in babies. In old age, there is barely enough HGH produced to keep the metabolism going. As the human body declines into old age, so do the levels of hormones such as growth hormone, progesterone, melatonin, DHEA, etc).

Human Growth hormone has been shown to regenerate the thymus gland, but it could also raise the insulin levels in older people. To counter this possibility the researchers in the tiral preventatively gave participants metformin (the oldest drug for type 2 diabetes) to keep those levels in check. The main researcher Gregory Fahy noticed that younger people have high levels of HGH without the increased insulin. His hypothesis was that this is due to young people having higher levels of the DHEA hormone. For this reason the participants also received DHEA supplementation. Overall there were no negative side effects to report.

The TRIIM trial doses of HGH, DHEA and Metformin

The trial participants initially took 3IU of HG, 50mg of DHEA and 500mg of Metformin. At the start of the 4th week of the trial the dosages were individualized based on each participant's responses. The aim of the individualization was to maximize the IGF-1 and minimize the insulin levels for each participant. The participants also took 3000 IU of vitamin D3 and 50 mg of elemental zinc daily.

Although this study didn’t have a control group, and it included only nine people, the results were very promissing. The next step, the researchers say, is to conduct more research that include more groups of people.

For decades anti ageing has been the second most popular "off label" use for HGH

Here are some of the observable effects of HGH (which even the "nay sayers" cannot deny):

  • smoother (baby like) skin, initially noticeable on the back of one's hand and later on throughout the body
  • faster hair and nail growth
  • higher energy levels
  • faster energy recovery after physical activity
  • muscle growth
  • reduction in body fat reserves

I have personally been using it for over two decades (on and off). In addition to the above listed effects I have observed that my overall body physique improves within a few weeks of starting my cycle. Even though the face wrinkles do not disappear, or even drastically improve the rest of the body does. I would say I look and feel about 20% better within 3 weeks of starting my cycle. I usually take 4IU per day split into two daily injections. I keep my cycles between 3 to 6 months long, after that I pause for around 2-3 months.