The Dangers Of Food Poisoning & How To Protect Yourself & Family

Family Health: The Dangers Of Food Poisoning & How To Protect Yourself & Family

By I-key Benney

I-key Benney
Level: Basic PLUS

I-key Benney, CEO is an enlightened man from New York City; the creator and founder of “TMT Science & Technology”. “TMT: Transcendental Mental Technology” is ...

We're what we eat.

If we eat good food and do so rightly, we enjoy good health and a long, happy life.

But if we eat bad food, we'll get sick and our life may be shortened.

Unfortunately, most people don't care enough about the safety of the food they eat or what they eat or how they eat it.

Here are some family health insights to help you to avoid food poisoning and live a longer, safer and happy life.

Every year, an estimated 7 million Americans suffer sicknesses caused by food poisoning.

Some cases are violent and even result in death.

The culprit is food that has dangerous high levels of bacteria due to improper cooking or handling.

Food safety is usually taken for granted by the buying public but everyone's attention was recently directed to food poisoning involving some meat that was undercooked.

It was determined that the problem never would have happened if the meat had been cooked properly.

E.Coli 0157.H7 is a potent virus, but it can be completely destroyed when the meat is fully cooked.

It is important for consumers to take an all-around safety approach to purchasing, storing and preparing both traditional and new meat and poultry products.

Ultimately, consumers and food handlers bear the responsibility for keeping food safe once it leaves the store.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 85 percent of food- borne illness cases could be avoided each year if consumers would handle food properly.

The most common food-borne illnesses are caused by a combination of bacteria, naturally present in the environment, and food handling mistakes.

Ironically, these are also the easiest types of food-borne illnesses to prevent.

Proper cooking or processing of raw meat and poultry kills bacteria that can cause food-borne illness.

When you're out, grocery shop last, take food straight home to the refrigerator.

And never leave food in a hot car!

Don't buy anything you won't use before the use-by date.

Don't buy food in poor condition. Make sure refrigerated food is cold to the touch.

Frozen food should be rock-solid.

Canned goods should be free of dents, cracks or bulging lids which can indicate a serious food poisoning threat.

The performance and maintenance of your refrigerator is of the utmost importance.

Check the temperature of your refrigerator with an appliance thermometer.

To keep bacteria in check, the refrigerator should run at 40 degrees F; the freezer unit at 0 degrees F.

Generally, keep your refrigerator as cold as possible without freezing your milk or lettuce.

When you prepare food, keep everything clean and thaw out any frozen food you plan to prepare in your refrigerator.

Take it out of the freezer in advance and place it in the refrigerated section of your refrigerator.

Always wash your hands in hot soapy water before preparing and handling any food as well as after you use the bathroom, change diapers, handle pets, etc.

Remember, too, that bacteria can live in your kitchen towels, sponges and dish cloths.

Wash them often and replace the dish cloths and sponges you use regularly every few weeks.

Be absolutely sure that you keep all raw meats, poultry and fish and their juices away from other food.

For instance, wash your hands, your cutting board and knife in hot soapy water after cutting up the chicken and before dicing salad ingredients.

It is best to use plastic cutting boards rather than wooden ones where bacteria can hide in grooves.

Don't take your food out of the freezer and leave it on the kitchen counter to thaw.

This is extremely dangerous since the bacteria can grow in the outer layers of the food before the inside thaws.

It is wise to do your marinating in the refrigerator too.

May these family health insights help you to live a longer, healthy and happy life.

Warmly,

I-key Benney, CEO

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The FDA Can Not Protect the Public from Toxic Food

Care2

Can the FDA Protect You From Rotten Food?

posted by Eric Steinman Sep 13, 2010 1:00 pm

filed under: Following Food, Food & Recipes, General Health, News & Issues, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, food recalls, food safety, salmonella, senate

I am going to cut to the chase for this one: Amid this climate of food safety recalls (I will refer to it as a climate, as it has become far too frequent and widespread to simply call it a season of recalls) it is essential that we all understand that the Food and Drug Administration, the government agency responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety, has no authority or ability to order a recall of any food item. That authority resides squarely in the lap of the individual companies who sell the product(s) in question, and the recalls they issue are totally voluntary. This means that only after board meetings, lengthy cost-benefit analysis, and PR consultations are these recalls ever issued, and in many cases this comes weeks, if not months, after the product has made it to market (case in point: the massive beef recall earlier this year was issued on some products that had been sold up to a year prior and more than likely consumed).

