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What is Human Growth Hormone?

EelBait asks: "I get a lot of spam selling Human Growth Hormone (HGH). Supposedly this stuff builds muscles, make one lose weight, enlarges various external organs and glands, etc., etc. Does anyone really know any good articles about this? Is it dangerous? The fact that it's being sold through spam is enough to give me pause, but I want to know if there are any legitimate uses for this stuff."

2 of 66 comments (clear)

  1. What do YOU want it for? by MacAndrew · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The application is obviously important to its appropriateness. It sounds like you may be toying with the idea of trying; if so first consult with a doctor. Many things promoted through alternative channels may have additional effects not mentioned by the distributor -- St. John's Wort, for example.

    Check the NIH site for information.

    Also, of course don't buy anything from spam on principle alone!

  2. Re:illegal by sql*kitten · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Anything good for you is something you most certainly won't feel in a day.

    If I understand creatine's mechanism correctly, it enables you to train for longer. Essentially, the amount of work (reps at a given weight) to produce an increase in strength remains constant whether or not you use it, but the creatine enables you to do more reps in each training session and recover faster, so the "wall clock" time for an increase in strength is reduced. For example, maybe you could normally do 500 reps of a particular lift in 10 weeks, now you can do them in 5. You still have to do them, tho'.

    So you would see the result in terms of being able to train harder after a very short time (possibly after the first use), altho' obviously actually developing the muscle will still take time. I've never used it myself, and would advise you check with a doctor if you are thinking about it.