There has been much discussion about 7-Keto DHEA since Dr. Oz talked about it on his program.

What is 7-Keto DHEA?

The claims say that it can help women lose abdominal weight. Before you run out and buy it, there is some information you might want to know. 7-Keto DHEA is a by-product of the hormone, DHEA. DHEA is a precursor to androgenic hormones. While women have and need some androgenic hormones like testosterone, in their bodies, just as men have estrogen and progesterone in theirs, a little may be all we women need. Too much of it could cause problems.

7-Keto DHEA can be purchased over-the-counter, just as DHEA can be. However, just because something is easily available and not prescription, doesn’t mean it is always safe. Some hormones were “Grandfathered” as over-the-counter rather than prescription. They are still hormones and can have hormonal affects on the body. Even Vitamin D is actually a hormone and can be toxic in too great of amounts.

Does it work?

It does appear that 7-Keto DHEA can increase body metabolism and may help develop muscle but because it is androgenic it may also cause hair growth in the wrong places, acne and irritability. If a woman is already low in estrogen or progesterone, 7-Keto DHEA may have a more maculating affect.

According to webMD, there isn’t enough information available to know if 7-Keto DHEA is safe.

What You Should Know

There could certainly be a potential benefit to using 7-Keto DHEA but it is important to have an evaluation prior to its use. This evaluation should include a physical exam and lab tests to determine hormone levels and thyroid function.

If you have a sluggish thyroid gland, treating that may be all that is needed. Most doctors use the TSH (Thyroid Stimulation Hormone) Test to determine if your thyroid is working properly. If the TSH is high, you have Hypothyroidism, and won’t be able to lose weight easily, even with diet and exercise. A few years ago the Endocrinologists determined that the correct normal value for TSH should be 0.3-3.3. Many labs have not adjusted their results to these numbers so many people may have been told that their thyroid was working fine because the lab test said it was normal but it really wasn’t.

You can have a normal TSH and still not have a working thyroid. The TSH measures only the level of thyroid hormone called T4. Yet, T4 is not the active form of thyroid. That would be Free T3. Free T3 can also be measured with a lab test but I find that it is rarely done. It would be important to know if your thyroid is really working as it should before taking an over-the-counter hormone.

What looks like a quick fix for losing abdominal weight could cause a host of real problems if you don’t find out your hormone and thyroid levels before using 7-Keto DHEA.