The hormone that turns back the clock.
I recently received the results of my latest Salivary Hormone Test and was not surprised to learn that once again my levels of DHEA were lower than I’d like. DHEA is a hormone secreted by the adrenals and is considered the “mother” of many other hormones. The salivary hormone test often serves as a friendly reminder that I need to take action to raise my levels of this hormone.
I’ve been working with this type of testing for nearly a decade. Raising suboptimal hormone levels of any kind—without resorting to synthetics (which are not tolerated well by many women)—can be tricky and a bit challenging.
After a great deal of research and evidence-based testing, I discovered that the adaptogenic hormone, pregnenolone can help raise ALL hormones because it can help your body produce whatever it is lacking—dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), or estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and even cortisol.
Pregnenolone—which continues to lack the attention it deserves—has really powerful effects on aging, memory, mood, sexuality, and even sleep. It is the critical building block in the production of all other hormones that you have heard me writing, talking, or blogging about these days.
In fact, this uber hormone may be the ultimate raw material in your entire body. It’s so essential to health that it’s produced not only in the adrenal glands and sex organs, but also in brain and spinal cord.
A Bundle of Benefits
Science has uncovered all sorts of benefits about this hormone of all hormones that is called pregnenolone:
• Pregnenolone boosts memory. This hormone appears useful in creating memory as well as preventing its loss—and it supports memory-protecting sleep.
• Pregnenolone helps brain function. It raises brain levels of acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter needed for thought processes—which is low in Alzheimer’s disease.
• Pregnenolone relieves anxiety and depression, according to two studies at the University of California, San Francisco. People with schizophrenia, who are very anxious, have the lowest levels of pregnenolone.
• Pregnenolone alleviates PMS and menopause symptoms, particularly hot flashes and loss of libido, according to my friend and colleague, Ray Sahelian, MD., a medical expert on hormones.
• Pregnenolone counters the effects of stress to lessen fatigue and increase endurance—whether you’re exercising or at work.
• Pregnenolone eases joint pain as well as rheumatoid arthritis and gout, even when conventional drugs don’t help.
• Pregnenolone lowers cholesterol. In one study, this hormone helped decrease subjects’ total cholesterol levels from 263 to 188.
• Pregnenolone combats addictive behaviors and chemical dependency, finds the Journal of Pharmacological Science, whether you’re trying to kick the nicotine habit or other addictive drugs.
It’s Time to Try It
Since I have found that so many of my clients do really well on low doses—I recommend trying UNI KEY’s Pregnenolone, one of the lower dose types of pregnenolone on the market.
In the body, pregnenolone is made from cholesterol. In the laboratory it is derived from wild yam—so it is not a steroid-based product. Perhaps this is why a growing number of health professionals are recommending it as a natural alternative to other types of hormone replacement.
I generally recommend that people start with one tablet of 5 mg of Pregnenolone per day and slowly progress up to 2 per day—max.
The body’s production of this foundational hormone declines with age, stress, depression, hypothyroidism, and environmental toxins. But, with light supplementation, you can feel youthful and vital from the inside out.
