DHEA Supplements for Men

DHEA supplements are marketed to athletes as a way of building muscle and improving performance. Because DHEA does promote the synthesis of hormones like testosterone, it may be beneficial in treating certain deficiencies and health conditions that affect men as they age; however, DHEA can cause side effects and was even banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from 1985 to 1994. Even so, the Nutrition Business Journal reported that $47 million worth of DHEA was sold in the United States in 2003.

Identification

DHEA stands for dehydroepiandrosterone, a hormone made in your adrenal glands and in brain neuron cells that is a building block for male and female sex hormones. DHEA levels start to fall off after age 30 and can also be low if you have anorexia, end-stage kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, AIDs and other diseases or with the use of certain medications. Supplements sometimes contain a synthetic version from wild yam, although it's believed this type can't be metabolized by your body.

Cardiovascular Disease

Heart attacks are the leading cause of death for both men and women worldwide. It's known that as DHEA levels fall off, the rates of cardiovascular disease rise in men, particularly if you're under the age of 70 years, according to a report in 2001 in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences." Although it's not entirely clear why this happens, men with lower DHEA are more likely to have the artery plaque buildups of atherosclerosis and calcified deposits in the abdominal aorta.

Erectile Dysfunction

Although research is mixed on the benefits of DHEA for erectile dysfunction -- a condition in which a man has problems getting or keeping an erection -- there is some potential for DHEA to be helpful in such cases. A 1999 study in the journal "Urology" showed that an oral dose of 50 mg DHEA daily was associated with higher mean scores for all five markers on the International Index of Erectile Function questionnaire.

Muscle Strength

DHEA supplements have been primarily targeted at athletes, although DHEA is banned for use by collegiate groups, all major professional sports teams except Major League Baseball in the United States and the Olympics. One study in a 1988 issue of the "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism" found that DHEA decreased mean percent body fat by 31 percent with no change in weight, indicating there was an increase in muscle mass; however, the study was small, and a separate study 2 years later in the same journal found there were no significant effects on lean body mass from DHEA supplementation over 4 weeks.

Considerations

DHEA was banned by both the FDA and athletic associations because of its ability to act like a steroid. Even though studies haven't shown steroid-like muscle building effects from DHEA, the supplement may increase your risk for prostate cancer and could even make you develop more prominent breasts and experience breast tenderness, increased blood pressure, testicular wasting or increased aggressiveness. DHEA is not recommended for use without the supervision of a licensed health professional.