There are many different reasons why we all seek the help of supplements, whether we’re trying to build muscle mass, lose fat, or simply recover faster in the gym.
With so many bodybuilders seeking a competitive edge, it’s not uncommon for the topic of growth hormone and anabolic steroids to pop up once again.
As we get older, our body’s natural levels of growth hormone start to decline. Around the age of 30, it’s common to experience quicker exhaustion, a loss of lean muscle mass and a rise in body fat. These concerns usually bring men towards supplements and synthetic drugs for help.
In this case, it’s a battle of sermorelin vs ipamorelin and their ability to spike growth hormone levels. But before we dive into sermorelin vs ipamorelin and which is better, we need to gain some insight into human growth hormone itself.
What is growth hormone?
Human growth hormone (HGH) is produced naturally in the body by the pituitary gland. HGH works to spur growth in children and adolescents, while helping to regulate body composition, body fluids, muscle and bone growth, sugar and fat metabolism and even potentially heart function.
While growth hormone occurs naturally in our bodies, there is such thing as a growth hormone deficiency. However, growth hormone deficiency isn’t what’s likely to be holding you back from packing on muscle mass. But of course, that doesn’t stop many of us from seeking synthetic growth hormone to influence muscle growth, body weight and so on.
Sermorelin vs Ipamorelin
In order to understand sermorelin vs Ipamorelin and which is better, we first need to get to grips with both Sermorelin and Ipamorelin individually.
So, let’s get stuck in!
What is Ipamorelin?
Ipamorelin is a commonly used peptide that belongs to the growth factor family. It works to stimulate growth hormone release – with this type of peptide called Growth Hormone Secretagogues (GHS).
Sounds confusing, right? It isn’t really once you get your head around the terms. A ‘secretagogue’ is a substance that causes another substance to be secreted – in this case, growth hormone levels.
Since we already understand the impact of growth hormone levels, we can quickly see why Ipamoreline has become popular for muscle growth and achieving a lean body weight.
Ipamorelin acts as a GHS by triggering the receptors for the hunger hormone (ghrelin), just like MK-677 Ibutamoren.
Typically, ghrelin receptors send a signal towards the pituitary gland, stimulating growth hormone output.
Why was Ipamorelin created?
Ipamorelin was originally developed to speed up the recovery of gastrointestinal function in patients post bowel surgery. However, it was discontinued for use in this area as it was deemed ineffective.
How to use Ipamorelin
Ipamorelin is a white powder that must be reconstituted with bacteriostatic water before use. Similar to other peptides, it has to be injected subcutaneously and injection sites must be rotated to prevent lipodystrophy.
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With clinical trials failing to show the effectiveness of Ipamorelin, its official production has been discontinued. However, that doesn’t stop many from seeking pituitary hormones online illegally.
Currently, the peptide is not FDA-approved for human use and it is not a subject of any regulation.
What are the benefits of Ipamorelin?
The main benefit of Ipamoreline is its power to spike growth hormone release, which can occur around 40 minutes after injection.
By stimulating the pituitary gland, Ipamoreline can have the following benefits:
- Reduced body fat
- Increased energy levels
- Increased collagen production
- Increased lean body mass
- It can support the repair of cartilage and nerves
- Can improve sleep quality
- Increased IGF-1 (insulin growth factor hormone)
- Increases bone density
- Less appetite stimulation than GHRP-6
- Improved sexual performance / sex drive
- Slowed ageing
However, since clinical trials found it to be pretty ineffective, the evidence from animal studies may suggest that only a few of the above are true. So much so, that some studies have shown it could potentially lead to weight gain instead of fat loss.
Side effects of Ipamorelin
Like any type of unapproved drug, Ipamorelin has its own set of potential side effects, including:
- Headaches / feeling lightheaded
- Water retention
- Fatigue
- Decreased insulin sensitivity
- Carpal tunnel symptoms
- Numbness in extremities
As we mentioned above, Ipamorelin can deliver a spike in growth hormone some 40 minutes after injection. However, this spike is followed by a dramatic decline, with growth hormone levels returning back to baseline after around 3 hours.
This is due to the half life of Ipamorelin, which is less than 2 hours when injected subcutaneously and even shorter when taken intravenously.
Experiments with rats revealed that 4x daily administration of ipamorelin leads to an increase in mean HGH levels, IGF-1 levels, and weight gain.
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Unfortunately, minus the outcome of Ipamorelin treatment on postoperative ileus, further effects of Ipamorelin haven’t been studied in humans. This leaves room for major concern, and with such a short half life, the rapid decline of HGH levels quite frankly doesn’t make this peptide worth it.