This particular point, about who holds the reins when it comes to recalls, is obviously of great importance to anyone concerned with food safety, and stands to illustrate just how impotent and ineffective the FDA can be in these situations. Sure, the 20th century was a pivotal time for food safety, and the formation of the FDA in 1906 did much to curb abuses and improve quality and safety across the board (does anyone recall the horror of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle?), however the FDA has been looking for a renewed sense of relevance, as well as some new ideas, for the past few years (if not decades). With the flood of food recalls in the past decade, the urgency is palpable, and quite obvious. In the past year alone, there was red pepper recalled for Salmonella from Adams Extract & Spice on 8/7/2009, affecting three states; 6,712.5 lbs of roasted hazelnut kernels recalled for Salmonella from Evonuk Oregon Hazelnuts on 12/19/2009, affecting six states; and 1,105 cases of Chicken of the Sea white tuna in water recalled for tain bacteria from Tri-Union Seafoods on 6/30/2010, affecting ten states (recall information provided by the report, “Recipes for Disaster”).

This week, when the Senate returns from summer recess, is a pivotal time in food safety, as they are poised to pass a new bill – the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510). This bill was passed in the House of Representatives over a year ago (July 2009) and has been languishing in the margins for too long. If passed, it would greatly revamp a busted and obsolete food safety system that hasn’t been tended to in decades, and would significantly expand federal regulators’ (read: FDA) abilities to police food manufacturers. Besides having the authority to issue recalls, it would also grant the FDA authority to set mandatory inspection rates for food production facilities (this is not the standard now, as facilities sometimes go decades without FDA inspections), and give the FDA the right to enforce health and safety laws by suspending or shutting down offending plants or factories. Now these new rules will go into effect only if this long stalled bill gets the love it needs from the senate. While it seemingly has bipartisan support, as we know, anything can happen in an election year.

To be certain, new FDA rules, no matter how aggressive they might be, will not likely protect everyone from the hazards of the industrialized food system, when everything from organic spinach to eggs are in danger of harboring pathogens (550 million eggs have been recalled in the most recent salmonella outbreak). Food activists would probably argue that this is just simply a step in the right direction, and libertarians would likely see this as another alarming instance of giving the federal government a wider, and more problematic, authority over what we consume. While the rest of us sit and wonder, as we stare at our spinach and egg salad, how the hell we can eat with relative confidence? Can you get behind this new bill, or do you feel the system is so far gone that it is time for consumers to take the food system into our own hands (whatever that means)? Is control over food safety an elusive proposition, or can we look to our government (with some aggressive prodding) to do the right thing?

Eric Steinman is a freelance writer based in Rhinebeck, N.Y. He regularly writes about food, music, art, architecture and culture and is a regular contributor to Bon Appétit among other publications.

Do Food Expiration Dates Really Matter?

Do Food Expiration Dates Really Matter?

Experts provide a guide to the variety of confusing 'freshness' dates on food.

By Star Lawrence
WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

You open the fridge, drag out the cottage cheese, check for fur, and if there isn't any, you say, "Honey? Will you sniff this?" This is not, however, the approved method of checking for freshness. The approved way lies in a voluntary system of labeling.

Yes, voluntary. The only items required by federal law to be labeled for expiration are infant formula and some baby foods; some states also mandate pulling dairy from store shelves on the expiration date.

Learn the Lingo of Expiration Dates

This brings us to terminology. The actual term "Expiration Date" refers to the last date a food should be eaten or used. Last means last -- proceed at your own risk.

Other, more commonly spotted terms are:

• "Sell by" date. The labeling "sell by" tells the store how long to display the product for sale. You should buy the product before the date expires. This is basically a guide for the retailer, so the store knows when to pull the item. This is not mandatory, so reach in back and get the freshest. The issue is quality of the item (freshness, taste, and consistency) rather than whether it is on the verge of spoiling. Paul VanLandingham, EdD, a senior faculty member at the Center for Food and Beverage Management of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., tells WebMD the "sell by" date is the last day the item is at its highest level of quality, but it will still be edible for some time after.
• "Best if used by (or before)" date. This refers strictly to quality, not safety. This date is recommended for best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date. Sour cream, for instance, is already sour, but can have a zippier, fresh taste when freshly sour (if that's not an oxymoron!)
• "Born on" date. This is the date of manufacture and has been resurrected recently to date beer. Beer can go sub-par after three months. "It is affected by sun," VanLandingham says. The light can reactivate microorganisms in the beer. That's why you have to be especially careful with beer in clear bottles, as opposed to brown or green.
• "Guaranteed fresh" date. This usually refers to bakery items. They will still be edible after the date, but will not be at peak freshness.
• "Use by" date. This is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. The date has been determined by the manufacturer of the product.
• "Pack" date. You will find this one on canned or packaged goods, as a rule, but it's tricky. In fact, it may be in code. It can be month-day-year-MMDDYY. Or the manufacturer could revert to the Julian calendar. January would then be 001-0031 and December 334-365. It gets even weirder than that.

How Long Are Foods OK to Eat?

If you are not up on your Julian calendar and dating seems sort of a hodgepodge, how about memorizing some basic rules?

