DHEA; The Most Underrated Supplement For

Women?

By William D. Brink
www.BrinkZone.com

Have you ever noticed if a supplement, drug, etc is tried in men, and

fails to work, it’s written off as being ineffective? Although improving,

it’s well known that men have been the standard subjects in research,

with the results often being applied to women as an afterthought. In

recent years, that situation has improved and women are viewed as

the physiologically distinct people they are from men, and studies

looking at specific effects in women – using women as the test

subjects – has grown dramatically. That’s the good news at least. The

bad news is, there’s still plenty of research out there done on men,

being applied to women, sometimes to the detriment of women.

Obviously, men and women are not so different that a great deal of

research fails to be perfectly applicable to both sexes, but the fact

remains a great deal of prior research was done looking at men, and

the results, good or bad, applied to women more as an after thought.

Such is the case with DHEA in my view…

What is it?

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) has been around as a supplement

for a long time, so I’m not going to go into great depth on in this

article as there’s a ton of info out there already on DHEA and it’s fully

covered in my ebooks. To quickly summarize: DHEA is a hormone

produced primarily in the adrenal glands with minor amounts

produced by the testes. It is found in both men and women. DHEA is

the most abundant steroid hormone in the human body, and like all

steroid hormones, ultimately comes from cholesterol. Most DHEA in

the body is found as DHEA-sulphate (DHEA-S). DHEA is a major

precursor to other steroid hormones. That’s the basic run down of

DHEA.

From a strictly health perspective…

From a strictly health perspective - for those deficient due to aging or

other causes - DHEA appears beneficial when used as a supplement

for general health and well being in both sexes. It’s well established

that DHEA levels fall off as we age, and the research on health uses

of DHEA justifies using small amounts to counter this age related

drop off or deficiencies from other causes. DHEA levels rise slowly till

they peak at around 30 years of age, and decline steadily after age

35, with levels reduced by 70-80% by age 75. This effect is one of the

most consistent and predictable changes in aging known with lower

endogenous levels of DHEA/DHEA-sulfate found in advancing age

strongly correlated with a myriad of health conditions best avoided.(1)

For example, levels of DHEA and or DHEA-s in older men is strongly

predictive of death by cardio vascular disease .(2)

Only blood tests will tell a person what their DHEA/DHEA-s levels are

and where they are compared to others in their age group. As this is

not an article focused on the potential health benefits of DHEA in

deficient populations, that’s all I’m going to say on the matter here.
What about DHEA as a “muscle builder” in healthy young men?

DHEA often gets marketed as a “muscle builder” to men. As a muscle

building supplement in young healthy men, DHEA is essentially

worthless, and high intakes may in fact be counter–productive to

gaining muscle as high doses also cause an increase in estrogen and

the effects on testosterone are minimal. Studies have been conflicting

in this area at best, and most “real world” users report no

improvements in strength, muscle mass, etc from using DHEA. So,

for healthy young men with normal DHEA levels, it’s a bust as a

“muscle builder” due to the fact it converts to testosterone poorly and

raises estrogens levels when used at high doses.

“What About Us Women Will?!”

OK, this finally brings us to women and DHEA after the long winded

intro above, but finally, here we are! Although the research in men

using DHEA has been unimpressive and contradictory, such is not

the case with women. In women, research using DHEA is much more

consistent and compelling and there appears to be some gender

specific responses to DHEA use.(3)

As a supplement that can improve mood, libido, memory, and

possibly alter body composition (i.e., increase muscle, improve bone

density, and reduce bodyfat), DHEA appears to be a winner for

women. Most of the research has been done in DHEA deficient

populations, but data - and real world experience- suggests it’s also a

benefit to women not medically deficient in this hormone. Although

the benefits of this hormone to women comes predomently from its

conversion to testosterone, it also appears some of the effects may

be due to other mechanisms.(4). One recent study concluded:

“The use of DHEA therapy may also be discussed in women of

any age when a trial of androgen supplementation seems

justified because of the existence of an inhibited sexual desire

or a sexual arousal disorder associated with documented

androgen deficiency. The rather weak conversion of DHEA into

testosterone protects from the risk of overdosing associated

with testosterone preparations.”

