Are you taking, or considering taking, DHEA (a hormone naturally produced by the body)? Some studies done in the 1990s showed that rats and mice developed stronger bones, muscles and immune systems when they received DHEA supplementation. Many athletes are now taking huge quantities of the stuff to gain the competetive edge and average citizens have jumped on the bandwagon too.
Before you invest your hard-earned cash in DHEA, consider the results of a double-blind study (a study where neither the recipients nor the people administering the supplements knew which group received DHEA and which group received a placebo) released in October, 2006 in the New England Journal of Medicine. In this 2-year study conducted by researchers from the Mayo Clinic, no beneficial effect was seen in men who were given 75 milligrams per day of DHEA. The DHEA did not increase the men’s muscle strength or lower their body fat. The researchers concluded that the DHEA had no “physiologically relevant beneficial effects.”
The Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade group for the supplement industry, released a statement commenting on the Mayo Clinic saying that the Mayo study confirmed “the safety of relatively high-dose DHEA.” Talk about a spin-doctor, the Council for “Responsible” Nutrition is basically telling us that even though this double blind study by responsible scientists demonstrates no “physiologically relevant beneficial effects,” DHEA supplementation didn’t kill anyone, so we should go ahead and consume mass quantities of it. Other than enriching the manufacturers of DHEA, what is the reason to continue taking DHEA? I am still looking for a sound double-blind study showing its beneficial effects. Stay tuned.
