How to Increase Growth Hormone Naturally (the right way)

Human growth hormone is one of those pesky things that starts to decline with age and has a major impact on our quality of life. Finding ways to increase growth hormone naturally is one of the most useful biohacks to keep yourself looking as young as possible, for longer.

So much of aging is unavoidable, but you can totally do something about the timeline!

Below I’ll share all the best scientifically proven methods to increase growth hormone naturally, through diet and lifestyle tweaks.

So here we go!

Table of Contents

What is Human Growth Hormone

Human Growth Hormone (HGH), or somatotropin, is produced in the pituitary gland. Its most famous role is in the growth and development of the body in childhood and adolescence, when it’s at its highest level. After that it will begin to decline as we age.

It declines more rapidly in men than in women, during the ages of 30 and 50. However, there is a sharp decline in levels for women during menopause.

HGH is regulated in response to things like stress, exercise, nutrition, sleep, sex hormones, and belly fat. It can act directly or indirectly, mainly through the Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which affects growth and metabolism.

Basically:

It induces growth in almost every tissue in the body, including bone and cartilage.
IGF-1 increases metabolism, anabolism, and cellular replication and division.
It affects fat metabolism and helps maintain a healthier body composition (fat to muscle ratio).
It’s also responsible for prolonging cell lifespan.

Growth hormone is secreted in pulses with a major surge happening at the onset of slow-wave sleep and smaller pulses a few hours after meals.

Generally speaking, HGH is higher during periods of fasting and certain conditions of physical stress. Glucose (sugar) and fats have a dulling effect on HGH release.

… and why should you care?

Deficiency in HGH usually starts being noticed around the age of 40 and can come in the form of low energy, decreased strength and muscle mass, abdominal weight gain, high total cholesterol, thin and sagging skin, lower libido, trouble sleeping. Low levels of HGH are also linked to a decrease in bone mass.

HGH is important for maintaining a healthy ratio of lean body mass to fat (body composition).

As mentioned previously, HGH levels start to decline around the age of 30, although in women this is more the case after menopause. However, there is not an abrupt decline, which suggests that there are other factors involved, other than estrogen level decline.

Most of the changes noticed in body composition can be better explained through age-associated increases in body fat, particularly abdominal fat.

High HGH levels also seem to stimulate Resting Energy Expenditure (calorigenic effect), meaning you burn more calories even when not working out.

Overall increasing your HGH levels will encourage growth of muscle mass, enhancing protein synthesis, and benefiting cellular reproduction and regeneration. It will also encourage tissue repair, accelerating recovery after physical trauma.

Why increase growth hormone NATURALLY?

HGH has been prescribed by doctors for quite a few decades, usually in cases of growth issues in children and severe HGH deficiencies in adults.

However, many athletes supplement with it to enhance muscle growth and output. Other people use it as a general anti-aging therapy. These are “off-label” uses and there are good reasons not to play around with it, as a lot of times even doctors can’t prevent unwanted side-effects.

The main reason you might want to increase growth hormone naturally is because supplementing with synthetic HGH is connected to insulin resistance. This is a well-known side-effect of HGH replacement therapy.

Artificial growth hormone can’t mimic the natural pattern that is a result of the pituitary HGH release, in which insulin acts independently and does not have this effect.

I’m sure you’ve heard the term insulin resistance, but it basically means that the cells stop responding to insulin correctly. Insulin manages blood sugar and affects fat and protein metabolism.

Every time you eat, your blood sugar levels go up and your pancreas releases insulin in response, so that cells know to absorb sugar from the blood, lowering the levels.

If you start to become resistant to insulin, due to chronic high levels or damage to your pancreas, your blood will have too high a level of glucose circulating. This is toxic (inflammatory) to the body and can further damage the pancreas, making the situation worse.

Insulin resistance is an important factor in a bunch of pretty serious conditions, like diabetes and heart disease, and can cause all kinds of hormonal imbalances.

INCREASE GROWTH HORMONE NATURALLY
– Lifestyle

1 – Reconsider your use of oral estrogen

That means contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy.

Growth hormone is tied to estrogen levels: the more estrogen, the more HGH is produced by the pituitary.

There are also differences between men and women. Both men and women have similar levels of growth hormone on a fasted state (upon waking in the morning). However, women will see rises in HGH during the day and throughout their menstrual cycle.

There is a rise during the luteal phase, right after ovulation.

Researchers suggest that this higher level might have a stimulating effect on the breast gland and play a role on the development and maintenance of breast tissue. However, probably because it’s not paired with high testosterone, it does not produce more muscle mass, like it does in men.