• Milk. Usually fine until a week after the "Sell By" date.
• Eggs. OK for 3-5 weeks after you bring them home (assuming you bought them before the "sell by" date). VanLandingham says double-grade As will go down a grade in a week but still be perfectly edible.
• Poultry and seafood. Cook or freeze this within a day or two.
• Beef and pork. Cook or freeze within three to five days.
• Canned goods. Highly acidic foods like tomato sauce can keep 18 months or more. Low-acid foods like canned green beans are probably risk-free for up to five years. "You do not want to put cans in a hot place like a crawl space or garage," Peggy VanLaanen, EdD, RD, a professor of food and nutrition at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, tells WebMD. She suggests keeping canned and dry food at 50 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit in a dry, dark place. Humidity can be a factor in speeded-up deterioration. The FDA notes that taste, aroma, and appearance of food can change rapidly if the air conditioning fails in a home or warehouse. Obviously, cans bulging with bacteria growth should be discarded, no matter what the expiration date!

Food Safety Tips

Since product dates don't give you a true guide to safe use of a product, here are some other tips from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Services:

• Purchase the product before the date expires.
• If perishable, take the food home immediately after purchase and refrigerate it promptly. Freeze it if you can't use it within times recommended on the chart.
• Once a perishable product is frozen, it doesn't matter if the date expires because foods kept frozen continuously are safe indefinitely.
• Follow handling recommendations on product.
  

Product	Storage Times After Purchase
Poultry	1 or 2 days
Beef, Veal, Pork, and Lamb	3 to 5 days
Ground Meat and Ground Poultry	1 or 2 days
Fresh Variety Meats (Liver, Tongue, Brain, Kidneys, Heart, Chitterlings)	1 or 2 days
Cured Ham, Cook-Before-Eating	5 to 7 days
Sausage from Pork, Beef or Turkey, Uncooked	1 or 2 days
Eggs	3 to 5 weeks

When Do Other Vital Items Go Bad?

The FDA does require that drugs carry an expiration date. Alan Goldhammer, PhD, associate vice president for regulatory affairs of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), tells WebMD that safety, purity, and potency must be tested and established over time by drug manufacturers. If a drug says the expiration date is 18 months hence, it means these three qualities can only be guaranteed that long, assuming the drug is stored properly.

Some critics have accused drug manufacturers of hyping these dates to encourage more drug sales. Goldhammer implies that some drugs may be OK longer than noted, but the manufacturers have not done, say, a 10-year study of how long the drug is good. "They try to establish a reasonable date to allow for time in the supply chain and pharmacy shelves," he says.

The chemicals in drugs do break down and change over time, becoming more potent (or poisonous) or ineffective. "One of the worst places to store them," Goldhammer offers, "is in the medicine cabinet, which can be hot and humid. Consumers should not let drugs sit around. Why do you think most companies sell them a month or at most three months ahead of time?"

VanLandingham also notes that humidity can hurt drugs. "That's why they have cotton in them," he explains.

What about condoms, where a misjudgment could be disastrous? All condoms, the FDA says, have either an expiration or a manufacturing date. They should not be used beyond the expiration date -- more than five years after the date of manufacture.

The sweetener aspartame, another common item often found in sodas, does break down and become icky-tasting, so don't buy or drink old products containing it.

Stretching the Expiration Date Through Proper Storage

VanLandingham is picky about letting food get too hot. The "temperature danger zone" is between 41 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Food needing refrigeration should be kept below 41 degrees. On the loading dock, in the car, on the kitchen table, it should not be outside of that temperature for more than four hours total. You have no idea how long it may have been subjected to higher temperatures before you buy it, so you need to minimize the "standing" factor after you get it.

"One of the biggest mistakes consumers make is lag time," VanLaanen agrees. For details, she highly recommends Safe Home Food Storage, a Texas A&M book available from tcebookstore.org.

VanLandingham also warns that most fridges usually aren't holding at 41 degrees or less. "Don't forget recovery time," he says. That's the time it takes to recool after you stand there trying to find a cold beer or decide whether anyone will miss the last piece of cake.

Milk should be kept at 38 degrees, fish at 32 degrees. The drawers and shelves have different temperatures, thus the term "meat drawer."

VanLaanen urges consumers to scribble on their own date of purchase, even on canned goods.

Don't be too cautious. "Some people keep apples five days and go, "Oops, time to go,'" VanLandingham says. "They may still be in mint condition."

He recommends using your senses (this would be the "Honey, sniff this" thing) to decide if an item is fresh.

Oh, and that insufferable air-tight packaging? It has a use beyond building character in those attempting to remove it. "This can double shelf life," VanLandingham says. "The item will be good as the day it was packaged."

Star Lawrence is a medical journalist based in the Phoenix area.

Do People Really Want to Be Healthy?

Life Extension Magazine December 2010

Do Consumers Really Want Healthy Food?

By William Faloon

I don’t know if you are as frustrated as I am, but I find it nearly impossible to buy healthy prepared food at grocery stores.

The front side of labels promotes many foods as being healthy, but a quick look at the ingredient panel reveals the opposite.

