The DHEA Breakthrough: Look Younger, Live Longer, Feel Better

Touted as the fountain of youth in pill form, DHEA, or dehydroepiandrosterone, is a hormone naturally produced by the body. The young body, that is; by age 85, you produce 95 percent less DHEA than at age 25. Stephen Cherniske, a biochemist who has tracked the research on DHEA for years, has compiled a handy reference to help sort out the hype from this hormone's reported helpfulness for boosting libido and immune function, improving bone density, aiding weight loss, relieving depression and atherosclerosis, and even reducing the size of tumors.

DHEA is inexpensive and readily available in health food stores or through the Web; that's about where the simplicity wears off. It's not regulated by the FDA, so recommended doses vary widely, from 10 to 50 milligrams or more a day. It's also available in both natural and chemical forms, and, unfortunately, sometimes in combination with potentially dangerous stimulants such as ephedra, an herb that has been shown to cause insomnia and an irregular heartbeat. Cherniske gives suggestions for which type of DHEA to buy and in what doses, depending on such things as your age and activity level, as well as recommended sources. He also provides a "longevity program" with suggested co-supplements, such as ginseng and vitamin B6, along with exercises suited to even the completely out-of-shape, to optimize the effectiveness of the DHEA. There's also information about the ins and outs of DHEA testing and how to analyze your results (Cherniske reminds us that "normal" often tells us nothing), and potential side effects for both women and men. Overall, Cherniske does an excellent job of separating fact from fiction about this controversial but quite extraordinary supplement.