Human growth hormones or HGH has been in the news a lot lately because it is considered more of a steroid or an enhancement drug because it helps to reduce fat and build lean muscle mass, in other words it could help to build an all-star athlete.  Additionally, human growth hormones are virtually undetectable because currently there is no reliable test available for someone using HGH although the Tour de France Cycling Commission has come up with a way to detect human growth hormones and has added them to the banned substance list for their participants.

Human growth hormones are naturally occurring production in the body to help cell repair and fight diseases.  Other uses for HGH include helping someone grow taller, maintaining weight loss, helping with hair growth in balding people, helping with the debilitating chronic fatigue of fibromyalgia patients, working as a natural antidepressant for those suffering from depression and increasing one’s libido.  In addition to athletes, HGH is sought after by celebrities, people who want to feel better and look younger, in addition to people of short stature.  Many of these types of people get their human growth hormones from licensed physicians while athletes get them from trainers who usually receive the HGH off the Internet.

Many high school and college level coaches fear that recent steroid exposure from high-profile athletes in the news will lead their athletes to either steroid use or HGH use.  Because it is so difficult to detect, there are no concrete statistics on human growth hormone usage; however there are some details about the side effects of HGH.  Some of the known HGH side effects include Corporal Tunnel Syndrome, insulin resistance which may lead to diabetes, stiffening of the joints or arthritis like symptoms which could lead to obesity from inactivity, muscle pains, bloating, joint pains, headaches, hardening of the arteries, abnormal growth of bones and other internal organs, high blood pressure and many other health concerns that have yet to be discovered because the long-term side effects of human growth hormones have not been studied fully.

Athletes of every age could obtain human growth hormones through the Internet without a prescription and without having their age.  Other athletes receive HGH from their friends who might work at a wedding castle, pharmacy or sandwich delivery shop because they have gotten them from the Internet first and are making money reselling them to their friends.

No matter what their sport, professional athletes need to set a good example for younger athletes by refraining from using steroids or human growth hormones in addition to speaking out against their usage in a public forum.  They tarnish their image and lose thousands of millions of dollars because of performance-enhancing drugs including HGH and that is the wrong message to send to youth.