We know that eating certain vegetables is associated with reduced risks of some cancers. Commercial soups, however, contain virtually no cauliflower,1 broccoli,2-6 asparagus,7 Brussels sprouts,8-10 or other vegetables that provide these benefits.

In fact, most vegetable soups are loaded with starches (potatoes, rice, or pasta) that spike blood sugar levels and contribute to many health problems. The glycemic index of cruciferous vegetables, on the other hand, is extremely low.11

My aggravation with processed food companies motivated me to commission a chef to prepare soups that contain ingredients that protect against disease. The objective is to provide a broad-spectrum of cruciferous and other low-calorie vegetables with absolutely no starches, preservatives, or added sugars.

As you will read, we have developed two recipes that provide the healthy vegetables that nutrition experts recommend Americans consume more of.

Not the First Time My Frustration Has Yielded Member Benefits

Back in the early 1990s, Life Extension® identified a host of vascular disease risk factors that could be measured in the blood.

The problem I and many members had was that doctors refused to prescribe blood tests to measure C-reactive protein, homocysteine, hormone levels, etc. Even when a doctor was willing to prescribe these blood tests, the cost of getting them done at commercial labs was outrageously high.

My reaction to this physician arrogance and laboratory inefficiency was to set up a nationwide blood testing network in 1996 whereby our members could choose whatever blood tests they wanted, have their blood drawn at their convenience, and pay a very low price.

The motivation in setting up this blood testing network was not economic. I simply wanted members to be able to find out their disease risk markers so they could take corrective actions in time.

I cannot tell you how many people have thanked us for making blood testing so convenient and affordable… and saving their lives in the process!

The frustration I had in the 1990s over difficulties our members experienced in accessing life-saving blood tests is the same motivating factor behind the development of two new soups that contain only healthy ingredients.

Extra-virgin Olive Oil

The multiple benefits of the monounsaturated fats and other constituents of olive oil continue to be documented in published scientific studies.12-14

Findings reveal that consumption of virgin olive oils results in reductions in markers of atherosclerosis,15-22 cardiovascular diseases,23-27 osteoporosis,28-31 chronic inflammation,32-36 senility,37-40 and certain cancers.41-47

The favorable effects on human health from virgin olive oils are so persuasive that Life Extension® long ago added a standardized olive fruit concentrate to the popular Super Omega-3 fish oil supplement. We reasoned that any member seeking the benefits of highly-concentrated fish oil would not want to miss out on the additive protective effects available from the olive fruit.

We start our recipe for the two vegetable soups with extra-virgin olive oil to provide both taste fullness and health benefits.

Cruciferous Vegetables

A huge volume of scientific data documents how cruciferous vegetables protect against a wide range of age-related diseases.48-59 Since the early 1980s, Life Extension has published the results from findings showing that those who eat cruciferous and certain other vegetables have low rates of common cancers.60-77

The problem is that most Americans don’t consume broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage on a regular basis to obtain these disease-preventing effects.

You would think that at least one commercial food company would recognize that when consumers are choosing a vegetable soup, they would want a variety that contains cruciferous vegetables with proven disease protective-effects.

On the contrary, profit-hungry processed food companies use the lowest-cost ingredients they can find. Since high-calorie potatoes, rice, pasta, and corn can be termed “vegetables,” these are often the dominant ingredients in soups consumers are saddled with. Remember that corn is fed to cattle to fatten them up.

The two new soups you will learn about contain cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage along with other healthy plants and extra-virgin olive oil.

Healthy Non-cruciferous Vegetables

The plant kingdom provides aging humans with a wealth of nutrients that scientists have identified as having potent disease-preventing properties.

The soups that our chef formulated contain asparagus,78-80 peppers,81-85 celery,86-90 carrots,91-93 garlic,94-99 spinach,100-103 thyme,104-110 parsley,111-113 basil,114-116 and tomatoes117-122 to provide the greatest variety of health-promoting plants in one satiating recipe.

Fighting Back Against Food Fraud

The “food fraud” perpetrated by processed food companies is unconscionable. They load supposedly healthy vegetable soups with rice, potatoes, pasta, and other high-glycemic ingredients.

As Life Extension members are aware, the American diet is already saturated with dangerous sugars that contribute to the growing epidemic of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.123-126 By intentionally spiking vegetable soups with cheap sugars and starchy ingredients, processed food companies reap enormous profits while consumers pay the price with a shortened life span. Is it any wonder why Americans are accumulating so many fat pounds?

A pouch of Life Extension Vegetable Soups provides more than one-pound of vegetables that will satiate most appetites—while delivering only 80 to 90 calories per serving.

There are 3.5 servings in each pouch, with each serving providing a full serving of healthy vegetables.

Life Extension’s Vegetable Soups can be used as a mini-meal by those seeking to reduce their calorie intake, or as a vegetable side dish to serve three or more people with a single pouch.

Compare the healthy calories in these soups to the garbage foods you see endlessly advertised on TV. You’ll easily see how commercial food companies are robbing Americans of their health by promoting foods that create degenerative diseases rather than protecting against them.

