Why do we reach our physical peak at age 20 and then start declining? Age-related drops in Human Growth Hormone (HGH) have been linked to many diseases, degenerative changes and falling quality of life. These natural but undesirable changes can be countered with a healthy lifestyle, but not completely offset. After age 20, our bodies subtly decline, beginning with the steady replacement of muscle with fat—the notorious “middle-aged” spread, which in many people is obvious by the time they’re in their 30s. Further muscle loss in later years can be severe and result in true disability.

Skeletal muscle—a primary user of energy—is the core of our active metabolism. It’s a major contributor to our well-being and quality of life, giving us strength, balance, mobility and confidence as we maneuver through our environment.
Doctors and scientists who specialize in age management have long recognized that stopping or reversing the decline of HGH in order to maintain muscle mass is critical to maximizing health, mobility and quality of life.

While administering HGH itself causes an initial boost in the hormone, the body’s natural production of HGH slows down in response—a process called “downregulation.” There are also many legal prohibitions to injecting HGH. Similarly, trying to boost HGH by using a growth-hormone releasing factor also doesn’t work in the long term, again because natural production of the hormone slows in response.

In contrast, a compound called GHRP-2 is being used far more effectively to increase HGH by stimulating certain receptors in the hypothalamus. Researchers have found that boosting HGH in this way results in no downregulation. In addition, GHRP-2 can be taken orally, and as it contains amino acid isomers that resist digestion, the gut absorbs it slowly, for a longer-lasting effect.

Richard Walker, MD, PhD, a respected researcher in muscle physiology, is a pioneer in using GHRP-2 to treat age-associated muscle loss. He has developed a GHRP-2-containing product called Sacrotropin, which in placebo-controlled clinical studies of middle-aged men and women was found to significantly decrease fat and increase muscle.

Both the placebo and treatment groups were given Sacrotropin for 90 days, with no dietary or exercise instructions. After that time, the placebo groups showed no significant change in fat or muscle mass, while the treatment groups showed an average of 9.14 percent less total body fat, 14.27 less visceral fat and 5.37 more lean muscle.

Researchers measured Sacrotropin’s effectiveness for raising HGH by testing the placebo and treatment groups for insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), a marker for HGH. While the placebo groups showed no change in IGF-1 after the 90-day test period, the treatment groups showed a significant increase, from 103.54 to 120.47.

Sacrotropin is categorized as a medical food by the US Food and Drug Administration, and it is made in an FDA-inspected manufacturing facility in the United States. It must be used under medical supervision. The development of Sacrotropin is a breakthrough in Age Management Medicine, as it offers a legal, effective, easy-to-use way to increase HGH to stop or reverse age-related muscle loss. We don’t have to resign ourselves to falling apart just because we’re aging. We should be able to stay youthful, with the mobility and brainpower that mean a better quality of life.

 

Richard Adelman, MD, is a board-certified physician focusing on anti-aging treatments, skin rejuvenation, age management, weight management and veins. For more information, call 850-747-8346 or visit SkinAndVeinMD.com.