HGH Supplements - The Claims and the Truth
By Lisa Wells, RN
There has always been conflicting information regarding human growth hormone and the products being offered for sale. I have been in this business since 1999 and so I have heard about most of it.
In the past 23+ years I have seen the number of different HGH supplements grow from only eight, and our original HGH formula was one of those, to numerous brands being sold online.
I regret to say that as the industry has become more and more competitive so too has the number of claims and sales hype being used to try to sell such products increased.
The Question of Which is Best
Most everyone says they offer the best HGH product available, and they give a reason why it is best. However, what is important is whether they can offer any clinical evidence to support their claims.
In adults growth hormone in the body is usually measured by a lab blood test called the IGF-1 test that measures the main growth factor that is released in response to growth hormone, called IGF-1.
The reason growth hormone itself is not measured is because it does not remain in the bloodstream long enough for random testing that is accurate. In fact, there is debate as to how accurate the risky HGH stimulation test where patients must be hospitalized and given IV arginine, GHRH, or insulin to try to stimulate HGH release actually is.
So, the only way to show which product is most effective is to do proper independent randomized double-blind placebo-controlled IGF-1 level testing on test subjects taking the product. However, most products on the market have not had their products tested this way.
Since most products haven't had any real clinical testing for effectiveness sellers must come up with other reasons why their product is best and why you should choose it. Below are some of the most common false claims and hype that competitors may use to try to convince customers to purchase their product.
The "Saliva Kills the HGH" Claim
A couple of years ago a multi-level marketing company came out with an HGH gel product that says it contains 30X of homeopathic human growth hormone and it is rubbed on the skin. I have been told by at least 10 people who either joined or were asked to join the MLM company that they are telling everyone that the sprays don't work because the saliva kills the HGH in order to convince prospects to choose their gel. This is absolutely not true! Please see my article for more information about this issue. I also compare the gels to the sprays.
The "Molecule Delivery System" Claim
Some companies and/or their distributors claim their spray contains some new special delivery system such as a "polymer matrix" molecule delivery system or another type of delivery system. They may claim this new special delivery system is used with their product only.
One claim is that only they are allowed to use the special delivery system because only their product is a "supplemental HGH" or "ingestible HGH" product that can provide a pharmaceutical dose of HGH like the injections do.
Another claim is that only their product can use the special delivery system because it is not FDA approved. Of course these statements are completely untrue but some customers are being told hype such as this by companies, distributors, and/or their websites.
According to their claims their special delivery system now allows the entire growth hormone molecule, which is a large protein molecule that is made up of 191 amino acids, to be absorbed intact under the tongue while still in its pharmaceutical form and so their spray product is not homeopathic but is instead just like the injections. They claim this miraculous new delivery system takes each molecule and twists and squeezes and reshapes it into a shape and size that will pass through the mucosa of the mouth easily.
If there were a delivery system that actually could do all that it would indeed be special! Insulin users the world over would surely rejoice since it would mean they would no longer need to inject themselves with insulin, they could instead just spray it under their tongue.
The insulin molecule is only about half the size of the human growth hormone molecule yet it is also too large to be absorbed under the tongue, unless it is in homeopathic form.
The companies and distributors making these claims are ignoring the fact that any human growth hormone that is not homeopathic cannot be purchased without a prescription and so the FDA would not allow them to sell such a product over the counter if it did exist.
These distributors are probably hoping that people will not question their statements and claims. After all, the name of their special delivery system sounds so technical and impressive that it must be true. They are hoping people will think this way and will purchase their product, and many are doing just that.
The invention of a delivery system that would allow large protein molecules such as the growth hormone molecule to be absorbed under the tongue would indeed be a great advancement in medicine and would most certainly not be limited in use to only one specific non-prescription product.
Through the years millions of dollars have been spent on research trying to find a way to pass the large protein molecules into the body intact without the use of injections. Progress has been made in the area of nasal sprays delivering smaller molecules such as insulin by inhalation but at this time non-homeopathic human growth hormone must still be injected.
Please note, with real homeopathic products the properties (electromagnetic energies) of the HGH molecules are transferred into the lattice of the water molecules in the liquid base solution of the product. It is this potentiated solution that is then absorbed under the tongue successfully without the need of a special delivery system.
About Homeopathic HGH and How it Works
The "Petroleum Base Solution" Claim
There are some sellers who claim you should buy their product because they alone use an organic vegetable base solution in their spray. They claim that all the other spray products contain petroleum in their base solution and they warn that the petroleum can damage the lymph system, liver, or cause other damage.
Of course I cannot say what each and every product on the market contains and there are now many products being made outside the United States, however, I can say that our ProBLEN products do not contain petroleum and they will not damage or clog the lymph system, liver, or any other system or organ in the body.
Our sprays use a vegetable base solution (organic vegetable alcohol and purified water). Products such as ours that have been awarded an NDC registration number must adhere to the strict guidelines of the FDA.
