Growth hormone is popular among athletes, therefore, its synthesis in the body is often stimulated. Find out what effect bodybuilding nutrition has on growth hormone. Growth hormone, or somatotropin, is a peptide hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gland. GH performs a large number of functions, for example, maintains a positive balance of protein metabolism in muscle tissues, stimulates production, and also prevents the destruction of protein compounds, etc. It should also be noted that growth hormone helps to accelerate fat burning processes. Today we will talk about the effect of diet and nutrition in bodybuilding on growth hormone.
Nutritional Hormone Changes
Scientists have found that a large number of changes occur in the body when eating, affecting the synthesis of growth hormone. First of all, it is customary to associate this with the periodic scheme of the production of a substance. According to the results of recent studies, fats, protein compounds and carbohydrates are able to independently affect the processes of growth hormone secretion.
When carbohydrates are consumed in their pure form or when they are combined with protein compounds, the synthesis of somatotropin is reduced. This continues for a couple of hours. The production of the hormone is also reduced when glucose is consumed. After a two-hour drop in the rate of production, the hormone peaks at about 240 minutes. From this it can be concluded that hyperglycemia contributes to a decrease in the level of growth hormone in the blood. Then hypoglycemia sets in, and growth hormone levels begin to rise. Consequently, carbohydrates contribute to a two-hour decrease in GH content, followed by an increase in its level.
These processes occur even with the use of certain amino acid compounds, for example, arginine, ornithine and lysine, which increase the synthesis of somatotropin. This is due to the large number of possible responses of the body to a protein-rich nutrition program or physical activity.
Scientists in the course of research have found that the synthesis of GH is accelerated by the use of beef, which is associated with the content in this product of a large amount of amino acid compounds. At the same time, when using the drug heparin, there will be no increase in the level of GH, which is associated with an increase in the content of fatty acids in the body. This made it possible to discover the properties of an inhibitor in fatty free acids in the blood. It should be noted that triglycerides are not endowed with such properties.
To date, there are still a large number of questions about the effect of diet and nutrition in bodybuilding on growth hormone. Scientists continue to research in this direction.
Exercise-related hormone changes
When protein compounds and carbohydrates are consumed, the level of GH changes under the influence of physical activity. It has been established that when protein shakes are consumed after training for two hours, the synthesis of somatotropin increases, while the glucose content in the blood decreases. The results of these studies once again confirmed the effect of hypoglycemia on the level of growth hormone.
It is well established that when supplements rich in protein compounds are consumed before and immediately after a training session, the level of growth hormone increases. Also, a change in the level of somatotropin was found when eating food under the influence of high loads.
With fasting and using a low-carb diet, the changes in GH levels were similar to those seen with a high-fat diet, but were more acute. This confirms that free fatty acids have inhibitory properties.
Scientists have conducted a study of the effect on the level of growth hormone isoenergetic drinks, which contain a large amount of fats and carbohydrates. The drinks were consumed 45 minutes before the start of the high-intensity workout, which lasted 10 minutes. Scientists noted a reduction in the area under the growth hormone level curve caused by exercise. At the same time, with the use of fatty foods, the changes were more than 50%, and with the use of carbohydrate foods - 25%.
After eating fatty foods, the level of growth hormone increased, which made it possible to speak of a relationship between the rate of GH synthesis and the presence of fats in food. It was also found that GH helps to reduce blood levels of ghrelin. This peptide was discovered relatively recently and is synthesized in the stomach. It was also found that this substance has a strong effect on the regulation of growth hormone levels. This fact is probably associated with the presence of another mechanism for reducing GH synthesis when eating foods rich in fats.
It must be said that the ability of fatty foods to lower GH levels more than a high-carbohydrate diet is somewhat bizarre and counterintuitive. Carbohydrates are known to increase blood glucose levels, which slows down the production of growth hormone.
Several studies have shown the ability of carbohydrate shakes, when consumed before, during, and after exercise, to reduce blood glucose, thereby increasing the rate of GH production.
Exercise-induced increases in somatotropin levels when using a diet rich in fat are associated with decreases in insulin and blood glucose levels during intense training. This fact may indicate the participation of receptors with a high sensitivity to glucose in the regulation of growth hormone synthesis.
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