
Originally Posted by
RedBaron
It is true enough that there are many "growth hormones". We are just now beginning to identify a few of the more prominent ones. The HGH that we are familiar with is one of the majors and is responsible for enough functions that it has been approved for dwarf children and for adults with wasting diseases.
In a perfect world, of course it would be best if we could signal our own bodies to provide additional hormones ... whatever they be. That is always the best. In absence of that, what we try to do is add exogenous hormones while trying to cause the minimal amount of disruption to the natural order of things with regard to your body.
With HGH, that is why we preach leaving it alone when you are young (unless you have a disease of the pituitary and it is needed), why we want to pick injection times that don't completely derail our own endogenous production, and why we want to give our bodies a couple of days off each week to keep our natural triggers healthy and intact. In all areas of endocrinology, we have just scratched the surface of what is going on with our bodies. I have no doubt that in the coming years we will find newer and better ways to treat illnesses and raise the bar of maximum human performance to a much higher plain.
Back to your original premise though, it is certainly a valid point to keep stating the obvious ... if you are young, and your endocrine system is still developing and hasn't hit full stride (in your mid-20's in other words), you can make all the excuses that you wish, but you have NO business messing around with hormones ... you WILL damage yourself. It isn't a question of harm or not, it is a matter of to what degree. You may derail something that we aren't even cognizant that we should be looking out for now.
If you have a disease, then certainly you take the best information available right now and treat it as best as we know how today. You don't look back, because inevitably they will find out a better way down the line. If on the other hand you are merely looking for a shortcut to years of hard work and clean eating, then you are certainly going to look back at some point and realize your mistake.