Healthy Aging

Ask the Doctor: Can Human Growth Hormone Slow Aging?

Many people are becoming interested in the potential of human growth hormone (HGH) in prolonging life and/or building strength and muscle. But as ILC-CEO Robert N. Butler, M.D. explains in the video below, while HGH may cause you to have more muscle bulk, it does not increase strength. In addition, HGH can have many negative side effects, such as:

• acromegaly, a disease that excessively thickens the hands and feet
• atrophy of the heart
• thickening of the blood
  
• diabetes

What's more, in cases where an individual has an undetected cancer, HGH could cause the cancer to spread and grow faster. And in animal studies, HGH has actually been shown to decrease life span.

Watch the short video below, courtesy of Big Think, for more.

Keywords: healthy aging

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