Why We Don’t Use Cans

There is a growing concern that the lining of canned foods with bisphenol-A or BPA (found in 57% of canned foods) represents a health risk.145,146 It has been shown to be an “endocrine (hormone) disruptor,” which raises concern about potential cancer risk.147,148

The FDA says bisphenol-A is safe, but we have little confidence in a government agency that is so beholden to the financial interests of processed food companies.

We have therefore decided to package Life Extension’s new Vegetable Soups in an advanced BPA and phthalate-free polymer pouch to not only preserve the integrity of the cruciferous vegetables, but also protect our members against bisphenol-A exposure.

Do Consumers Really Want Healthy Food?

The title of this editorial is “Do Consumers Really Want Healthy Food?”

I ask this question because the price of cruciferous vegetables and extra-virgin olive oil is higher than pasta, potatoes, rice, corn, and the other cheap ingredients found in vegetable soups sold by processed food companies.

For the first production run of Life Extension’s Vegetable Soups (described fully at the end of this article), we need to charge a retail price of $11.95 per two-pound pouch. Members pay $8.96 for either of these Vegetable Soups. If six pouches are purchased of any assortment of these two soups, the member price drops to $8.44 per pouch.

Even at the discounted member prices, these vegetable soups are higher priced per pound than what is typically found in grocery stores. The question is: do consumers want to continue buying vegetable soups laden with sugar-starches and other mediocre ingredients?

I frankly don’t know the answer. After all, for $5 nowadays, you can buy a big submarine sandwich and believe the advertising that eating one every day will enable you to lose weight and stay healthy.

As far as taste is concerned, I believe these soups are superior to anything on the market. But I am a poor judge of taste, as I have subconsciously trained myself to enjoy eating foods that are healthy.

I look forward to hearing feedback from members who try our new Cruciferous Vegetable and/or Asian Cruciferous Vegetable soups. If these are well received by the membership, we will expand into a broader line of health promoting foods… and lower the price in the process.

What’s Missing From Cooked Vegetables?

There is one important caveat that I have to tell you here. During the cooking process required to make any soup, some of the beneficial compounds contained in the vegetables are invariably lost.

Those concerned about certain cancers often rely on supplements that contain standardized potencies of nutrients found in healthy vegetables such as indole-3-carbinol,127-130 diindolymethane,131-135 sulforaphane,136-140 and apigenin.141-144

Even when including cooked vegetables in your diet, it is still important to obtain standardized potencies of cruciferous and other vegetable extracts from your supplements and/or carefully steamed vegetables.

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Report New Research Substantiates the Anti-Aging Properties of DHEA

Life Extension Magazine December 2010

New Research Substantiates the Anti-Aging Properties of DHEA

By Kirk Stokel

In 2007, Life Extension® led the battle against Congress’s ill-conceived campaign to re-classify DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) as an “anabolic steroid drug”—an act that would have made this life-sustaining compound unavailable to the American public without a prescription.

Thanks in no small part to the efforts of Life Extension® members, the battle was won.

Today, less than three years later, scientists have uncovered even more research substantiating DHEA’s remarkable health-promoting benefits.

Sometimes called the “youth hormone,” DHEA is the most abundant hormone precursor in the human body and a source of the sex hormones.

Its steady and precipitous decline is an inevitable consequence of aging, 1 and contributes to the onset of degenerative disease.

The latest scientific discoveries indicate that as little as 50 mg of DHEA per day may:

1. Inhibit multiple factors implicated in metabolic syndrome by favorably altering gene expression;
2. Boost bone strength and ward off osteoarthritis;
3. Enhance memory.2-5

Daily intake of 90 mg per day and higher has been shown to improve cognitive function and alleviate depression both in the elderly and among individuals suffering from debilitating mental illness.6,7

First introduced to Americans in 1981 by the Life Extension Foundation®, the anti-aging effects of DHEA have been described in medical textbooks starting in the early 1990s.

In this article, you will discover the most up-to-date evidence of DHEA’s profoundly beneficial impact across multiple systems of the body.

Potent Cognitive Support

DHEA deficiency is implicated in numerous age-related conditions, including declines in brain and nervous system function. The latest research suggests that DHEA supplementation may exert powerful neuroprotective effects.

In fact, 2009 witnessed extraordinary advances in our understanding of the cognitive and memory-enhancing benefits of DHEA.

Two large studies showed that levels of DHEA-S in elderly patients correlated significantly and positively with cognitive function. (Chemically similar to DHEA, DHEA-S is the sulfated form of DHEA.)8,9 Prior research had shown that higher DHEA-S levels were directly associated with improved concentration, working memory, and executive (decision-making) function.10

Israeli scientists found that the cognitive dysfunction that occurs in schizophrenia is also partly associated with levels of DHEA-S and other neurosteroids.11 Supplementation with 200 mg per day of DHEA in schizophrenic patients improved attention and motor skills compared with placebo.6 Although the direct symptoms of schizophrenia were unaffected, DHEA’s ability to provide relief from the cognitive deficits associated with this severe psychiatric condition may significantly improve quality of life in these individuals.

