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Beyond the Basics of DHEA

More Information on the AntiAging Benefits and Risks of DHEA

If you’ve read some of the hype about DHEA and are tempted to try it, read our first article about DHEA Risks and Benefits

Also read our response to a DHEA user reconsidering its risks, DHEA Side Effects.

If you’re skeptical that a supplement sold over the counter could really do what its proponents say, you should know that the International Olympic Committee and the National Football League have banned the use of DHEA by their athletes because they are convinced that its effects are very similar to those of anabolic steroids.

The body’s naturally-occurring DHEA is produced primarily in the morning hours; so if you are supplementing, take your dose in the a.m. to mimic the natural rhythm of DHEA production.

Take the lowest dose possible since the long-term risks of DHEA supplementation are not known. The best way to know the proper dose for you at any given age is to have your serum level tested.

In any event, unless prescribed by a healthcare professional, no one under 40 should take DHEA as a supplement. The recommended maximum dose for those over 50 is 50 mg a day.

One medical source, The University of Maryland Medical Center, advises women to limit their dose to 25 mg a day and adds that doses as low as 5 mg a day have shown benefits in both sexes.

Take care when purchasing DHEA supplements. Since they are sold as supplements rather than drugs, there is no quality control on their strength or purity. You could be taking more or less than you think.

One test of various brands found the strength varied from 0% to 150% of what was stated on the labels. Stick with brands you trust.

[Update: Good Housekeeping (GH) confirmed in its October 2006 issue that supplement manufacturers continue to misrepresent the actual amount of DHEA actually contained in their pills.

GH sent eight different brands of DHEA to independent labs for testing. Three of the eight contained significantly less DHEA than the amount stated on the label.

Mass Quantities' DHEA contained 40.2 mg compared to the label's stated 100 mg and Only Natural's contained 22.5 mg while the label claimed 50 mg.]

Check the label’s ingredients. If you want actual DHEA, the ingredient list should say “DHEA”, not “diosgenin” or “wild yam extract”.

Marketers of those products claim that the plant sterol, diosgenin, is converted into DHEA by the body. Such conversion would require several chemical reactions in the body. There is no evidence to demonstrate that these actually occur.

When you buy, buy a brand you can trust like Biochem DHEA, to assure you are getting pharmaceutical grade DHEA which is free of contaminants.

If you suffer from symptoms which you believe would be alleviated by DHEA but are concerned about the risks of hormonal supplements, you can safely try 7-Keto DHEA Metabolite, which is a natural metabolite of DHEA but does not convert to estrogens or androgens. Research indicates that 7-Keto is a more active inducer of thermogenic enzymes than DHEA and is well tolerated.

This article is for informational purposes only. It does not purport to render medical advice.

 

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