GABA and pituitary and HGH

We have talked about GABA that is the neurotransmitter, gamma aminobutyric acid. GABA is a primary brain inhibitory neuron.

The exception for GABA activity is the pituitary. For a quick refresher, the pituitary is often called the master gland because it coordinates so much hormone activity in the rest of the body including the thyroid, adrenal and reproductive glands. It does this in concert with the hypothalamus and from these connections we get something we call the HPA axis or hypothalamus, pituitary adrenal axis. This is primary system that helps your body maintain balance in a world of stressors.

Scientific inquiry into the connection between GABA and the pituitary goes back to the early 1980’s in Italy when research articles began to appear describing these connections. Like most novel research, this went mostly ignored with an article or two being published every decade by the few people interested.

I can’t say that hundreds of studies have proven that GABA supplements can increase your HGH but the few that have been done looking placebo controlled trials involving blood testing have been very promising.

So why might you care? If you are a body builder, you already know about the benefits of increasing your HGH or human growth hormone. OVitaminPro isn’t really into body building but overall health but we do learn from whatever source is giving us good clues as to what we might do to improve health. This brings us to the word sarcopenia.

If you are over 40, you are beginning to feel the effects of sarcopenia. The sacromere is the active unit of the skeletal muscle that you might find in your arms or legs. As we age, more and more of these sarcomeres are replaced with fat and connective tissue. The process is called sarcopenia which isn’t to be confused with sarcasm syndrome that can also increase with aging.