DHEA

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is an important hormone pro­duced by the adrenal gland in humans. Even though it is important as a building block for other important hormones, including estro­gen and testosterone, its presence in the blood and throughout the body declines progressively with age. It is likely that many of the toxins faced on a daily basis help to accelerate this decline. The closer the levels of DHEA and the hormones produced from DHEA are to normal, the better immune function is supported.

Angele et al. recently demonstrated that DHEA acutely sup­ported immune function in mice, so that survival following trauma

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was significantly improved.²³ Interestingly, even though DHEA can lead to increases in testosterone or estrogen, testosterone adminis­tration alone in the male mice actually depressed immune function after trauma. It appears that DHEA, as a precursor compound, tends to convert to the hormone that the body needs most to sup­port immune function.

DHEA should probably always be supplemented when its blood levels, which can be measured, are low. Empirical trials of it can also be given to see if clinical benefit occurs when DHEA levels are only in the "low normal" range.