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| By Robert Cohen Executive Director |
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Taking Growth HormonesTaking 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. Robert Cohen, author of: MILK A-Z (201-871-5871) Executive Director (notmilkman@notmilk.com) Dairy Education Board http://www.notmilk.com Do you know of a friend or family member with one or more of these milk-related problems? Do them a huge favor and forward the URL or this entire file to them.
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