The last few years have also yielded new pre-clinical data on DHEA’s neuroprotective, memory-enhancing effects. In one noteworthy study, DHEA significantly improved memory retention and consolidation in mice—especially when the experimental equivalent of an emotional stimulus was involved.12 This may be related to DHEA’s ability to stimulate the proliferation of key brain cell receptors specifically associated with memory processing.13

When given to aging rats, DHEA was shown to enhance brain cell utilization of ATP—the body’s fundamental energy-storage molecule—thereby protecting the cell membranes from age-related damage.14 Impaired energy utilization and reduced production of ATP contribute to the “neuronal energy crises” that underlie Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.15

A landmark 2007 study showed that DHEA supplementation of 150 mg twice daily improved memory recall and mood in healthy young men, specifically increasing activity in the hippocampus, the region of the brain most closely associated with mnemonic function (memory).5

Enhance Your Mood—Naturally

Depression often accompanies aging, frequently emerging in older individuals.16,17 Fortunately, we now recognize depression as an essentially physiological condition—one that can be treated. Low DHEA levels are known to render aging humans more vulnerable to depression in the presence of triggers such as rejection or isolation.18 Negative emotional stimuli have been shown to lower DHEA levels even further.19

Supplementation with DHEA can powerfully mitigate depression and its effects. A National Institute of Mental Health study of depressive men and women aged 45-65 years showed significant improvement over 6 weeks among those who took 90 mg of DHEA per day for 3 weeks and then 450 mg per day for 3 weeks, compared with placebo.7 The study also showed significant improvements in sexual functioning scores in supplemented patients, but not among control patients. In a rare admission from the generally conservative National Institute of Mental Health, their conclusion was, “We find DHEA to be an effective treatment for midlife-onset major and minor depression.”

In a set of studies, DHEA was found to improve both mood and energy while alleviating depression.20-22 Israeli researchers also demonstrated minimal effects on other hormonal profiles, alleviating concerns about adverse events with DHEA.23

A remarkable 2006 study demonstrated reduction in depressive symptoms in an especially challenging population—patients with HIV/AIDS.24

Several 2009 studies revealed associations of low DHEA levels with a number of neuropsychiatric conditions and were able to show that DHEA influences gene expression in the brain.25 For example, DHEA modulates expression of genes directly involved in appetite regulation, energy utilization, and alertness.26 Another study demonstrated that DHEA acted in synergy with the antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac®), leading researchers to suggest DHEA as “a useful adjunct therapy for depression.”27

Support for Aging Bones and Joints

A 2000 study demonstrated improved bone turnover—more marked in women than in men—during a year-long study of daily 50 mg supplementation with DHEA.28 (Bone turnover is the natural process by which the body replaces old bone from the skeleton and replaces it with new bone.) By 2003, laboratory evidence emerged suggesting that DHEA could potentially enhance joint function and ward off osteoarthritis (OA).2

DHEA treatment of cartilage tissue taken from patients with OA increased production of healthy, flexible type II collagen protein, while reducing production of the less flexible type I collagen associated with scar formation.2 DHEA also modified the imbalance between cartilage-destroying enzymes and those that protect cartilage from damage. These impressive effects were the direct result of DHEA’s capacity to favorably modulate gene expression.

DHEA’s effects on bone structure are no less significant. A double-blind, randomized, controlled trial of 50 mg per day of DHEA administered orally versus placebo for 12 months showed improved hip bone mineral density (BMD) in older men and women with low DHEA-S levels, with additional improvements in spine BMD in women.3,29 A larger study in 2008 showed that DHEA not only improved lumbar spine BMD in women (not men) taking 50 mg per day for a year, but it also reduced blood-borne markers of bone resorption,30 an important measure of overall bone health and bone aging. Not surprisingly, the addition of vitamin D and calcium supplements to a DHEA regimen may afford further benefit.31

What you need to know: DHEA

• DHEA, the most common hormone precursor in the body, is intimately associated with youthful and healthy functioning across a range of physiological systems.
• Levels of DHEA decline steadily with age, and low DHEA levels are associated with increased cardiovascular risk, diabetes, obesity, loss of vigor and sexual energy, depression, and even visible skin aging.
• The most up-to-date scientific research indicates that DHEA can protect brain cells involved in memory function, alleviate depression and enhance mood, strengthen bone health, bolster immunity, lower blood glucose, limit the complications of obesity and diabetes, support healthy cardiovascular function, and enhance sexuality at both the psychological and physical levels.
• As little as 50 mg of DHEA per day may favorably alter gene expression to inhibit multiple factors implicated in metabolic syndrome; boost bone strength; enhance cognitive function and memory; and ward off osteoarthritis.
• DHEA is also available in topical crèmes that has been shown to dramatically enhance the youthful appearance of skin.
• Individuals who have been diagnosed with any type of hormone-related cancer should not supplement with DHEA.