The "Alcohol Kills the HGH" Claim
Some who offer the pill and powder supplements that are digested in the stomach have made this claim but it is not true. High quality homeopathic sprays contain a small amount of organic vegetable alcohol because it plays a role in the potency and stability of the homeopathic formula. It does not render the formula useless as some competitors claim.
Alcohol is used to hold the frequency of the substance stable according to the HPUS (the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States), which is the official homeopathic manufacturing manual recognized by the U.S. FDA.
Alcohol also maximizes efficacy, allows for quicker absorption into the body, and helps to minimize the possibility of contamination. Various types of other health products, such as liquid cold preparations, also use alcohol in their formulas.
We are not dumping a vial of HGH injection into a jug of alcohol, as competitors try to make it sound. The total amount of spray one receives each day is only 1 ml (1cc) divided into 3 dose times. Of this 1 ml only 20% is made up of alcohol, the other 80% is made up of active ingredients and water so the amount of alcohol received per day is actually only a few drops.
If alcohol was not needed it would not be used. Why would any pharmaceutical company include an ingredient that would damage the formula? Also, it would be cheaper to use only water. The small amount of alcohol is used for a reason.
The "Pituitary Gland Overstimulation" Claim
Ingesting large amounts of amino acids could possibly overstimulate the pituitary gland, however, the pituitary gland seems to become resistant to the effects of large doses of amino acids as a safety mechanism. For more information see our page about the HGH releasers. Homeopathic products will not overstimulate or burn out the pituitary gland. In over 200 years homeopathy has never caused harm.
The "Lazy Pituitary Gland" Claim
Only the injections can cause this as only they can deliver all the growth hormone that is needed without help from the pituitary gland. If we are getting all the HGH we need from an outside source the pituitary gland will not need to make it and so it can become lazy. This does not happen when taking homeopathic HGH products as they work with the pituitary gland to help it to optimize its own release of growth hormone.
The "Somatostatin" Claim
Some claim that theirs is the only product that can block somatostatin. Somatostatin is a safety mechanism for the body that prevents the pituitary gland from releasing too much human growth hormone into the bloodstream, and some studies have shown that it can increase with aging.
The process of aging goes far beyond just somatostatin, and so in my opinion a product that focuses solely on somatostatin cannot be one of the more effective products. The aim of our HGH Plus IGF-1 & IGF-2 product is to help the body improve the entire human growth hormone process, and this includes what happens with somatostatin.
The "191 Amino Acids" Claim
Some have claimed that their product contains all 191 amino acids. This comes from the fact that the human growth hormone molecule itself is made up of 191 amino acids. It may be that the seller wants customers to think that his product contains all of those 191 amino acids, which could not be true, and that once taken they would magically come together and turn into HGH.
The "Special Packaging" Claim
Some say their product is best because of the color of their bottle, the type of spray apparatus they use, etc. This is a clear example of sellers looking for something to help sell their products when they have no clinical studies to show. If a product is shown to increase blood IGF-1 levels in independent clinical studies (IGF-1 blood tests measure the increase of HGH in the body), then the packaging of that product must be correct!
The "Endorsed By Medical Professionals" Claim
I am a registered nurse of 39 years. Myself and many other medical professionals, including doctors, take our products and carry our products in their offices so we could just as easily make this claim.
Of course some companies pay for celebrity and/or doctor endorsements or testimonials. We do not pay for endorsements or testimonials. We have many testimonials by regular people who were not paid yet because our products worked for them so well they gave a testimonial anyway.
I have also heard of cases where some names of doctors were being used to sell certain products yet the doctor had never heard of the product he supposedly endorsed. This could be the seller adding the doctor's name to a website without his/her permission, or it could be that the doctor's business manager sold the use of his/her name to a company but the doctor had not been notified of the arrangement.
More Sales Hype and False Claims
The Best HGH Supplements - there are websites that claim to have reviewed and rated various HGH supplements and they tell you which is best.
HGH Gels - sold mostly by MLMers some claim their gel works but the sprays do not.
Some use hype such as the claim that their product contains the most nanograms of human growth hormone. Example: 30,000 ng.
Some claim their product contains real HGH that is not homeopathic.
The false claim that only the injections are effective is made by some sites that try to sell the injections illegally online and sadly also by some clinics and doctors who prescribe and sell the injections right inside their clinics/offices.
Some who sell the pill or powder products claim that products that contain HGH may cause Creutzfeldt Jakob disease.
Some claim that only their product is FDA approved.
Some claim to offer a no risk 90 day 100% money back guarantee.
Some make false claims about clinical studies done on their products.
The above claims may seem very convincing when you read them at the company or distributor's professional looking website but none of these claims are true. These are the sort of claims that sellers use when their products have not had any clinical studies to measure effectiveness. They know they must come up with some reason why customers should buy their product.
Only randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical studies can measure the real effectiveness of any HGH therapy so look for products that have been independently clinically tested.
IGF-1 Clinical Studies Measure Real Effectiveness.