Q&A : ADVICE FROM EXPERTS DHEA BELIEVED TO INCREASE IMMUNITY AND LONGEVITY.

What is DHEA?

DHEA (de-hydro-epi-andro-sterone), the supplement that has been called melatonin's younger sibling, is a hormone naturally produced by your adrenal glands. It is normally the most abundant adrenal hormone in the body. But levels drop after age 25, or with certain disease conditions.

How is supplementary DHEA made?

Although small amounts of DHEA can be found in raw adrenal gland, it is normally made by synthesis using diosgenin (an extract from wild Mexican yam) as a starting material. The wild yam contains a substance similar to DHEA and in a laboratory setting can be converted into DHEA.

What will it do for me?

People are claiming that DHEA can: increase energy level, enhance sex drive, decrease body fat, reduce stress and reduce ill effects of stress, enhance memory function, extend lifespan, improve immune function. Most people feel a substantial increase in energy level and wellbeing after a week or two. However, some people don't feel anything at all.

Is it legal? Is it a drug?

Although there are many rumors, DHEA has never been classified or approved by the FDA as a drug and it has never been a controlled or illegal substance. There is also some confusion as to whether or not it is an anabolic steroid - it is not. Since your body makes DHEA from food, it is classified as a nutritional supplement. It is normally present in the human body and is very safe when used properly at physiologic levels.

What is the right dose?

According to the leading researchers on DHEA, most people over 25 years old can take 25 milligrams to 50 milligrams of DHEA per day. That is the amount, when absorbed orally, that will replace your DHEA levels, bringing them back up the normal level for the average 25-year-old. We do not recommend using DHEA to achieve levels above the normal range for humans, but simply getting it up to the high end of the normal range.