Arginine leads to Growth Hormone release?

[ironhead184]

As everyone knows, taking arginine as a supplement inceases nitric oxide in the blood stream to give good pumps. I also learned in one of my endocrinology courses that arginine supplementation can lead to huge increases in growth hormone production. This I didn't know and sounds very good for us lifters. What are some thoughts, comments, critiques, etc?

[maxiderm]

this has been debated for a long time. i dont remember if it was ever proven, but all i know is, i take it preworkout and before bed and it helps with my pumps and helps me sleep better...

[UnionHooligan]

It's still unproven. Some people take it before bedtime because they believe it does. I haven't read any real concrete study that proves it increases GH.

[kerplunk]

Would anyone whos tryed this care to chime in and post how it was or if they noticed anything.

[Matthew Shepard]

There is an article running in men's health which states that oral arginine hinders post workout gh release. I'll quote it if anyone is interested.

[pogue]

I've discussed this topic so much I can't remember if it does or doesn't. Search under my username for arginine or growth hormone and you'll come back with tons of posts w/ studies on the topic.

[in10city]

As everyone knows, taking arginine as a supplement inceases nitric oxide in the blood stream to give good pumps. I also learned in one of my endocrinology courses that arginine supplementation can lead to huge increases in growth hormone production. This I didn't know and sounds very good for us lifters. What are some thoughts, comments, critiques, etc?

Check these 2 studies out...

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...6&postcount=33

Oral arginine attenuates the growth hormone response to resistance exercise & Oral arginine does not stimulate basal or augment exercise-induced GH secretion in either young or old adults.

[pu12en12g]

As everyone knows, taking arginine as a supplement inceases nitric oxide in the blood stream to give good pumps. I also learned in one of my endocrinology courses that arginine supplementation can lead to huge increases in growth hormone production. This I didn't know and sounds very good for us lifters. What are some thoughts, comments, critiques, etc?

Arginine and Growth Hormone:

The exact mechanism is believed to be that arginine induced growth hormone
release is mediated mainly by a decrease in ****tostatinergic tone. ****tostatin is a peptide, which has the job of inhibiting the release of growth hormone. By decreasing ****tostatinergic tone, arginine decreases ****tostatin's ability to inhibit the release of growth hormone, and thus leads to an increase in the release of growth hormone.(Barbul 1986)

Good reads:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=573903
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=720382

[naturalguy]

Arginine does not increase GH to any significant degree. The supplement companies would love you to believe that this is true so they can sell you more products.

[Mickfootie]

A little info on Arginine :

Arginine is a vitally important amino acid that has been studied for more than fifty years. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, and protein is the building block of all living cells. The greatest portion of human body weight, after water, is protein. On the cellular level, the principal function of DNA is to provide the "blueprints" for production of hundreds of different proteins, each constructed from unique sequences of amino acids that are held together by peptide bonds. There are more than twenty commonly known amino acids, and additional amino acids are periodically identified, classified, and studied.

A healthy liver can produce approximately 80 percent of the body's required amino acids. They are termed the "nonessential" amino acids, not because they lack importance, quite the contrary, but because the body can synthesize them from other amino acids obtained from dietary sources. The human body, for example, can readily synthesize arginine to ornithine, or ornithine to arginine. The remaining 20 percent of amino acids required by humans are termed "essential" amino acids because they cannot be manufactured by the body and must be obtained from dietary sources. The body's ability to synthesize the nonessential amino acids such as arginine, and to utilize all amino acids, can be adversely affected by an individual's advancing age, overall health, organ health, the presence of infection, physical trauma such as injury, effects of stress, compromised nutrient absorption capacity, and imbalances of other nutrients.

The study of amino acids is making a major contribution to the understanding of diseases. Amino acid therapies have been used successfully to prevent aging, prevent heart disease, enhance memory, eliminate depression, control stress, improve sleep, relieve arthritis, reduce herpes, arrest alcoholism, manage allergies, and promote hair growth.

Arginine has been linked to enhanced immunity, the release of the Human Growth Hormone (HGH), greater muscle mass, rapid healing from injury, increased sexual potency, and helping to reverse atherosclerosis.

Sometimes one amino acid can cancel the effect of another. For example, arginine is reported to have an antagonistic relationship with lysine. On the other hand, arginine has a complementary relationship with ornithine, citrulline, and aspartic acid.

Side effects or interactions :

For most people, arginine has so far appeared to be free of obvious side effects. However, longer-term studies are needed to confirm its safety.

In a double-blind study, supplementation with 9 grams of arginine per day for six months, beginning within 3 to 21 days after a heart attack, resulted in an increase in the mortality rate. Therefore, people who have recently suffered a heart attack should probably not take large amounts of arginine. Arginine is beneficial for other manifestations of heart disease, such as heart failure and angina. However, because of the potential for arginine to cause adverse effects in heart patients, people with heart disease should consult a doctor before taking arginine.

People with kidney or liver disease should consult their doctor before supplementing with arginine. Some doctors believe that people with herpes (either cold sores or genital herpes) should not take arginine supplements, because of the possibility that arginine might stimulate replication of the virus.