Now, this is endogenous (internal) estrogen that the body produces naturally. Oral (synthetic) estrogen on the other hand seems to have a negative effect on growth hormone metabolism. It suppresses its action mostly at the level of the liver, potentially making hypopituitary conditions worse and affecting body composition (fat-muscle ratio).

In studies involving men and women with a sluggish pituitary being treated with growth hormone therapy, women on oral estrogen had a significant increase in fat mass.

Both transdermal (patches) and oral estrogen (like the pill) led to a decrease in lean body mass. There were changes in body composition (ratio of muscle mass to fat), though not necessarily in weight.

The studies on oral estrogen do report contradicting information and it may be a question of the type of estrogen formula used or the concentration of the dose. But, it’s important to be aware of it if you’re struggling with maintaining a healthy muscle mass.

2 – Focus on HIIT exercises

Exercise is an EXCELLENT way to increase growth hormone naturally!

All forms of exercise will result in HGH release, but the level of the response to exercise seems to be connected to the intensity and duration.

An exercise intensity above lactate threshold for a minimum of 10 minutes seems to produce the greatest release of growth hormone.

Lactate threshold basically means when you’re breathing heavily, your heart is pounding, and you probably have a burning sensation in your muscles.

When comparing intensity bouts of 6 seconds and 30 seconds, 30 seconds produced a much higher HGH release (more than 450%) and it remained elevated longer (90-120 minutes later).

As with supplements, exercise mainly causes short-term spikes in growth hormone levels. But over the long term, exercise optimizes your hormone function and decreases body fat, both of which will also benefit your HGH levels.

3 – Get your sleep!

Sleep, along with exercise, is one of the two most powerful stimulators of growth hormone release.

There is a growth hormone surge during sleep that is directly linked to it, since it will not take place in case of sleep deprivation.

This surge comes more specifically at the onset of Slow-Wave Sleep, or Deep Sleep, thought to be important for restoration, recovery, and memory consolidation in humans.

It was also found that in sleep following a period of sleep deprivation, there will be an even greater growth hormone spike that may be followed by second waves.

4 – Incorporate fasting

Studies have found that the growth hormone release can increase 5-fold following a two day fast.

This increase is in both the number of bursts, as well as in the amounts released. It is believed that the increase in HGH levels during fasts plays a part in the self-regulation of the body during long periods of starvation.

You see, during fasts growth hormone is the major anabolic hormone responsible for the body’s change of fuel source, from carbohydrates and protein to fat (ketogenesis). In a fasting situation this results in the use of the body’s own fat stores to maintain balance (lipolysis).

This process is triggered by the low insulin levels in the body, when there is no food intake.

There are several types of fasts. If you want to give it a shot, please consult with your health care provider and do some research to see which might be more appropriate for you.

5 – Another excellent excuse for SAUNA!

In a study of growth hormone response in sauna conditions they reported a HGH increase at 100°C (212°F) during three different sessions of Finnish sauna (meaning dry heat).

Another study looked at daily dry sauna sessions (80°C/ 176°F) of 1 hour for a period of 7 days and also saw an increase in HGH release in men.

There were women involved in that study, but they were not measured for growth hormone…

However, 5 out of 7 women experienced amenorrhea (lack of period) after the experiment, so maybe the high intensity of this sauna experiment might have a negative effect for women.

6 – Lose excess body fat

If you’re carrying around too much extra body fat, lose it! This is one of the best ways to increase growth hormone naturally.

Studies show a direct result between loss of body fat in obese individuals and HGH levels. Not only there is an increase in spontaneous growth hormone bursts, but there is also a better response to HGH levels in the body.

Even if you’re not overweight, but you tend to store fat around your waist, keep an eye on it. As already mentioned, abdominal fat is one of the best predictors for bad HGH response in the body.

Higher levels of growth hormone and the body’s improved response to it will in turn further stimulate more fat loss, as mentioned above. This will increase protein stores and lean body mass, decreasing the body’s fat mass.

7 – Reduce insulin spikes

Studies have shown that part of the growth hormone response is tied to the insulin levels in the body. Obese people, who usually have higher insulin levels, have a lower HGH response.

Other studies comparing HGH response to high carbohydrate-low protein diet vs. a high fat-low protein diet found that the high carbohydrate diet, which leads to constant high insulin levels, interfered with the tendency of the growth hormone to promote fat loss.

This means that another excellent way to increase growth hormone naturally in your body is to try to eat less frequently and concentrate on eating a whole foods-based diet.

INCREASE GROWTH HORMONE NATURALLY
– Foods

Below you will find a list of nutrients well known for increasing growth hormone naturally.

Most of the research done on those nutrients and growth hormone levels have been done using supplements.

Supplementation is obviously a tricky thing, because in real-life nutrients never work in a vacuum. We receive them through food and so always as part of a whole.