Optimal Immune Strength and Anti-Viral Protection

The precipitous age-related decline in DHEA/DHEA-S levels results in the immune deficiency we call immunosenescence.32 Supplementation with DHEA may beneficially modulate immunity33,34 to help combat debilitating age-related conditions through multiple, complementary pathways.

DHEA has boosted immune function in blood cells taken from patients after major abdominal surgery.35 This action may help to prevent serious infections and promote healing. In the setting of dangerous infections and trauma in laboratory animals, DHEA and its metabolites markedly upregulate host immune responses, modulate inflammation, and improve survival.36-38 In animal models, DHEA’s ability to raise sex hormone concentrations to youthful levels also promoted wound healing.39

DHEA also possesses significant antiviral properties. It has blocked replication of several different, potentially deadly virus families in the laboratory—more effectively and more selectively than the drug ribavirin!40,41

A 2008 study showed that DHEA also increases natural resistance to certain lethal parasites, including Trypanosma cruzi (the cause of Chagas disease),42 a microorganism that causes death from heart disease and brain damage, particularly in immunocompromised patients. Subsequent research conducted in 2009 found that DHEA supplementation reduced parasite levels, raised levels of defensive macrophage white blood cells, and increased levels of immune signalling interferons.43,44

Among individuals stricken with autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, treatment with conventional corticosteroids not only over-suppresses the immune system, it can also promote bone resorption and catastrophic fractures. DHEA has been shown to reduce expression of cytokines and other factors that lead to bone resorption in steroid-treated tissue, while still suppressing inflammation effectively.45

There’s good news for asthma and allergy patients who respond poorly to regular steroid usage as well. DHEA is now known to suppress allergy-induced inflammatory cytokines in reactive airway cells while increasing the ratio of beneficial interferon to inflammatory cytokines—highly significant advances in the management of this troubling condition.46

Combat Metabolic Disorders

We’ve known for over a decade that DHEA protects against obesity and its consequences in aging and diabetic animals.47,48 In 2009, scientists confirmed that low DHEA levels in men were linked to diabetes and coronary heart disease.49 DHEA powerfully modulates gene expression to shift the metabolic balance in favor of energy utilization and away from storage as fat.50

DHEA also activates gene expression of cellular machinery that affects a cell’s consumption of fats and sugars to remove them from circulation.51,52 These molecules help correct harmful lipid abnormalities and unhealthy body fat distribution—a possible mechanism by which DHEA decreases total body fat.53,54

In 2007, researchers demonstrated in aged rats fed a high-fat diet that DHEA increased body protein, while decreasing total caloric intake, body weight, body fat, and total size and number of fat cells.55 In a related experiment, researchers discovered that DHEA could change the composition of adipose tissue, boosting levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids while reducing harmful omega-6 fatty acids.56

A human study showed how powerfully these DHEA effects can modify body composition.4 When 52 elderly men and women took 50 mg per day of DHEA or placebo for 6 months, it reduced stubborn abdominal and subcutaneous body fat. Insulin levels dropped significantly in supplemented patients as well, indicating enhanced insulin sensitivity. The researchers concluded appropriately that “DHEA replacement could play a role in prevention and treatment of the metabolic syndrome associated with abdominal obesity.”

“DHEA replacement could play a role in prevention and treatment of the metabolic syndrome associated with abdominal obesity.”

DHEA is highly protective against diabetes and its complications. In diabetic rats, DHEA prevented increases in oxidant stress and oxidative damage related to the disease. It also significantly improved blood vessel relaxation, improving blood flow.57 DHEA induces genes in muscle tissue that increase uptake and utilization of blood glucose as energy, significantly lowering blood sugar in diabetic animals.58 In humans with type 2 diabetes, DHEA counteracts oxidative imbalance and the formation of deadly advanced glycation end products (AGEs), and downregulates the inflammatory TNF-alpha system—effects that may prevent the onset and slow the progression of deadly diabetes.59

Cardiovascular Disease Defense

The past several years have witnessed extraordinary advances in our understanding of DHEA’s cardioprotective power—and its relationship to cardiovascular disease.

A 2009 study of 153 diabetic men with stable coronary heart disease (CHD) found that 77% were DHEA-S deficient, significantly more than in healthy peers.60 Over the next 19 months of follow-up, 43 of those men died of CHD; the data showed that low DHEA-S and low testostosterone levels were two of the four most significant predictors of death.

Another 2009 study of 247 men with a mean age of 76 years revealed that those with low DHEA-S had a 96% increased risk of diabetes and a 48% increased risk of coronary heart disease.49

A 2009 study from the University of Pennsylvania discovered a surprisingly close relationship between mortality and the trajectory of DHEA-S decline in older adults.61 Specifically, a rapid or erratic decline in DHEA-S predicted earlier death, and both together increased the death rate by nearly threefold! Regular blood testing for healthy DHEA-S levels are the only way to detect these lethal changes in DHEA levels early. It is of paramount importance that you have your DHEA-S levels checked at least once a year.

