Failure Of Arginine As A Growth Hormone Releaser

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by: Dr. Dennis Clark
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Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2011 Time: 2:15 AM
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The Best Growth Hormone Releaser

Arginine is the best ingredient among all formulas for HGH supplements. In addition, the effects of this amino acid can be boosted with additional amino acids such as lysine, ornithine, and glutamine, among others. In his book, ‘Grow Young with HGH', Dr. Ronald Klatz calls arginine The 'GH Provocateur' because of its role in causing the pituitary gland to release growth hormone. It is almost a miracle supplement for that purpose.

I have found that HGH supplements are like most other kinds of supplements in that their effects are subtle. At least, this is what I though. That is just a fancy way to say that I wasn't sure what I was getting out of them. I took them as recommended. This typically entailed one dose before bedtime, since I know that the biggest growth hormone spike in every 24-hour period comes about 2 hours after falling asleep at night. And it entailed taking a dose on an empty stomach before weightlifting workouts, as recommended by scientists and bodybuilders alike.

One thing that got my attention, though, was a comment by Dr. Klatz, on p. 203 of his book, as follows: "Arginine supplements should be effective in raising growth hormone levels, especially in people under fifty." Bummer, I thought. I'm 63, so what does that mean at my age?

Here is what I eventually concluded: Dr. Klatz' comment could be amended to say, "Arginine supplements are not be effective in raising growth hormone levels in people over fifty." Double bummer!

Key Research

My copy of the HGH book is marked up, highlighted, and full of my comments in the margins. I had to go over the chapter on GH-releasing nutrients a few times before I finally ran across a reference to this article:

Isidori A, Lo Monaco A, Cappa M. 1981. A study of growth hormone release in man after oral administration of amino acids. Curr Med Res Opin. vol. 7(no. 7): pp. 475-81.

The main result is summarized in this quote from the abstract of that article: "The results showed that oral administration of a combination of two amino acids (1200 mg L-lysine plus 1200 mg L-arginine) provoked a release of pituitary somatotropin and insulin."

Indeed, the results only camefrom the combination of the two amino acids. Neither one by itself induced a growth hormone response.

The key missing information in the abstract of that article was that all subjects were male, ages 15-20 years. Also missing was that the form of arginine used in the study was arginine pyroglutamate, not free arginine. Apparently this is a crucial point, since free arginine and free lysine would compete with one another and cancel out the combination effects of using them together.

How About Baby Boomers?

This study involved young men. My question was, how does this apply to me and others in my generation? Here is what found in a follow-up study published 12 years later, in this journal article:

Corpas E, Blackman MR, Roberson R, Scholfield D, Harman SM. 1993. Oral arginine-lysine does not increase growth hormone or insulin-like growth factor-1 in old men. J Gerontol. 1993 Jul;48(4):M128-33.

What they found is that in men over 65, the combined effect of arginine/lysine, even in doses more than twice that of the 1981 study, did not raise either growth hormone levels or IGF-1. (IGF-1 is a better indicator of HGH function than GH level alone.) Still larger doses may have been effective, according to the authors of this study, but are associated with diarrhea and other adverse gastrointestinal effects.

In other words, the results at high doses were negative for older men.

Toss Your HGH Supplements!

It is pretty clear that HGH supplements are not helpful for senior fitness. Fortunately, I have found something that will help mature folks like me: exercise. Specifically, I have discovered research that shows the benefits of what I call short-burst exercise, or burst training. In my younger days, we would call this 'wind sprints'.

Here is what works as a growth hormone releaser based on exercise, and it works for all ages: do 5 or so all-out runs of 60 to 90 seconds each, with a 4-minute recovery between runs. That's all there is to it. Indeed, that is what I am doing 2-3 times per week now.

Since running full-tilt is not possible for all seniors, you can accomplish the same thing on a stationary bike, a treadmill, a stair master, or any other kind of equipment that allows you to go all out for a short time. Do this 2-3 times per week. Change it up if you wish, running one week and cycling the next, or doing a different workout each time. The key is to ‘sprint' through your workout intervals, with total recovery in between sprints.

Note that one of the benefits of burst training is that you don't have to spend a lot of time exercising. A total of 20 minutes, counting 4-minute rests, is all it takes. The results that you can expect from the right exercise as a growth hormone releaser can be fantastic: Your waist shrinks, your skin tones up, your sleep is better than ever, and your weight and body fat begin to drop.

About the Author

See Dr. Dennis Clark's blog at PersonalFitnessResearch.com for scientific advice on hyper-hydration tips for boosting workouts and what to do when arginine fails as a growth hormone releaser.