Much research has been conducted on the loss of hormones in aging. It is now known that four key hormones are reduced as a person ages. These hormones are testosterone, 7-keto-dehydroepiandrosterone (7 keto-DHEA), pregenolone, and melatonin. While testosterone is a banned substance, available only through prescription, 7keto-DHEA, pregnenolone, and melatonin are available over the counter. I would like to address the use of these three hormones by older athletes. If you are over the age of 40, I recommend you try these hormones.
7keto DHEA is the most abundant steroid in humans. It is secreted by the adrenal cortex, but also synthesized by the brain and skin. Until just recently, 7keto-DHEA was considered to be only important as an intermediate in the synthesis of sex steroids. It is now clear that 7keto-DHEA has profound physiologic and biologic actions all its own. 7keto-DHEA declines with age so that a man age 40 produces half that of a man in his twenties. A man in his eighties may produce only 10-20% of what was made in his twenties.
7keto-DHEA stimulates the immune system response, affects nervous system function, increases testosterone, reduces body fat, and improves cell energetics making the growth process more efficient. It also buffers the catabolic action of corticosteroids like cortisol.
There is a good chance you will benefit from 7keto-DHEA in many ways, including the ability to build and maintain dense muscle mass well into your later years, due to 7keto-DHEA’s anabolic and anticatabolic actions. Because 7keto-DHEA is a neurosteroid it may also reduce fatigue during hard training cycles, and makes you feel more energetic throughout the day. I recommend a dosage of 25-50 milligrams daily, taken in the morning.
By age sixty, nighttime levels of melatonin decrease by 50% of the peak level during youth. Melatonin is produced in the pineal gland of the brain. Research has shown that a low level of melatonin may be responsible for accelerating the aging process. By bringing melatonin levels back to the amount you had in your teens, you may be able to enhance your immune system, fight viruses, block the damage caused by cortisol, improve sleep, enhance sexual vitality, and recover from training faster. If your age is 40-45, I recommend you take between .5mg and 1 mg of melatonin about a half hour before bedtime. At age 45-55 take 1 to 2 mg age 55-65 take 2-3 mg, age 65-75 plus take 4-5 mg, just before bedtime.
Pregnenolone is the third and final hormone I want to discuss. It is a superhormone for the brain, regarded by many researchers as the most potent memory enhancer of all time. By the time you are seventy-five, you are probably making 60 percent less pregnenolone than you did in your thirties. I recommend you take 50mg of pregnenolone daily, in the morning. You can stacke with 7keto-DHEA.
Daryl Conant, M.Ed
The Fitness Nut