The hormone supplement DHEA is packaged as a powerful aphrodisiac and weight loss pill, but its mechanism of action is still unclear, and there is no definite evidence to confirm that DHEA supplementation has any benefits for the human body. DHEA may have side effects such as heart disease, tumors and baldness after being converted into androgens, so it should not be supplemented blindly on its own. While DHA, the “brain gold”, is still on the rise, a hormone supplement called DHEA has landed in the health food market. Some people boast DHEA as “sex gold”, “youth factor”, “mother of hormones”, “super hormone “The “sex gold” can not only give you strong sexual power, but also make you live longer, help you lose weight or gain weight, prevent tumors, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease …… It turns out that a study found that as the body ages, the body’s DHEA level increases. It has been found that as the body ages, the level of DHEA in the body will gradually decline, so by artificially supplementing it you can stay young forever. Some Chinese herbalists even believe that the curve of DHEA level changes over a person’s lifetime is similar to that of the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine? It is possible that this is what Chinese medicine calls “kidney water” and “heavenly sap”, elements that are closely related to human birth, aging, sickness and death. However, scientific research has not yet clarified the mechanism of DHEA in the human body, and the effect of libido enhancement has not been confirmed, so blind long-term, excessive supplementation of DHEA may produce some unexpected side effects. The mechanism of DHEA action is still unknown. DHEA is dehydroepiandrosterone, a steroid hormone secreted by both men and women, and its chemical structure is similar to testosterone and estrogen, which is synthesized by cholesterol through adrenal gland processing. Li Zhengming, director of the urology department of Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital, introduced that the level of DHEA is very low in the first few years after birth, and the secretion increases greatly after the age of 6 to 7 years, reaching a peak around the age of 25 years, and the level declines steadily after the age of 30 years, and at the age of 75 years, it drops to 20% of the peak for both men and women. Men have higher levels of DHEA than women throughout their lives. The so-called hormone is a chemical made by a gland that has a regulatory effect on the physiological functions of other tissues. According to Zhengming Li, DHEA is easily metabolized and converted into other hormones, some of which are estrogen and androgen, and has a regulatory effect on sex and several aspects. Some experts believe that DHEA is just a chemical waste left over from the body’s production of other hormones. The reason why DHEA has been given the title of “sex gold” is based on experiments conducted on mice and rats that found that daily doses of DHEA prevented or delayed cancer, arteriosclerosis, viral infections, obesity, and diabetes. However, the fact that DHEA is effective in rodents does not mean it is effective in humans, after all, rodents secrete only one ten-thousandth of the DHEA that humans do. Human studies have found that men with higher than average levels of DHEA are only 15% less likely to die from heart disease, while women’s DHEA levels are not associated with heart disease. After taking DHEA, there was a decrease in fat percentage in men and an increase in women, and immune function appeared to improve, with some benefit for lupus disease, but no libido enhancement. However, these are small sample short-term studies, and there is no conclusive evidence to date that DHEA supplementation has any beneficial effects on the body. According to Dr. Peter Carson, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine in the United States. According to Dr. Carson, “We have not been able to figure out any mechanism of action for this hormone.” DHEA may increase the risk of tumors and heart disease. DHEA is not a safe hormone and has side effects that are difficult to reverse. Experts are concerned that adverse effects of the hormone may not surface until years later. John K. Nessel, a professor of endocrinology at Virginia State Polytechnic University, says DHEA is not a safe hormone. According to Nessel, it is not clear whether DHEA has increased the risk of breast cancer. In men, increased levels of testosterone can stimulate the growth of prostate tumors, and its conversion to dihydrotestosterone can also make urination more difficult in people with prostate enlargement. dHEA can lower the body’s HDL levels, which increases the risk of heart disease. Dr. Ray Sahelian, an American nutrition expert, has also found that high levels of DHEA can increase the risk of heart disease. Dr. Sahelian also found that high DHEA consumption is associated with heart rhythm disorders, menstrual irregularities, acne, and impulsivity and irritability. According to Li Zhengming, DHEA can be converted into androgens and then into dihydrotestosterone (an active component of androgens), which may promote hair loss and lead to baldness in men when taken in excess, and may even have the side effect of inhibiting sperm production; DHEA can cause women under 50 to show signs of masculinity – hair growth on the face and body, voice DHEA can cause masculinity in women under 50 – hair growth on the face and body, lowered voice, and in some cases, menopause. Expert advice: Don’t take “sex gold” supplements on your own. Li Zhengming introduced that men’s gonadal function gradually declines around the age of 45. A survey in Europe and the United States found that androgen deficiency can cause about 40 percent of men to suffer from a medical condition called “gonadal insufficiency”, which mainly manifests as follows: fatigue, insomnia, panic, shortness of breath, sweating, decreased energy and physical fitness, decreased libido, erection difficulties, osteoporosis and obesity. Appropriate androgen supplementation allows them to increase muscle mass, bone density and hemoglobin oxygen-carrying capacity, and also enhances immunity. However, there is no specific test for DHEA in clinical practice, and there is no saying that “DHEA should be supplemented specifically if it is missing”. The company is not advocating that people take DHEA supplements on their own, because androgenic hormones are very strong and need to be supplemented after consultation with a medical professional. Patients with moderate to severe prostate enlargement, tumors, erythrocytosis, severe sleep apnea syndrome and liver cancer should not take DHEA to avoid serious complications. According to Nessel, “No one should take DHEA on his or her own without a doctor’s guidance to regularly check body steroid and cholesterol levels, glucose tolerance, and male prostate status.” According to Dr. Samuel Yan, professor of reproductive medicine at the University of California, San Diego. “We still know very little about DHEA, and the advertising is blowing it out of proportion. I stress again and again: until the research is clear, caution should be exercised if DHEA must be taken.” In addition, DHEA is a banned substance in athletics. Merritt, a double winner in the men’s 400m run at the Beijing Olympics and Berlin World Championships, was banned by USADA for 21 months in 2010 after being found to have taken DHEA in a doping test. Gender tips: Excessive tea consumption increases the risk of prostate cancer. A new British study found that men who drank seven cups of tea a day had a 50 percent increased risk of prostate cancer. Previous studies have shown that drinking tea reduces the risk of heart disease, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and cancer. But the study, led by scientists from the University of Glasgow, followed the health of more than 6,000 men for 40 years, and they found findings that ran counter to previous research. Less than a quarter of the 6,016 men surveyed who were teetotalers drank seven or more cups of tea a day, and 6.4 percent of them developed prostate cancer over the next 37 years.