‘Youth pill’ claims to increase hormone production to decrease signs of aging

23-Sep-2012 - Last updated on 24-Sep-2012 at 15:07 GMT

Scientists from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center claim to have discovered a ‘youth pill’ that can trigger a growth hormone in the body and decrease the signs of aging on the skin.

Presenting their findings at the Obesity Society's 30th Annual Scientific Meeting in Texas, the team claim that SanMedica International’s new SeroVital-hgh supplement shows, for the first time, that a proprietary combination of amino acids can stimulate the pituitary gland to increase the body's own HGH levels.

At the conference, the experts made the results of a double-blind clinical trial public for the first time: an orally administered compound capable of increasing mean serum (blood) growth hormone levels by 682 percent had finally been discovered.

Hormone production

Human growth hormone is a 191 amino acid, single chain peptide hormone that is manufactured in the pituitary gland in the brain, where it is released into the bloodstream and travels throughout the body.

It is known to increase collagen production and strengthen the underlying substructure of the skin's critical architecture, making it a prime choice for anti-aging products.

The body's natural production of HGH begins to decline in the mid-twenties, and experts believe that if it were possible to keep growth hormone at peak levels within the human body, it could seriously delay the signs of aging.

Synthetic HGH injections have been used in the past, such as in athletics (although the practice is now banned due to enhanced performance); however, there are fears that introducing synthetic human growth hormone into the body will upset the natural production of HGH.

Oral supplement

They are still used as part of beauty regimes, as they have been shown to smooth out wrinkled skin and increase muscle tone, but this is said to be very expensive.

“In short, after more than 30 years of time-consuming, detailed research, scientists have finally developed an affordable oral formula that encourages the pituitary gland to increase growth hormone production at a more youthful rate, naturally, without dangerous drugs or synthetic hormone injections,” says SanMedica.

Despite these claims, the supplement still carries a hefty price (at $100 a month) and is only worthwhile if part of a healthy lifestyle.