Supplements before Bed Question

[jwh7699]

I currently take:

2g of Glutamine
2g of Arginine
2g of BCAA's (Leucine, Isoleucine, & Valine)

before bed. To help raise HGH levels. Is this good or bad? Thanks!!

[Times Roman]

the secretagues that are supposed to stimulate the pituatary to release GH, in order of significance, are

Arginine
GABA
Glutamine

i've read 7 grams of arginine is the right doseage befoe bed
and 2 grams of gaba as well
not sure about the glutamine, (haven't tried)

and I've never heard of BCAA's being a secretague

additionally, i don't know anything about stacking secretagues before bed, whether good, bad, I don't know. And i don't think there have been on any studies on the issue, either.

Personally, the younger you are, the bigger the kick the arginine is supposed to have. Iwould just stick with that.

[jwh7699]

Thanks for the tips!! I do know the glutamine has helped me to be less sore after working out. It may be more of a recovery booster than a HGH booster. Glutamine helps me sleep better too.

I did have to cut back on the BCCA's to 1 gram because they seem to keep me awake. I'll consider stop taking them before bed altogether.

I haven't got my Arginine in the mail yet,so I'm looking forward to trying it.

What are your thoughts on GABA? It says it cannot cross the blood-brain barrier so is it an effective HGH supplement?

Thanks!!!

[Times Roman]

Thanks for the tips!! I do know the glutamine has helped me to be less sore after working out. It may be more of a recovery booster than a HGH booster. Glutamine helps me sleep better too.

I did have to cut back on the BCCA's to 1 gram because they seem to keep me awake. I'll consider stop taking them before bed altogether.

I haven't got my Arginine in the mail yet,so I'm looking forward to trying it.

What are your thoughts on GABA? It says it cannot cross the blood-brain barrier so is it an effective HGH supplement?

Thanks!!!

First, I'd just stick with the arginine before bed. Let's see if you can even handle the 7 grams without puking. Some can't. It sits heavy on my stomach and makes me feel nasaeus. Remember... must be taken on an empty stomach. There is a more expensive arginine analogue that isn't supposed to give you the sides, if you have the cash, this could be a realistic workaround.

Personally, I would not stack the arginine with the GABA. they both do the same thing, along the same pathways. What you could do is to go two weeks on the arginine and then 2 weeks on the GABA, rotating that way.

Glutamine is a real week secretague, and im not even sure if it is anything more than marketing hype. There have been some studies to suggest that it does stimulate the pituatary, but wether or not the amount is significant enough is up for debate. Personally, I'd ditch the glutamine and just keep it as post workout. Glutamine is a good post work out supplement, as it does aid in recovery.

Good luck!
---Roman

[GrowthFactor]

i was reading an article stating that taking 5mg of melatonin an hour before bed also raises growth hormone levels. it also helps to bring on the onset of your sleep cycle which isn't a bad thing. i would cycle off after 6 weeks though as your body will become dependent on it and stop producing its natural melatonin.

[jwh7699]

Thanks Roman!!

[Times Roman]

i was reading an article stating that taking 5mg of melatonin an hour before bed also raises growth hormone levels. it also helps to bring on the onset of your sleep cycle which isn't a bad thing. i would cycle off after 6 weeks though as your body will become dependent on it and stop producing its natural melatonin.

never heard of that.

do you have a link?

[Times Roman]

bump for the link request in #7

[AXx]

http://www.thebodywellusa.com/blog/d...els-naturally/

Here is one

[AXx]

Thats one of the ones I have read.

[Times Roman]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8370132

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

There is evidence that melatonin plays a role in the regulation of GH secretion. The aim of this study was to investigate the neuroendocrine mechanisms by which melatonin modulates GH secretion. Thus we assessed the effect of oral melatonin on the GH responses to GHRH administration and compared the effects of melatonin with those of pyridostigmine, a cholinergic agonist drug which is likely to suppress hypothalamic somatostatin release.

DESIGN:

The study consisted of four protocols carried out during the afternoon hours. Study 1: oral melatonin (10 mg) or placebo were administered 60 minutes prior to GHRH (100 micrograms i.v. bolus). Study 2: GHRH (100 micrograms i.v. bolus) or placebo were administered at 0 minutes; oral melatonin or placebo were given at 60 minutes and were followed by a second GHRH stimulus (100 micrograms i.v. bolus) at 120 minutes. Study 3: placebo; oral melatonin (10 mg); oral pyridostigmine (120 mg); melatonin (10 mg) plus pyridostigmine (120 mg) were administered on separate occasions. Study 4: placebo; oral melatonin (10 mg); oral pyridostigmine (120 mg); melatonin (10 mg) plus pyridostigmine (120 mg) were administered on separate occasions 60 minutes prior to a submaximal dose (3 micrograms i.v. bolus) of GHRH.

SUBJECTS:

Four groups of eight normal male subjects, ages 22-35 years, were randomly assigned to each protocol.

MEASUREMENTS:

Growth hormone was measured by RIA at 15-minute intervals.

RESULTS:

Oral melatonin administration had a weak stimulatory effect on GH basal levels. Prior melatonin administration approximately doubled the GH release induced by supramaximal (100 micrograms) or submaximal (3 micrograms) doses of GHRH. Melatonin administration restored the GH response to a second GHRH challenge, given 120 minutes after a first GHRH i.v. bolus. The GH releasing effects of pyridostigmine, either alone or followed by GHRH, were greater than those of melatonin. However, the simultaneous administration of melatonin and pyridostigmine was not followed by any further enhancement of GH release, either in the absence or in the presence of exogenous GHRH.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our data indicate that oral administration of melatonin to normal human males increases basal GH release and GH responsiveness to GHRH through the same pathways as pyridostigmine. Therefore it is likely that melatonin plays this facilitatory role at the hypothalamic level by inhibiting endogenous somatostatin release, although with a lower potency than pyridostigmine. The physiological role of melatonin in GH neuroregulation remains to be established.

[Times Roman]

^I think I'll post this in a seperate thread