A Mayo Clinic study found that DHEA supplementation (50 mg per day) in women with low DHEA levels and low adrenal function improved plasma DHEA content, significantly lowered total cholesterol, and tended to reduce triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels.62 But supplemented patients also had reductions in their beneficial high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. This study suggests that long-term studies are needed to determine the impact of DHEA supplementation on cardiovascular risk in women with low adrenal function.

Additional support for DHEA’s benefits in patients suffering from vascular disease came in two remarkable 2009 studies.63,64 The first examined vascular remodeling, a dangerous process that occurs when vessels are injured by atherosclerosis.63 Vascular remodeling can impede blood flow and ultimately worsen cardiovascular disease.65

DHEA significantly inhibited vascular remodeling in a rabbit model of carotid artery injury and limited deadly buildup of smooth muscle in vessel walls.63 Another study of rabbits fed a high-fat diet showed that DHEA supplements restored oxidative balance, lowered lipid levels and inflammatory damage, and prevented heart muscle tissue death and dysfunction, delaying the onset of cardiac damage.64

Enhanced Well-Being and Libido Even in Challenged Populations

Studies as early as 2000 demonstrated how DHEA improved well-being and could help to manage menopause without deleterious effects.28,66 In 2006 it was revealed that 50 mg per day of DHEA could improve psychological well-being even in challenging populations such as those with decreased pituitary function.67

DHEA exerted a remarkably positive effect on health-related quality of life in women taking long-term steroids for lupus (chronic steroid therapy can produce powerful depression and reduction in quality of life measures).68 Of particular importance, the DHEA-supplemented groups also reported improvement in sexuality.

Additional research supports an excitatory effect for DHEA on sexuality—especially in women. In one study, sixteen sexually functional postmenopausal women were randomly given either placebo or a single DHEA supplement of 300 mg, 60 minutes before presentation of an erotic video.69 Women in the supplement group showed significantly greater mental and physical sexual arousal during the video than did the control women. The supplemented women also reported a greater increase in positive affect (generally feeling good) compared to placebo recipients.

A 2009 animal study may shed light on some of the physical causes behind these benefits: DHEA applied to the smooth muscle of rabbit clitoris resulted in significant relaxation,70 allowing the increased blood flow and engorgement that results in enhanced sensitivity during sexual arousal.

Favorable Gene Expression for Youthful, Glowing Skin

A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that DHEA has especially favorable effects on skin health and appearance. In a 2000 laboratory study, DHEA was shown to increase production of collagen—the protein that gives youthful skin its suppleness—while decreasing production of the collagenase enzymes that destroy it.71

It wasn’t until 2008, however, that Canadian scientists discovered more than 50 DHEA-responsive genes in the skin of women using a topical DHEA crème.72 DHEA “switched on” multiple collagen-producing genes and reduced expression of genes associated with production and cornification (hardening) of the tough keratinocytes that form calluses and rough skin. The researchers concluded, “DHEA could exert an anti-aging effect in the skin through stimulation of collagen biosynthesis, improved structural organization of the dermis while modulating keratinocyte metabolism.”

Other unexpected benefits of topical DHEA on aging skin are emerging. DHEA treatment increases production of sebum, or skin oil.73 Sebum not only contributes to smooth, supple skin; it also contains myriad antimicrobial components that prevent infection and irritation. Topical DHEA also improves skin “brightness” and counteracts the “papery” appearance of aging skin, combating the epidermal thinning that is a visible hallmark of aging.73 The study authors note that these are “beneficial effects on skin characteristics that are rarely provided by topical treatments.”

Summary

In the past few years alone, significant scientific substantiation of DHEA’s anti-aging effects has emerged. Its neuroprotective effects are now recognized as being vital in protecting memory and reducing depressive symptoms in older adults. DHEA enhances bone health by improving mineralization to reduce fracture risk. DHEA modulates immunity in a coordinated fashion, boosting resistance to infection while quelling dangerous inflammation. DHEA supports cardiovascular health and activates genes that prevent cardiovascular risk factors, including diabetes and obesity. DHEA is intimately involved in improving quality of life and bolstering sexual arousal, while dramatically improving the appearance of healthy, youthful skin. As little as 50 mg of DHEA per day may favorably alter gene expression to inhibit multiple factors implicated in metabolic syndrome; boost bone strength; enhance cognitive function and memory; and ward off osteoarthritis. DHEA topical crèmes allow ready application of DHEA to the site of action.

Note: Individuals who have been diagnosed with a hormone-dependent cancer should not supplement with DHEA until their cancer is cured.

If you have any questions on the scientific content of this article, please call a Life Extension® Health Advisor at 1-866-864-3027.

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