DHEA: the feelgood hormone
Tired and tapped out? Upping your levels of DHEA could be the answer, says Marcelle Pick
Twenty-eight-year-oldworking mom Lisa was so worn out when she came to see me, she couldn’t get out of bed. Just driving to my practice took everything she had.
I listened to her story and recommended we test her adrenal glands. The results revealed severe adrenal imbalance and low levels of an important hormone called DHEA.
DHEA, or dehydroepiandrosterone, is a natural steroid and precursor hormone produced by the adrenals. It’s also available at health food stores and online as an over-the-counter supplement.
Manufacturers hype it as a magic cure-all for many things: muscle loss, weight gain, osteoporosis, depression— even menopause.
A few years ago, headlines linked DHEA to athletes “doping” with steroids, leading to a lot of confusion about DHEA, its role in the body, and how it should be used. DHEA was labeled as everything from a “fountain-of-youth drug” to a fraud. But its very real benefits, particularly for women, got a little lost in all the controversy.
The truth is, for the women who need it, adrenal support with DHEA supplementation can make a big difference. I’ve seen it help patients get going again when they feel like they’ve hit rock bottom. But it’s never as simple as just popping a pill.
When used appropriately—in a therapeutic setting under medical supervision—DHEA is a critical component of a plan to jump-start hormonal balance.
Just ask Lisa. After two months of treatment that included lifestyle changes and adrenal support with low daily doses of DHEA, she was finally feeling like herself again.
What’s the deal with DHEA?
DHEA is a steroid hormone synthesized from cholesterol and secreted by the adrenal glands. The adrenals are a pair of walnut-sized glands located right above your kidneys.
Symptoms of low DHEA
• Extreme fatigue
• Decrease in muscle mass
• Decrease in bone density
• Depression
• Aching joints
• Loss of libido
•Lowered immunity
The average adult makes about 25 mg of DHEA per day (some more, some less) with dwindling production as we get older. Men at all ages have more DHEA than women.
Natural DHEA production is at its highest in your 20s: by the time we reach age 70, we make only about 20 percent of the DHEA we did when we were young.