Adrenal health
Why don’t you offer DHEA or “desiccated adrenal extracts” in the
Personal Program for Adrenal Health?
We do not include these ingredients as components of our on-line Personal Program
because we feel that DHEA and desiccated (dried) adrenals should only be used in
a controlled clinical setting, where a woman’s total health status can be
evaluated, discussed, and monitored. She and her practitioner can then determine
if she needs these more powerful forms of adrenal
support.
Adrenal extracts and DHEA can be very helpful in certain situations, and we do prescribe
them when appropriate to our patients at Women to Women’s
Healthcare Clinic. But we think women should only use them while under the
care of an experienced medical practitioner.
DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) is a steroidal hormonal precursor, or “mother”
hormone to cortisol, testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone. For each woman, there
is variation in the way DHEA is converted into these other hormones, depending on
her personal biochemistry. It is possible to disrupt that delicate balance by adding
additional hormones inappropriately. (To learn more and review a chart of the steroid
hormone pathways in the body, see our article on
DHEA and adrenal imbalance.)
Adrenal cell extracts are dietary supplements containing extracts of adrenal
glands, usually derived from cows. Their action is intended to support, fortify,
and restore normal adrenal function. They are a valuable — but very powerful
— form of therapy — that is most appropriately applied in the clinical
setting.
Both DHEA and desiccated adrenals can be of great help as part of a rescue treatment
plan for adrenal dysfunction. But neither goes the full distance in resolving underlying
imbalances for the long-term. We’ve found that supporting the stressed adrenal
axis with targeted nutrients, lifestyle changes, and adaptogenic herbs has a consistent,
gentle effect that promotes complete and lasting healing.
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Last Modified Date: 04/15/2011