Arginine to Increase HGH

Arginine is an amino acid supplement that is marketed to increase natural human growth hormone, or HGH, production. HGH is naturally released by your anterior pituitary gland in your brain and has a wide range of effects throughout your body. Talk with your doctor about arginine supplements and their effect on growth hormone production before taking them to make sure they are safe for you to use.

Mechanism

According to a 1988 study published in "The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism," very high doses of oral arginine supplementation can increase growth hormone production. The researchers discovered that 30 g of oral arginine supplements suppresses somatostatin production, a rate-limiting protein that regulates growth hormone production. The researchers also found that arginine is more effective at stimulating growth hormone production when combined with growth hormone-releasing hormone, or GHRH.

Effectiveness

Due to the complexity of your endocrine, or hormone-producing, system, your body may require extremely high, and potentially dangerous, amounts of arginine to stimulate a noticeable amount of HGH production. According to the book "User's Guide to Nutritional Supplements," few studies have found growth hormone benefits when using the recommended dosage of 5 to 10 g of arginine. The book suggests doses of 30 g or higher may be necessary to get any sort of growth hormone response.

HGH

If arginine supplementation is effective in increasing your HGH production, you may experience weight gain and other effects of having increased your HGH levels. HGH stimulates cell growth, which is why high levels of HGH are desired by athletes trying to increase muscle mass. The natural HGH produced by your body also promotes fat loss, protein synthesis, increased calcium retention and stimulates your immune system.

Side Effects

High amounts of arginine supplementation in effort to stimulate growth hormone production may cause potentially serious side effects. According to Future Science, arginine can increase the growth rate of the herpes virus and pseudomona bacteria. Arginine can also block insulin, which may be harmful if you suffer from diabetes. Arginine supplementation also decreases blood pressure by temporarily widening your blood vessels, which can interfere with some blood pressure medications.