Death Hormone

[VitD]

In Rays book regenerative energy he talks about the “death hormone”. What hormone in the body is this and what does it do to someone on the physiological level? Is it cortisol, growth hormone?

 

[AspiringSage]

In Rays book regenerative energy he talks about the “death hormone”. What hormone in the body is this and what does it do to someone on the physiological level? Is it cortisol, growth hormone?

Sounds like high TSH or high cortisol.

 

[Peatness]

He talks about it here also

Growth hormone: Hormone of Stress, Aging, and Death?

The name

raypeat.com

W. D. Denckla discovered that the pituitary hormones are in some way able to accelerate the process of aging. They block the actions of thyroid hormone, decreasing the ability to consume oxygen and produce energy. The diabetes-like state that sets in at puberty involves the relative inability to metabolize glucose, which is an oxygen-efficient energy source, and a shift to fat oxidation, in which more free radicals are produced, and in which mitochondrial function is depressed. Diabetics, even though it is supposedly an inability of their cells to absorb glucose that defines their disease, habitually waste glucose, producing lactic acid even when they aren't "stressed" or exerting themselves enough to account for this seemingly anaerobic metabolism. It was noticing phenomena of this sort, occurring in a great variety of animal species, in different phyla, that led Denckla to search for what he called DECO (decreasing consumption of oxygen) or "the death hormone." (Vladimir Dilman noticed a similar cluster of events, but he consistently interpreted everything in terms of a great genetic program, and he offered no solution beyond a mechanistic treatment of the symptoms.)

Simply increasing the amount of free fatty acids in the blood will act like DECO or "the death hormone," but growth hormone has more specific metabolic effects than simply increasing our cells' exposure to fatty acids. The hormone creates a bias toward oxidizing of the most unsaturated fatty acids (Clejan and Schulz), in a process that appears to specifically waste energy.
Growth hormone plays an important role in puberty, influencing ovarian function, for example.

Removing animals' pituitaries, Denckla found that their aging was drastically slowed. He tried to isolate the death hormone from pituitary extracts. He concluded that it wasn't prolactin, although prolactin had some of its properties. In the last publication of his that I know of on that subject, he reported that he was unable to isolate the death hormone, but that it was "in the prolactin fraction." Since rats have at least 14 different peptides in their prolactin family, not counting the multitude of modifications that can occur depending on the exact conditions of secretion, it isn't surprising that isolating a single factor with exactly the properties of the chronically functioning aging pituitary hasn't been successful.

Denckla's experiments are reminiscent of many others that have identified changes in pituitary function as driving forces in aging and degenerative diseases.

Menopause, for example, is the result of overactivity of the pituitary gonatropins, resulting from the cumulatively toxic effects of estrogen in the hypothalamus.

 

[Tenacity]

Growth hormone: Hormone of Stress, Aging, and Death?

The name

raypeat.com

Edit: Beaten to the punch

 

[Pablo Cruise]

Growth hormone: Hormone of Stress, Aging, and Death?

The name

raypeat.com

Edit: Beaten to the punch

Okay. Let's talk visible or measurable effects of GH since it is implied as an "bad" hormone. If it declines as we age and we are overcome with the typical aging symptoms, more fat around the belly, loss of muscle mass, poor energy levels how is GH bad when people have greater muscle mass(able to increase muscle mass), able to reduce body fat, increases organ size or restores to pre aging days and makes GH levels near the robust teen years? Something does not add up. Lean bodies, agility, increased vigor. Are some saying GH increases quality and reduces quantity (years) of health? GH is like a drug high?

 

[Risingfire]

Okay. Let's talk visible or measurable effects of GH since it is implied as an "bad" hormone. If it declines as we age and we are overcome with the typical aging symptoms, more fat around the belly, loss of muscle mass, poor energy levels how is GH bad when people have greater muscle mass(able to increase muscle mass), able to reduce body fat, increases organ size or restores to pre aging days and makes GH levels near the robust teen years? Something does not add up. Lean bodies, agility, increased vigor. Are some saying GH increases quality and reduces quantity (years) of health? GH is like a drug high?

Adrenaline can make people thin and lean but doesn't mean it's a good measure of health. And when is increasing organ size a good thing? I urge you to look at bodybuilders who have "gh gut" and then try to convince me it looks healthy. Look at liver king

 

[Pablo Cruise]

"Simply increasing the amount of free fatty acids in the blood will act like DECO or "the death hormone," but growth hormone has more specific metabolic effects than simply increasing our cells' exposure to fatty acids. The hormone creates a bias toward oxidizing of the most unsaturated fatty acids (Clejan and Schulz), in a process that appears to specifically waste energy.
Growth hormone plays an important role in puberty, influencing ovarian function, for example."

So in adolescence GH is okay but not okay in adulthood? Oxidizing fatty acids by GH can be prevented with natural antioxidants or supplements? The implication is GH is bad for fatty acid metabolism and will ultimately be harmful? I wonder if that can be addressed as mentioned above.

 

[Pablo Cruise]

Adrenaline can make people thin and lean but doesn't mean it's a good measure of health. And when is increasing organ size a good thing? I urge you to look at bodybuilders who have "gh gut" and then try to convince me it looks healthy. Look at liver king

I don't have any answers. Will have to investigate.

 

[Apple]

Growth hormone: Hormone of Stress, Aging, and Death?

The name

raypeat.com

Whatever the exact mechanism may be, it is clearly established that GH contributes to kidney degeneration, and the lack of GH, even the removal of the pituitary, is protective against kidney degeneration.

I've measured my kidneys once a year for the last several years and their size is clearly decreasing , every year for several milimiters.

 

[Pablo Cruise]

Growth hormone: Hormone of Stress, Aging, and Death?

The name

raypeat.com

Whatever the exact mechanism may be, it is clearly established that GH contributes to kidney degeneration, and the lack of GH, even the removal of the pituitary, is protective against kidney degeneration.

I've measured my kidneys once a year for the last several years and their size is clearly decreasing , every year for several milimiters.

A quick check of 2 studies indicates excess GH causes problems. I could assume low daily doses do not cause nephropathy.

 

[VonKeister]

Okay. Let's talk visible or measurable effects of GH since it is implied as an "bad" hormone. If it declines as we age and we are overcome with the typical aging symptoms, more fat around the belly, loss of muscle mass, poor energy levels how is GH bad when people have greater muscle mass(able to increase muscle mass), able to reduce body fat, increases organ size or restores to pre aging days and makes GH levels near the robust teen years? Something does not add up. Lean bodies, agility, increased vigor. Are some saying GH increases quality and reduces quantity (years) of health? GH is like a drug high?

It's igf that has most of those effects not GH. Women have less tissue (skin, bone, muscle, etc) than men despite their higher GH levels. GH stimulates igf production just like TSH or LH stimulate their target glands to release other hormones. Saying GH has all those effects is like saying TSH increases metabolism or LH is responsible for sperm production or beard growth

 

[Risingfire]

I don't have any answers. Will have to investigate.

Let me know your findings.

I'm pretty sure your body uses GH to grow organs/bones/tendons,. etc into maturity. Upon maturity it seems to be more problematic

 

[Peatress]

Ray discussing death and the idea of a 'death hormone'

54:31 - Question: Are some principles worth dying for? Pituitary, death, growth hormone, hypoxia