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DHEA is a controversial hormone that some have promoted as the elixir of youth. Most studies of DHEA have been disappointing, but very early research suggests it may have one benefit for older people - it could shrink fat tummies. Dehydroepiandrosterone - DHEA - is a controversial hormone involved in the production of both male and female hormones. Since DHEA levels drop as you get older, some have assumed it's the elixir of youth. Replace the DHEA to youthful levels (the idea goes) and you'll restore thinking, energy and all the things that older people fondly imagine that young people do or have. Most studies of DHEA have been disappointing, especially into thinking ability, but it's just possible that there's one benefit for older people. It could shrink fat tummies. Now I warn you this comes from a small, preliminary study which needs to be repeated, but it involved men and women aged about 70 on average and gave them DHEA supplements or placebo for six months. The dose returned them to 20-year-old levels. The people on DHEA lost significant amounts of deep abdominal fat - the bad visceral stuff - as well as subcutaneous fat. They also became more insulin sensitive. Testosterone went up in women and oestrogen rose in both women and men, which raises questions about long-term safety. If DHEA does work - and it'll take a bigger, better study to be sure - then it may be by altering fat metabolism by changing the way it's stored.
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