Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2006 10:04:30 -0400

From: Don Ardell <donardell@KNOLOGY.NET>

Subject: Talking to students about HGH -- A Pernicious Tradeoff: Add Life To Your Years But Lose Years From Your Life Doing So

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I am continually surprised at the number of students who ask for advice about HGH. This is a topic you would think would interest their grandparents, not kids just out of high school. Of course, maybe they ar= e inquiring FOR granddad, but I don't think so. Because human performance = is involved, HGH seems to be a hot topic, particularly among athletes lookin= g for an edge. How many others have found this to be an issue on campus?=0D =0D Decades ago, a survey was attributed to a sports-medicine physician, one that assessed the extent of the sacrifice elite marathoners would make to win the ultimate prize for that sport - Olympic gold. "Would you take a n= ew and powerful performance-enhancing chemical if doing so would enable a wi= n, even if it also carried a high probability of death from hazardous side effects relatively soon thereafter?" According to this urban-legend-like survey (which I was unable to verify), 88 percent of the marathoners poll= ed said they would take it.=0D =0D A similar question faces 36.3 million Americans over age 65, or the much greater number over age 50 or 40 or whatever age folks might be who decid= e their hormone levels needs a little supplementation. For anyone feeling = the effects of aging and not liking it, human growth hormone (HGH) injections= at one of this country's anti-aging centers might seem just the thing needed= to

feel and look young again. =0D

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A summary of the pros and cons, based upon a limited amount of objective scientific research (i.e., double-blind, cross over trials of a longitudi= nal horizontal and dignified nature), indicates taking HGH is a high-risk gamble. Doing so will almost certainly add life to your years, but there may be fewer years from using the stuff. =0D =0D The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that human growt= h hormone is being prescribed to tens of thousands of people each year at anti-aging or "age management" centers. Here are some of the pros and con= s of this practice, as described in "The Outlaw Drug: Despite Its Popularit= y, Most H.G.H. Use Is Illegal," The New York Times, August 20, 2006. =0D =0D Benefits include better body composition ratios (i.e., more muscle, less fat), lower blood pressure, dramatic weight loss, improved skin tone and improved athletic performance. HGH may speed the healing process and increase bone density in the spine. Also, according to one HGH fan who expressed surprise that not everyone was taking the hormone, it can "rest= ore sagging physiques, flagging endurance and wilting libidos as well as cure depression and sharpen mental acuity." Shoot, I'm almost ready to get me some of that stuff right now! =0D =0D Not inconsequentially, most who claim dramatic benefits from HGH acknowle= dge significant lifestyle changes (always encouraged at anti-aging centers), particularly better nutrition and vigorous exercise. Nobody would doubt that these variables made a difference, but how to properly attribute lif= e quality gains to one factor (HGH) versus others? Currently, doing so is pure guesswork. Yet, some testimonials seem to come with a religious fer= vor

Perhaps the time and costs invested in anti-aging center treatments mig= ht unconsciously influence some to believe they did the right thing. ($15,0= 00.

for a yearly cycle of growth-hormone injections is not atypical of costs

nationwide.) =0D

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What about the problems, or even complications, besides high costs? =0D Well, for starters, it's illegal. But then, so is marijuana and lots of folks enjoy that, anyway. As noted in the NYTimes article cited above, "= The Food and Drug Administration has banned H.G.H. for all but a few specific medical conditions (see "The Outlaw Drug"), and it has been banned by mos= t professional sports leagues in the United States and by the International

Olympic Committee." Well, that's not so good, but what else? =0D

=0D

Unfortunately, little research has been done on HGH. The long-term consequences are unknown, particularly on healthy people. What are optim= al doses, if any? At what point do risks increase? =0D =0D What are the negative indicators, based on evidence reported to date? Th= is list might give anyone at any age pause. It seems HGH can: =0D =0D

* Alter the body's ability to metabolize carbohydrates (which could lead= to blood-sugar imbalances and diabetes. =0D =0D

* Cause bones to thicken, contributing to joint pain and severe arthriti= s.=0D =0D

* Lead to high blood pressure, edema and congestive heart failure. =0D =0D

* Trigger uncontrolled cell growth, raising the specter of cancer.=20 According to sources cited in the Times, "studies have linked high production levels of growth hormone to the development of prostate tumors

and invasive breast cancer." =0D

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This does not exhaust pro and con arguments for HGH, but it should give y= ou an idea of how the promise of great returns carries high risks. This is true of investments, career options and much else in life. What to do ab= out HGH? There is only one answer, at least at this time with conclusive evidence not yet available: Apply critical thinking skills and take responsibility for doing what you think is best. =0D =0D As a wellness enthusiast given to reason and free inquiry, I might ask myself, "What would Spinoza do?" Would he, at my age, take HGH? Spinoza thought we all had a capacity for reason, and that capacity gave us our dignity and compassion. Lewis Wolpert, in "Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast," suggests that human reasoning is "beset with logical problems that include over-dependence on authority, overemphasis on coincidence, distortion of the evidence, circular reasoning, use of anecdotes, ignoran= ce of science and failures of logic." =0D =0D I plan to avoid all these errors by not relying on experts at anti-aging centers, by being wary of possible coincidences and distorted evidence, b= y keeping my reasoning from going in circles, by giving little credence to anecdotes and by checking out the science on this issue in a logical way.=

=0D

=0D

In other words, I'm not touching this stuff. =0D =0D Not yet, anyway. =0D =0D =0D =0D =0D Donald B. Ardell, Publisher =0D ARDELL WELLNESS REPORT =0D

288 Beach Drive NE, 11C =0D

Saint Petersburg, FL 33701 =0D

(727) 824-5645 =0D

Ph

D. wrote High Level Wellness: An Alternative to Doctors, Drugs and Diseas= e (Rodale, 1977, Bantam 1979 and Ten Speed Press 1986), a book credited wit= h starting the wellness movement. Since 1984, he has written twelve other popular books on personal responsibility, critical thinking and his three favorite topics associated with meaning and purpose, namely, politics, se= x and freedom from religion! =0D =0D =20

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