Health@Heart
Warning on DHEA
If you are one of those who have succumbed to the commercial claims on DHEA and are now taking this so called “food supplement” to make you feel younger, you better think again. You may not be in only for what you bargained for. There may be some disastrous surprises ahead of you.
What is DHEA?
Called by marketers as “superhormone, mother of all hormones, fountain of youth,” DHEA is a steroid hormone (dehydroepianderosterone), a chemical cousin of testosterone and estrogen. This is produced by the adrenals, small glands that sit on top of the two kidneys. Very little DHEA is produced the first five years of life, more around six or seven. It peaks at mid-20s and steadily declines after age 30. A 75-year-old will have only about 20%. The males have higher DHEA levels than females in their lifetime.
What are the claims?
DHEA has been tagged by the medical community as the snake oil of the 90s.
Too much hype has been accorded this over-the-counter drug, which manufacturers and dealers claim to increase longevity, make one feel younger, aid in weight control, prevent cancer, stroke, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and cures AIDS and many infections. Public ignorance and gullibility have contributed to the popularity of this potentially dangerous substance. The extensive marketing claims have fooled people, including some in the medical fields themselves, into taking DHEA.
Aren’t these claims familiar?
Indeed they are, from the commercial ads of so many food supplements flooding the market today, victimizing the unsuspecting and gullible public, who are eagerly seeking for an easy way, the “quick fix,” to better health and longevity, sans dieting and exercise. If these claims were true, the ones who introduced these “miracle” food supplements should be awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for coming up with one single pill or juice that could cure all illnesses on earth from athletes foot, to high blood pressure, infections, heart disease, liver ailments, kidney and prostate illnesses, to diabetes and other metabolic conditions, Alzheimer’s, AIDS, and even cancer. Obviously, these claims are unsubstantiated and false. The only thing these food supplements can do is to make their manufacturers and distributors grow richer and richer.
What do experts say?
“The one thing you should tell your readers is that we know very little about DHEA. The hype is out of control, and I can’t stress enough that it should be used with caution, IF AT ALL, until we know more,” says Samuel Yen, MD, professor of reproductive medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
“No one should take DHEA except under the supervision of a physician, who should routinely check steroid and cholesterol levels, glucose tolerance, and prostate health in men,” says John Nestle, MD, professor of endocrinology and metabolism at Virginia Commonwealth University, who studies DHEA’s effects on diabetes and blood clotting.
“It makes me very nervous that people are using a drug we don’t know anything about. I won’t recommend it,” says Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, MD, professor and chair, department of family and preventive medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
“Selling potent steroid hormones in health food stores or by mail could be a disaster in the making. DHEA should be classified as an investigational drug and used only in clinical research until we figure out what it does and its side effects,” says Peter Hornsby, PhD, associate professor of cell biology at Baylor College of Medicine. His team has just identified the body’s DHEA-making cells.
Why such harsh statements about DHEA?
Simple: to date we know very little about DHEA. There is no valid scientific proof that the DHEA “supplement” being marketed is effective at all for anything, and there is no evidence to show taking it is benign, and that after taking it for months or years, a person will not come up with brain, kidney, liver problems, or even cancer, etc. “Unfortunately, we don’t see the problems associated with hormone use until years later,” says Peter Casson, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine. He cited as an example the higher of breast cancer in women who took diethylstilbestrol (DES) to prevent a miscarriage, which was discovered only after years of use.
Arthur Feinberg, MD, in his article in the New England Journal of Medicine says: “The potential for irreversible side effects is real. So given that there’s no convincing evidence for any benefit of DHEA, I feel strongly that people should not take it.” Indeed, there could be serious risks and complications down the road. The decision, as always, is of course, yours. After all, its your life. (Please visit www.FUN8888.com)