There is always interplay, synergy, symbiotic relationships, and a careful balance that we still can’t imitate. Too much of one nutrient might affect the levels of another, throwing off the balance.

For this reason I’m very selective of the supplements I do take and I’m very weary of introducing new ones.

You can find all the elements mentioned below in supplement form, if you want to go that route. But below I’m also giving you a list of foods that either are rich in that particular nutrient/amino acid/neurotransmitter or elevate its levels in the body.

1 – Arginine

Arginine is a type of amino-acid known for improving blood flow through conversion into nitric oxide. It helps heal injuries and boosts immune function.

Arginine supplements have been shown to increase growth hormone naturally by 100% when compared to resting levels.

When arginine intake was coupled with exercise it increased it by 200%. However, just exercise alone will increase HGH by 300-500%, so arginine-rich foods would probably be best not taken around the same time as the exercise session itself.

Foods naturally high in arginine include:

turkey breast, pork loin, chicken
pumpkin seeds, peanuts, sesame, walnuts, almonds
spirulina, spinach
mollusk, dairy
chickpeas, soybeans, and lentils
squash, oats, and chocolate

2 – GABA

GABA, or gamma-aminobutyric acid, is a neurotransmitter that helps you feel relaxed. It’s important for mood, sleep, and pain management. It helps fight low blood pressure and anxiety.

It’s been found to increase growth hormone naturally by about 400% when compared to resting levels.

High GABA foods:

cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower,
Brussels sprouts)
soy beans, adzuki beans (especially when sprouted)
mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes
buckwheat, peas,
chestnuts
sweet potatoes
sprouted grains, rice (specifically brown rice)
white tea

3 – Melatonin

Melatonin is well-known as a potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune regulator. It also contributes to regulating the circadian system, has tumor inhibiting properties, and is good for the heart and blood pressure, amongst other things.

Oral melatonin has been shown to also increase growth hormone naturally.

Foods with higher concentrations of melatonin are:

eggs, fish, meat and milk
wheat, barley, oats
grapes, cherries, kiwis, and strawberries
tomatoes, peppers, and mushrooms
mustard seeds, pistachios
coffee, brewer’s yeast

4 – Glutamine

Glutamine is another amino acid known to increase growth hormone naturally. It’s critical to the immune system and intestinal health, helping to repair tissue and grow healthy cells, among other things.

We usually produce it in abundance, but we can be deficient in it during times of illness or physical stress and injuries.

Glutamine-rich foods:

highest in animal foods (protein-rich): beef, chicken, lamb, and eggs
seafood, particularly salt-water fish
milk and yogurt
nuts in general: almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, etc.
red cabbage and dark-leafy greens
soybeans, kidney beans, peas, chickpeas

5 – Glycine

Another amino acid, the second most widespread in the body, helps to promote muscle growth, heal lining of gastrointestinal tract, slow down the loss of cartilage in joints and skin, improve sleep quality, produce red blood cells, and more.

It’s also linked to higher HGH levels in the body.

Glycine-rich foods:

bone broth and animal proteins, such as
meat, dairy products, poultry, eggs and fish
gelatin
vegetables, like spinach, kale, cauliflower, cabbage and pumpkin
fruits, such as banana and kiwi

6 – Vitamin D

A fat soluble vitamin and hormone precursor. It has a vital role in mineral metabolism and bone growth, by regulating the levels of calcium and phosphorus in the body.

Vitamin D is mostly synthesized through direct exposure to sunlight, but many people are deficient in it, either because of where they live or as a result of directly avoiding the sun.

Sunscreens with high SPFs also effectively block vitamin D synthesis. Low levels are considered an independent risk factor in overall mortality. Deficiencies are a risk factor in cancer, heart disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, depression, auto-immune diseases, to name a few.

It has a complicated relationship with growth hormone that is not entirely understood. Having too little vitamin D as well as having too much will interfere with HGH release. So, just make sure you’re not deficient in it, not just for all the reasons mentioned above, but also for adequate levels of growth hormone in your body.

Foods highest in vitamin D:

salmon, herring, sardines, tuna
egg yolk
cod liver oil

As you can see there are quite a few things you can do to increase growth hormone naturally. As with a lot of things about getting older, it pays to be on top of it before you get to 40 and really start noticing the effects of declining levels.

And it’s not just a matter of HGH levels. All the things mentioned here will really benefit your body and health in a variety of ways. It always pays to prioritize proper sleep, exercise, and nutrition whenever possible.

Remember that it’s much easier, both physically and mentally, to adopt a few good preventative habits, than it is to overhaul your entire routine in the hopes of backtracking a condition that has been developing for years and is now chronic.

I hope you found the information useful and let me know if you have any comments or questions below.

How to Increase Growth Hormone Naturally (the right way)