What is Sermorelin?
First developed in the 1970s, Sermorelin is another peptide that contains 29 amino acids whose primary function is to stimulate growth hormone HGH levels.
Sermorelin is often used alone, and combined with GHRP-2 and GHRP-6.
Yet again, Sermorelin’s power to stimulate growth hormone GH means that it is typically used in children with a growth hormone deficiency. It is rarely used for adults lacking growth hormone, but can be under the discretion of a treating physician.
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What are the benefits of Sermorelin?
Much like Ipamorelin, Sermorelin can encourage the pituitary gland to increase growth hormone production. Therefore, it can deliver the following benefits associated with a boost of growth hormone:
- Increased lean muscle mass
- A positive impact on the immune system
- Increase of beneficial natural sleep patterns (HGH releases in excess during deep sleep)
Side effects of Sermorelin
Studies have shown these possible side effects of taking Sermorelin:
- Difficulty swallowing
- Itching
- Changes in the perception of taste
- Dizziness
- Flushing
- Tiredness
- Headache
- Vomiting
- Hives
- Issues sitting still
Sermorelin vs Ipamorelin which is better?
So, when it comes to Sermorelin vs Ipamorelin, which should you choose?
Although both Sermorelin and Ipamorelin stimulate growth hormone production, Sermorelin is a little different in the way that it works.
Sermorelin works to increase growth hormone levels naturally – while Ipamorelin is synthetic. Because of this, Semorelin doesn’t carry the same fears of affecting natural growth hormone production.
For a true Ipamorelin vs Sermorelin comparison, let’s break it down:
Ipamorelin
- Half life of less than 2 hours
- Can spike growth hormone output in 40 minutes after injection
- Had a rapid decline and return to growth hormone baseline levels after 3 hours
- Increases appetite and can lead to fat gain
Sermorelin
- Half life of 10 to 20 minutes
- Increases growth hormone levels for 2 hours after injection
- FDA approved for growth hormone deficiency
- Nausea, facial flushing amongst potential side effects
Put simply, Semorelin has a greater amount of clinical studies, with FDA approval for the use of treating growth hormone deficiency. According to human trials, Sermorelin leads to an increase in HGH for 2 hours after administration.
However, Semorelin is subject to a negative feedback mechanism by somatostatin, making it unable to push growth hormone levels above physiological norms.
In short, Ipamorelin requires a lot further research. Its adverse effects mean it has been deemed ineffective by many, whether in the treatment HGH deficiency or its use by bodybuilders seeking to lower body fat, improve body composition and improve muscle growth.
What about CJC 1295?
CJC 1295 and Ipamorelin is a common combination of two popular peptides.
While Ipamorelin mimics ghrelin and binds to the ghrelin receptor in the pituitary gland, the combination of CJC 1295 and Ipamorelin is able to increase human growth hormone by acting in two different families of receptors.
What is CJC 1295?
A synthetically created peptide, CJC 1295 was originally developed to treat diseases. However, much like anabolic steroids and other pituitary hormones, it can have performance-enhancing effects that have made it popular with athletes.
CJC 1295 – a peptide – works to increase protein synthesis and insulin like growth factor levels. This encourages muscle tissue growth, therefore increasing muscle mass and ability.
CJC 1295 and Ipamorelin vs Sermorelin
Ipamorelin and CJC 1295 are often used together to stimulate muscle development. This popular combo works by increasing the blood level of hormones associated with growth – improving recovery time and sleep quality, as well as increasing muscle growth and strength, while decreasing body fat.
But before we start comparing CJC 1295 and Ipamorelin vs Sermorelin, let’s check out the benefits of CJC 1295:
- Increase in muscle mass
- Increased bone density
- Strengthened cardiovascular system
- The ability to burn fat faster
- Increase in sex drive
- Improved recovery time
- Strengthened immune system
What about side effects of CJC 1295 and Ipamorelin?
The most common side effects of this combination of peptides is:
- Injection site soreness / pain
- Flu-like symptoms
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Drowsiness
- Flushing
- Hives and other skin reactions
- Hyperactivity
- Difficulty swallowing
CJC 1295 and Ipamorelin vs Sermorelin
With CJC/Ipamorelin more concentrated and taken in smaller doses over five days compared to the seven days needed to enjoy the benefits of Sermorelin – it can be difficult to determine which is ‘better’ as it can often depend from one user to the next.
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Before making a decision, it’s best to review the potential benefits and whether they outweigh the potential side effects.
*Please note, we don’t endorse the use of Sermorelin or Ipamorelin treatment in any way, and would always recommend you opt for a healthier, safe alternative.
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