Side Bar: Testosterone myths. Testosterone is often viewed as a

“male” hormone. Although testosterone is the dominant androgen in

men, it’s a hormone essential to the health and well being of both

sexes, just as men produce and require some estrogen. How

important can this hormone be to women? Karlis Ullis, MD, a faculty

member of the UCLA School of Medicine, who treats women with

hormone imbalances states:

“It is clear to me, both from my clinical practice and from

research, that testosterone is vital for women to preserve their

lean mass and to prevent obesity. Not only will testosterone

help mobilize body fat and negate some of the fat storing effects

of estrogen, it is also extremely effective in building lean mass

in women - even at small doses. Hormone replacement therapy

that only includes estrogen and progesterone but leaves out

testosterone is a curse of many a women’s fat loss program.

This is not only a concern for postmenopausal women. Young

women should think twice about using birth control pills. Birth

control pills elevate estrogen and progesterone levels while

drastically lowering testosterone levels. This is reason why

many women experience large gains in fat as well as a

decreased libido when using birth control pills.”

In women with established adrenal insufficiency, studies find 50mg

DHEA corrects low serum concentrations of DHEA/DHEA-S, and

brings testosterone into the “normal” range. With one recent study

finding “DHEA treatment significantly improved overall wellbeing as

well as scores for depression, anxiety, and their physical correlates.

Furthermore, DHEA significantly increased both sexual interest and

the level of satisfaction with sex.”(5)

Side Effects

Are there any side effects to DHEA use for women? Generally, they

are easily dealt with by lowering the dose and “… are mostly mild and

related to androgenic activity of DHEA in women and include

increased sebum production, facial acne, and changes in hair

status.”(6)

In my experience, the above is related to dose. The low-normal dose

recommended (see below) rarely if ever causes side effects, but

there’s no free lunch in biology, and adjusting any hormone up or

down, comes with potential for side effects along with the benefits.

The issue – as in the case with any drug, supplement, etc – is

whether the benefits outweigh the risks/side effects. As the (potential)

benefits of DHEA high, and the side effects at best mild to non

existent, my opinion is the risk/benefit ratio is very much in favor of

using DHEA, but everyone has to decide for themselves on that

score.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Believe me, there’s a lot more research I could cover, but I hope the

above covers the essential points regarding DHEA and it’s potential

value to women specifically. So, let’s sum it all up: For women over

40, or those with diagnosed adrenal insufficiency (AI), DHEA could be

of considerable value to general well being as well as libido, mood,

etc. Typical doses are 25 – 50mg and working with a medical

professional to fine tune dosages is recommended.

For “normal” women under 40, and or have not been diagnosed with

AI, 25 – 50mg seems to do the trick, and starting at the lower dose

and assessing over a few months is recommended. Most women will

notice improvements in mood, libido, and possibly muscle mass and

or bodyfat, at lower doses. The effect is increased at higher doses,

but possible side effects mentioned above also become more

common. At 50-100mg+, DHEA does act as a mild anabolic agent in

women in my experience, and I have seen some fairly impressive

results of increased muscle mass and decreased bodyfat at the

higher doses, but it’s not dramatic compared to other anabolic

hormones used by some female athletes. High doses of DHEA will

also elevate estrogen levels, so that too should be kept in mind.

To leave your comments or read more, click below:

 DHEA; The Most Underrated Supplement For

Women?

See You In The Gym!

About Will Brink

Will Brink is a published author, magazine columnist and elite

personal trainer.

Will works with tactical law enforcement (SWAT) designing

programs that optimize their performance for the tough job they
do.

You can read free articles, watch videos and get involved with Will
at his hugely popular health and fitness website :

www.BrinkZone.com
Citations:

(1,3) Cameron DR, Braunstein GD. The use of

dehydroepiandrosterone therapy in clinical practice. Treat
Endocrinol. 2005;4(2):95-114.
(2) XV International Symposium on Atherosclerosis.

(4) Buvat J. Androgen therapy with

dehydroepiandrosterone..World J Urol. Nov;21(5):346-55. - 2003

(5) Arlt W, et al. DHEA replacement in women with adrenal

insufficiency--pharmacokinetics, bioconversion and clinical effects
on well-being, sexuality and cognition. Endocr Res. 2000
Nov;26(4):505-11.

(6) DHEA: why, when, and how much--DHEA replacement in

adrenal insufficiency.Ann Endocrinol (Paris). 2007 Sep;68(4):268-
73. Epub 2007 Aug 8.