Naturally Increasing the Human Growth Hormone

Our bodies start breaking down and deteriorating as we age due to the loss or decrease of our body’s naturally occurring human growth hormone (HGH). To slow our body’s signs of aging, it is important to maintain and sometimes increase HGH in healthy ways that include diet, exercise, sleep, supplements, and devices.

What Is the Human Growth Hormone (HGH)?

HGH is produced in the brain by the pituitary gland and helps our bodies fuel childhood growth as well as repair cells, regulate metabolism, and maintain body composition. It is an indicator of one’s overall health condition. Optimal HGH levels help with injury recovery, athletic performance, and weight loss while low HGH levels indicate poor quality of life, a higher possibility of weight gain, and a higher risk for contracting diseases.

“HGH decreases with age, and it’s the reason we lose muscle and gain fat as we get older,” notes Dr. Rick Gross of Quality Care Chiropractic. “Symptoms of low HGH include low energy, fatigue, difficulty sleeping or feeling rested, low sex drive, thin and dry skin, arthritis and joint aches, and loss of bone density.”

The good news is that lifestyle choices, diet, and body fat composition affect HGH levels, so increasing HGH is possible through healthy eating and living. As such, adds Dr. Gross, “The best anti-aging solution is to increase HGH.”

What Are Natural Ways to Increase HGH?

It’s possible to boost HGH levels by improving your diet, exercise habits, and sleep quality as well as taking amino acid supplements. Talk to your doctor before making drastic changes in your lifestyle or dietary habits because certain supplements may clash with current medications.

Eat Healthy: Eating healthy benefits your overall well-being and optimizes HGH production by regulating insulin and body fat levels. A healthy, balanced diet includes the right amounts of all essential nutrients.

• Control sugar intake. High insulin levels lower HGH, so limiting sugar (especially in sweet drinks and sodas) and refined carbs (e.g., pasta, white rice, white bread) can have a significant impact.
• Use coconut oil. Coconut oil causes an HGH surge within 30–90 minutes of consumption, so it is recommended for rapid increases in HGH levels that last for hours.
• Time meals properly. The body produces more HGH at night. Since insulin levels rise rapidly after eating and take 2–3 hours to stabilize, keep a minimum of two hours between your last meal and bedtime to prevent inhibiting HGH production.
• Fast intermittently. Fasting impacts HGH secretion both in the short-term (keeping insulin low) and long-term (lowering body fat), which both boost HGH production (by 300% after three days and by 1250% after seven days). However, since fasting for a long time is not sustainable, experts recommend intermittent fasting (e.g., fasting every day for 16 hours and eating only during the other eight hours).

Keep Exercise Habits: Just like eating healthy, maintaining a consistent exercise regimen is ideal for maintaining and increasing HGH levels.

• Reduce body fat. Excessive fat—specifically belly fat—is linked to low HGH production. Both men and women see increases in HGH after losing weight, but more so in men because they more often gain belly fat.
• Perform high-intensity exercise. Exercising significantly reduces body fat and increases HGH levels—although how much depends on physiological traits, food eaten before workouts, and the exercise type and intensity. All exercise increases HGH, but high-intensity exercises, such as interval training, sprints, or weight training for at least an hour, are best for boosting HGH levels.
• Have sports drinks. To boost HGH levels alongside exercise, have a sports drink, which is rich in beta-alanine and can double your peak workout power.

Improve Sleep Quality: Not getting proper sleep contributes to low HGH levels since the pituitary gland releases the most HGH while you sleep. HGH production is highest before midnight and significantly lessens in the early morning. About an hour into sleep—during Stages 3 and 4 of non-REM, also known as slow wave sleep (SWS)—is where HGH production peaks. To structure your sleeping habits to make the most of SWS, here are some tips:

• Curate comfort. Keep your bedroom comfortable and well-ventilated.
• Flex the mind. Read something before going to bed.
• Curb stimulants. Avoid caffeine in the evening.
• Ban blue light. Stay away from your phone and computer (which have blue light) for a few hours before bed.

Amino Acid Supplements and Foods: Some amino acids and foods containing them are directly linked to enhanced HGH secretion. Following are some the most documented supplements.

• Glutamine. Glutamine causes significant HGH increases even at small doses (2 mg can boost HGH by up to 78%). Alternatively, glutamine-rich foods include spinach, meat, eggs, fish, and unsweetened yogurt.
• Arginine. Arginine boosts HGH synthesis. Taken with exercise, it has no effect, so it’s best alone. Small doses (6–10 grams daily) don’t have significant impact, but high doses (15–20 grams daily) can boost HGH by almost 60% at night. Before taking this supplement, consult a doctor or dietician about the dosage. Alternatively, arginine-rich foods include red meat, seeds, nuts, chicken, brown rice, and soybeans.
• Melatonin. Melatonin helps you fall asleep better and for longer, which directly affects HGH production. Although safe and non-toxic, large amounts affect brain chemistry, so talk to a doctor, especially if you’re pregnant because it can lower birth weight and increase baby mortality. A melatonin-rich breakfast of eggs, fish, mustard seeds, tomatoes, nuts, grapes, raspberries, and pomegranate can increase nightly melatonin secretion.
• Tryptophan. A tryptophan-rich breakfast plus exposure to bright daylight significantly boosts HGH levels. Foods dense in tryptophan are eggs, milk, grains, beans, and meat.
• GABA. Gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a neurotransmitter that calms the central nervous system. These supplements help people relax and improve sleep quality, which increases HGH levels.
• Ornithine. Ornithine plays a vital role in protein synthesis and increasing muscle mass. To boost HGH levels, eat ornithine-rich food like fish, chicken, eggs, soybeans, or beef. Taking ornithine supplements 30 minutes after a workout also can increase HGH.

B3 Bands: Naturally increasing HGH doesn’t have to involve a lifestyle change and supplement regimen, especially when products like the B3 Bands are available. Dr. Gross explains, “There are all the natural options, such as high-intensity exercise and synthetic hormone replacements, but the single best option is to allow your body to release its own stores of HGH. This happens with the B3 Bands exercise devices.”

B3 Bands naturally and safely help your body produce more HGH. Simply strap the bands on your upper arms and thighs, fill them with air from a portable pump, and the bands do the rest. Wearing the bands on your arms and legs creates a safe manipulation of blood flow that causes your muscles to fatigue more quickly with an increased build-up of lactic acid. In less than 20 minutes of light working out, your brain thinks it’s a much more intense workout, so it produces an HGH surge that otherwise only is achieved through long, high-intensity workouts.

“When people of all ages exercise with the B3 Bands on their arms and legs, they can increase HGH release by 25 times compared to intense exercise without the B3 Bands,” touts Dr. Gross. “The other amazing part of using these bands to work out is that it works in 10–20 minutes of light to medium exercise, and your workout is done for the day. It is completely safe and effective for ages 8–90.” To learn more, click the Shop icon at https://qcc.b3sciences.com/growth-hormone/.

Which Path Is Right for Me?

Keep in mind that any of these natural methods of boosting HGH levels work only if you’re in a healthy condition. If you have a medical problem like growth hormone deficiency (GHD), you likely won’t see any significant results even with natural approaches. In such cases, seek out proper treatment from your doctor.

If you have any questions regarding HGH levels or what methods might be right for you, contact us at Quality Care Chiropractic in Aurora, IL, at (630) 499-2225 to learn more so we can help get you back to whole-body health.

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