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Weigh the benefits and risks before taking DHEA
Almost 500 years after Ponce de Leon went searching for the Fountain of Youth, a few scientistsand lots of salespeople-believe they've actually found it in a tongue-twister of a steroid hormone: dehydroepiandrosterone, or DHEA. Proponents are touting it as a way to restore youthful vigor, build muscle, burn fat, boost sexual potency, prevent heart disease, enhance mood and memory, improve the immune system, even help fight cancer. Some users swear it has changed their lives. What's often glossed over, however, is that DHEA has several minor short-term side effects, and long-term effects are largely unknown.
"This is not like taking a vitamin," says Ray Sahelian, M.D., author of DHEA: A Practical Guide (Avery, 1996). "DHEA can offer tremendous benefits. But you need to work with your physician to determine whether...