Re: DHEA supplementation with HC A MUST!

I get your point craig regarding side effects of drugs etc, yet that one sentence you quoted as a statement is kinda out of context - as it was referring to the detrimental effect of low ACTH, therefore low DHEA when taking oral HC,which has a long chain effect on other hormone levels, so to negate that one VERY negative potential effect of HC they are saying DHEA supplementation is a good idea.

As with any replacement steroid use, it has the potential to atrophy the function of the gland that should normally produce that steroid. It's risky and should be done with care, but i think sometimes it's very necessary depending on the body's need for that steroid, i.e cortisol being absolutely necessary for life.

However, the naturopathic world is just as guilty of 'super selling' products and not actually having much idea of the side effects.
For example with AF - licorice is promoted everywhere yet totally unsuitable for most people with AF, who are hyper cortisol, as it will extend the cortisol in their system.
This is because there is no clear definition of what AF actually is in the first place, except for those here on CZ who are well versed in the whole 'syndrome'.
Most websites i read about AF talk of weight gain!
Weight gain and hyper cortisol is Pre-AF by definition...'hyper-adrenal'.
AF, as the name suggests really means deficiency: lowered cortisol with weight loss.

So many people on licorice and feeling worse on it, because they identify with 'general AF symptoms' yet don't realise they're making the problem worse, and potentially could be hiking up their already high BP, about to embrace a heart attack due to the 'natural' licorice.

Dr Wilson (not the ARL guy, the other one!) even has licorice/ginseng in his formulas and his products yet they'd be totally wrong for a Hyper HPA cortisol pre-AF person to take, yet that is the najority of his customers.

Education about the use and risks from medication - whether that is from a laboratory or straight from nature, is more important.
Nature's medicine can be a killer too when prescribed wrong, just like pharmaceuticals.

I'm not debating about pharma verses nature, just making some valid points. I don't believe pharma is primarily in the business for the 'optimal health' of everyone, and they obviously love to make a big buck or a few trillion!... yet modern medicine has a purpose.

Truly i just started the thread to alert folk on HC that DHEA could possibly help keep other ACTH regulated hormones in check.