DHEA: The truth about anabolic acid.

By Ellen Coleman, RD, MA, MPH

Build muscle! Burn body fat! Slow the aging process! Such are the claims for one of the hottest-selling nutritional supplements -- DHEA.

DHEA (dehydroepiandosterone) is an adrenal hormone that functions as a metabolic precursor for the production of testosterone, estrogen, and other hormones. The highest levels of circulating DHEA are reached between the age of 20 and 30. By age 80, DHEA levels are only 10-20% of those produced at age 25. Because DHEA and testosterone levels decline with age, DHEA proponents claim that supplementation will increase testosterone levels, thereby producing both anabolic and anti-aging effects.

Although DHEA is banned by the International Olympic Committee and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, some athletes are experimenting with it as an alternative to anabolic steroids. However, athletes who are using DHEA to bulk up may be in for a disappointment. There is no evidence that DHEA produces anabolic effects (e.g. increased muscle mass or strength), or decreased body fat in healthy, young adults (1).

The side-effects of DHEA supplementation can include oily skin, acne, extra growth of body hair, liver enlargement, and aggressiveness. Indiscriminate use of DHEA by young adult athletes is of particular concern, since the hormone’s long-term safety has not been established. As with other hormones, adverse effects due to DHEA administration may not appear for years. Individuals who have a family history of breast or prostatic cancer should not take DHEA (2).

DHEA has been labeled the steroid of youth. Several studies have found a positive correlation between increased serum DHEA levels and improved vigor and well-being. DHEA supplementation increases the androstendiol levels of older men, but not their testosterone or dihydrotestosterone levels. By comparison, DHEA supplementation increases all three levels in older women (2).

In a study of older adults, 50 mg of supplemental oral DHEA per day increased serum DHEA levels to those found in young adults (3). Serum concentrations of insulin-like growth factor increased by 10%. DHEA supplementation also elicited positive feelings (improved sleep, greater energy, and increased ability of handle stress) in 82% of women and 67% of men. No changes in libido were noted.

Although DHEA supplementation has raised concerns in the medical community, the hormone is readily available. Unlike hormones such as testosterone and estrogen, DHEA is sold over the counter and by mail order as a nutritional supplement. DHEA belongs to a group of hormones that were freed for over the counter sales by the 1994 Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act (DSHEA).

The DSHEA also prohibits the Food and Drug Administration from taking DHEA off the market unless the agency can prove that using the hormone will create a medical problem. Unfortunately, this law places the burden of proof of DHEA’s safety on the over-taxed FDA rather than on the companies profiting from the sale of the hormone.

Athletes should completely disregard claims that Mexican yam (Dioscoria) supplements provide the building blocks for DHEA. Mexican yam supposedly contains a DHEA processor which the body can convert to DHEA. While Dioscoria does contain a plant sterol ring called diosgenin, which is a processor for the semisynthetic production of DHEA and other steroid hormones, this conversion only takes place in the laboratory. The claim that Mexican yam supplements increase the body’s production of DHEA (or testosterone) is a complete scam (2).

In the mid-1980’s, several DHEA products sold in health food stores were found to contain little or no DHEA. In 1985, the FDA ordered manufacturers to stop marketing DHEA products as weight-loss aids.

The preceding article was reprinted with permission from the author.