GF9 is a dietary supplement which claims to increase growth hormone (GH) levels by up to 682%. Its manufacturer is a company called Novex Biotech that claims to have sold over 7 million bottles of GF9, and has Shaq as a sponsor.

But is GF9 actually shown in research studies to increase GH levels by 682%? Does the product use research-backed ingredients? Does it have any unhealthy additive ingredients? And is it better or worse than popular GH supplements like Nugenix GH Boost?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the clinical trial on GF9 to give our take on whether or not the supplement is likely to be effective for increasing GH levels, and share our concerns about the research firm behind the study.

We’ll also analyze the ingredients in GF9 in terms of healthiness, and compare the supplement to other popular GH-boosters to pick our winners.

Key takeaways:

• Research organization and brand have same registered address
• We can't find any evidence this increases GH levels long-term
• We do not currently recommend GF9

Is GF9 Proven to Work?

The effect of GF9 on growth hormone levels has been studied in a clinical trial published in the American Journal of Therapeutics.

The research firm funding this study is called Sierra Research Group.

The registered address for Sierra Research Group (which doesn’t have a public website we can find) is the exact same as the registered address for Novex Biotech, according to OpenCorporates.

In our nearly 1,000 articles published on Illuminate Health to date, we have never before come across a company and a research firm with the exact same registered address, and this raises very obvious questions about potential bias.

The clinical trial did find that GF9 increased GH levels after 120 minutes. 

However, clinical research has shown for decades that amino acids can increase GH levels transiently.

We haven’t come across any clinical evidence that amino acid supplementation increases GH levels long-term, and Novex Biotech’s own website states that long-term effects “are being further examined”, as shown below:

Overall, we consider GF9 likely to increase GH levels short-term as shown in the clinical trial, although we haven’t come across any proven benefits of transient GH level increase, and we don’t currently have any reason to believe this supplement increases GH levels long-term.

Ingredient Analysis

The ingredients in GF9 are shown below:

The majority of ingredients in GF9 are amino acids or amino acid derivatives. Medical studies that we could find on amino acid supplementation and GH levels show mixed results in terms of the potential to increase GH levels.

A 1997 clinical trial reported that amino acid supplementation did not increase GH levels in individuals engaged in exercise, but did transiently increase GH (by around 50%) in resting subjects. 

Another study, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, found that l-arginine supplementation increased GH levels by around 100% at rest, but actually decreased GH levels compared to placebo when the trial participants were exercising. 

The arginine dosage in the above-linked study was nearly 300% higher than the entire GF9 proprietary (prop) blend dosage, of which arginine is only a small part. 

Both formulations of GF9 (capsules and powder) contain inactive ingredients that may be questionable from a health perspective.

The inactive ingredients in the capsules are shown below:

Titanium dioxide is banned as a food additive in the EU.

The inactive ingredients in the powder are shown below:

Natural flavors is a broad descriptor that fails to identify what specific flavoring additive(s) are used. As we documented in our review of another men’s health supplement called Red Boost, at least one medical review suggests potential health issues related to some flavoring additives.

Citric acid was shown in a medical review published in the Toxicology Reports journal to cause whole-body inflammation in some individuals.

Sucralose is an artificial sweetener that’s a strange choice for a GH support supplement, given that it was included in a class of sweeteners described to induce “metabolic derangements” according to a 2013 medical review.

Does GF9 Cause Side Effects?

The fact that GF9 has been studied in a clinical trial makes it a lot easier to assess the potential for side effects.

Only one case of minor side effects was reported by a trial participant, and the study authors suggest it was unrelated to supplementation but rather related to the blood draw process:

“The adverse events reported during the study were nausea and lightheadedness that occurred in a participant treated with the amino acid supplement. Both events were deemed unlikely related to treatment (they were attributed to study procedures, eg, blood draw) by the investigator.”

The ingredients in GF9’s prop blend have favorable safety profiles in our opinion.

Overall, we do not consider GF9 likely to cause side effects in otherwise healthy individuals.

Novex Biotech’s FAQ page does not mention any risk of side effects, and claims that “All of the ingredients contained in GF-9 have a history of safe use in healthy adults.”

GF9 vs. Popular GH-Boosters

Here's how GF9 compares to other popular GH-booster supplements in terms of potential effectiveness and potential healthiness, in our opinion:

Nugenix GH Boost

Like GF9, this supplement contains no active ingredients we consider likely to increase GH long-term, as we documented in our does Nugenix GH Boost work article.

This supplement contains inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy, so GF9 wins from a health perspective.

Winner: GF9

Transparent Labs Growth

Contains only one active ingredient, which was shown to be ineffective for the stated claims in a medical review published in the Journal of Sports Sciences.

At least GF9 was shown to be transiently effective.

Winner: GF9

Turkesterone

While this plant steroid is often touted for its ability to have anabolic effects in men, we cannot find any clinical research suggesting that turkesterone increases GH levels in adult males.

Winner: GF9

GF9 Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Backed by a clinical trial
• Should increase GH transiently
• No dangerous active ingredients
• Unlikely to cause side effects

Cons:

• Research group behind clinical trial and Novex Biotech share the same registered address
• We could not find clinical proof that this product increases GH long-term
• Capsules contain titanium dioxide
• Powder contains sucralose
• Powder contains citric acid
• Expensive

Conclusion

GF9 is clinically shown to increase growth hormone levels for a short period of time.

However, we could not find clinical evidence that this supplement increases GH levels over extended durations, nor can we find any clinical evidence that suggests this effect is likely, based on its active ingredients.

We do not currently recommend GF9 or see much purpose for this supplement, given that we can’t find any clinical evidence that transient increases in GH levels through amino acid supplementation confer any health or performance benefits.

Further, we’re concerned that the research firm that conducted the clinical trial on GF9 shares the same registered address as the supplement’s manufacturer.

Both the capsule and powder formulations of GF9 contain at least one inactive ingredient that we consider open to question from a health perspective, though we consider the capsules to be less concerning than the powder (which contains multiple questionable additives).

This supplement seems unlikely to cause side effects based on its ingredients, and its manufacturer does not mention any risk of side effects.

While we don't recommend GF9, we consider it to be better-formulated than Nugenix GH Boost, Transparent Labs Growth and a safer option than turkesterone.