DHEA as it is more often
called, is a steroid hormone produced in the adrenal gland. It is the
most abundant steroid in the bloodstream and is present at even higher
levels in brain tissue. DHEA levels are known to fall precipitously
with age, falling 90% from age 20 to age 90. DHEA is known to be a
precursor to the numerous steroid sex hormones (including estrogen and
testosterone) which serve well-known refunctions, but the specific
biological role of DHEA itself is not so well understood. It is
difficult for searchers to separate the effects of DHEA from those of
the primary sex steroids into which it is metabolized. The apparent
lack of any direct hormone action for DHEA has prompted the suggestion
that it may serve the role of a “buffering hormone” which would alter
the state-dependency of other steroid hormones. Although the specific
mechanisms of action for DHEA are only partially understood,
supplemental DHEA has been shown to have anti-aging, anti-obesity and
anti-cancer influences. In addition, it is known to stabilize
nerve-cell growth and is being tested in Alzheimer’s patients.
DHEA and Cancer
Early reports from England [Bulbrook, 1962, 1971] suggested that
DHEA was abnormally low in women who developed breast cancer, even as
much as nine years prior to the onset or diagnosis of the disease. Of
the 5000 women followed in the study, 27 developed cancer. Most of the
27 had abnormally low levels of DHEA. If low DHEA levels contributed to
breast cancer, might the opposite be true? Many years later, Dr. Arthur
Schwartz of Temple University found that supplemental DHEA
significantly protected cell cultures from the toxicity of carcinogens.
Cell cultures usually respond to powerful carcinogens with mutations
(changes in DNA), transformations (changes in cell appearance), and a
high rate of cell death. But when Schwartz added DHEA along with the
carcinogen, all three of these effects were significantly diminished.
Subsequent studies [Schwartz, 1979] identified powerful protective
effects of supplemented DHEA for breast-cancer-prone mice. The results
of the experiment was clear after 8 months. The control animals were
“getting cancer left and right” while the DHEA animals had no tumors.
In two later studies with different strains of mice, Schwartz found 75%
and 100% reductions in tumor incidence at 8 months of age and 50% and
75% reductions at 15 months of age [Schwartz, 1981; 1984]. DHEA has
demonstrated protective effects for cancers of the skin, lungs, bowel,
breast and liver. According to William Regelson, “Whenever [DHEA] has
been tested in a model of carcinogenesis and tumor induction, DHEA has
preventative effects.” Although DHEA is now beginning to be tested in
human cancer, it is still to early to know whether the successes
achieved in animals will be realized in humans.
The
Anti-Obesity Factor
At about the same time that Schwartz was investigating the
anti-cancer properties of DHEA, Dr. Terrence T. Yen was studying the
effect of DHEA on genetically obese mice. Although the DHEA-treated
mice ate normally, they remained thin — and they lived longer than
control mice. This “leanness” effect was also conspicuously noted by
Dr. Schwartz. In another experiment, Dr. M. P. Cleary found that even
middle-aged obese rats lost weight when fed DHEA-supplemented food.
Diabetes, a typical complication of obesity, was also dramatically
decreased.
DHEA and
Glucose Metabolism
Investigators have shown that DHEA inhibits glucose-6-phosphate
dehydrogenase (G6PDH), an enzyme that breaks down glucose. There are
two glucose-metabolizing pathways in the body, the catabolic,
energy-yielding pathway and the anabolic, biosynthetic pathway. G6PDH
happens to be the first enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway, the one
which results in the synthesis of fatty acids and ribose (the sugar
used in making deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA). In simple language,
G6PDH turns glucose into fat. DHEA’s inhibition of G6PDH may
redirect glucose from anabolic fat-production into catabolic energy
metabolism, thus creating a leaner metabolism.
DHEA and
Appetite
In different experiments, DHEA supplementation has resulted in
increased, decreased and unchanged food consumption. Dr. Schwartz found
that it is the level of dietary fat influences food consumption.
DHEA-treated rats on a high-fat diet ate less food than control rats
while those on a low-fat diet ate more.
Since DHEA inhibits G6PDH activity and suppresses the body’s ability to
synthesize fat from carbohydrate, dietary sources of fat become more
important. This can affect changes in appetite. But despite possible
increases in food intake, DHEA-treated animals consistently weighed
less than control animals. In other words, increases in appetite, when
indulged, did not negate the anti-obesity property of DHEA.
DHEA and Aging
The body’s production of DHEA drops from about 30 mg at age 20
to less than 6 mg per day at age 80. According to Dr. William Regelson
of the Medical College of Virginia, DHEA is “one of the best
biochemical bio-markers for chronologic age.” In some people, DHEA
levels decline 95% during their lifetime — the largest decline of an
important biochemical yet documented.
In animal studies, DHEA extends rodent lifespans up to 50%. The animals
not only lived longer, they looked younger. The graying, course-haired
controls could easily be distinguished from the sleek, black-haired,
DHEA-treated animals.
DHEA levels are directly related to mortality (the probability of
dying) in humans. In a 12-year study of over 240 men aged 50 to 79
years, researchers found that DHEA levels were inversely correlated
with mortality, both from heart disease and from all causes. This
finding suggests that DHEA level measurements can become a standard
diagnostic predictor of disease, mortality and lifespan. Furthermore,
if animal results hold true, supplemental DHEA may prevent disease,
reduce mortality, and extend lifespan in humans.
Enhancing Brain
Function
DHEA may also be intimately involved in protecting brain neurons
from senility-associated degenerative conditions, like Alzheimer’s
disease. Not only do neuronal degenerative conditions occur most
frequently when DHEA levels are lowest, but brain tissue contains many
times more DHEA than is found in the bloodstream. One of the scientists
at the forefront of this field of research is Dr. Eugene Roberts who
found that very low concentrations of DHEA were found to “increase the
number of neurons, their ability to establish contacts, and their
differentiation” in cell cultures. He also found that DHEA also
enhanced long-term memory in mice undergoing avoidance training. It may
play a similar role in human brain function.
Packing Information:
These powders are reduced down from kilo sizes. Each powder is put into a 4oz HDPE container, Heat Sealed and then labeled with dosing based off 1/4 tsp. Some items may be hygroscopic and may clump during shipment. This does not effect the efficacy of the product, but just the texture.
Weightloss 
