By Robert Cohen Executive Director

Taking Growth Hormones

Taking Growth Hormones Works, and Therein Lies the Problem

Every time I open up my morning e-mail, there are dozens of
invitations to do goofy (stupid) things such as enlarge my
penis, buy tiny cameras to spy upon my family, share $22
million dollars with the mistress of an assassinated general
from Uganda, or enter a contest to win 50 pounds of lobster.
Casinos offer me $800 free to gamble with, while some
unknown Soviet mobster continues to offer me a Russian bride
for a small non-refundable fee.

By far, the most idiotic invitations are the ones promoting
that powerful growth hormone known as IGF-I which is
guaranteed to remove wrinkles from my face and reverse
aging.

WHAT DO HORMONES DO?

Each hormone regulates one or more of the thousands of
metabolic processes occurring every second inside of the
human body. Hormones are chemical messengers. For example,
adrenalin is a hormone.  When danger occurs (the fight or
flight response), the adrenal glands (located atop the
kidneys) secrete small amounts of epinephrine/adrenalin into
the bloodstream. We have all experienced the "adrenalin
surge" in which the heartbeat increases. Superhuman feats
often occur while under the influence of such hormonal
action (lifting a car off of an accident victim or fighting
off a gang of attackers).

Estrogen and progesterone are hormones; the magic of female
behavior is influenced by internal secretions of these
steroids. The male equivalent is testosterone.

Various hormones have various roles. Prolactin is
responsible for regulating milk production while insulin
regulates blood sugar levels.

GROWTH HORMONES

There exists a separate group of hormones that regulate
growth. These protein hormones (made up of amino acids)
instruct cells to grow. The first one of these to be
discovered was appropriately named 'Human Growth Hormone'
(hGH) or human somatotropin (hST). Dogs have canine
somatotropin (CST/CGH), pigs have porcine somatotropin
(pST/pGH), and cows have bovine somatotropin (bST/bGH).

Human growth hormone was discovered just before World War
II. It was so named because of what it did: promoted
cellular proliferation and growth. Two decades after GH was
discovered, an even more powerful growth factor was found,
IGF-I.

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) received its name because
its structure resembled insulin. However, its function is
nothing like insulin.

Had IGF-I been discovered before GH, it would have received
that name. IGF-I is much more powerful than GH. IGF-I is the
most powerful growth hormone known to science.

WHAT ARE LITTLE BOYS MADE OF?

Frogs and snails and puppy dog's tails, of course. Protein
hormones are made up of amino acids. GH has 191 different
amino acids. IGF-I has 70 amino acids.

Maps of these hormones can be made so that each amino acid
is identified as occupying a specific position on a chain.
For example, amino acid #10 in BST is leucine and amino acid
#12 is alanine. In IGF-I, amino acid #10 is cysteine while
#12 is methionine.

Every amino acid structure of every hormone is now known to
science.

HORMONAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SPECIES

Human growth hormone differs from chimpanzee growth hormone,
dog growth hormone, pig growth hormone, and cow growth
hormone.

VARIATION

Human and cow growth hormones both have 191 amino acids, but
the sequence of amino acids on that chain differs by about
35%.

A MIRACLE OF SCIENCE

IGF-I in humans and cows has no differences.

IGF-I, the most POWERFUL growth hormone in the human body,
is identical between humans and cows.

Manufacturers and multi-level marketing sales persons call
IGF-I the ultimate anti-aging formula. They claim that their
formula removes wrinkles and promotes athletic endurance. It
repairs muscle tears and promotes nerve growth.

ARE THE CLAIMS ACCURATE?

YES! IGF-I works! Hormones work. And that, dear reader, is
the problem.

THE MISSING LINK - CANCER IS COMMON, WAITING TO GROW

On November 8, 1994, the New York Times reported the results
of an autopsy study on pre-mature deaths (page C-1, Gina
Kolata). The study revealed that nearly 40% of women between
the ages of 40 and 50 have breast cancer, and virtually all
adults over the age of 50 have some form of cancer.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR A CANCER TO GROW?

Every cancer begins with one cell. That cell doubles, on
average, every ninety days. After three months, it is two
cells. After six months, four. After one year, the cancer is
16 cells in size. After twenty cycles, or doublings, that
cancer will grow to one million cells, which is the tiniest
lump a woman can feel in her breast.

It can between eight and twelve years for a cancer to be
clinically diagnosed. Somewhere along that timeline, the
cancer stops growing, usually suppressed by the immune
system's tight genetic control.

SOMETHING MAKES CANCER GROW

IGF-I has been called a key factor in the growth and
proliferation of breast and prostate cancers.

WOULD YOU TAKE A SUBSTANCE CONTAINING A KEY FACTOR TO
CANCER'S GROWTH?

Remove wrinkles from your face or get an extra burst of
energy and you might very well be lighting the fuse for your
future cancer diagnosis. IGF-I works. There is no debate. It
might very well work too well.

Respond to Internet spam by taking IGF-I today and in a few
years you might not make the connection between today's
phenomenal growth product and tomorrow's not-so phenomenal
cancer.

Email This Page to Someone you care about!

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Robert Cohen, author of:   MILK A-Z
(201-871-5871)
Executive Director (notmilkman@notmilk.com)
Dairy Education Board
http://www.notmilk.com

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