DHEA 25 mg – Supports Mood & Physical Well-Being | 60 Vegetarian Capsules

DHEA 25 mg from Mt. Angel Vitamins is one vegetarian capsule holding 25 mg of DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), an adrenal hormone your body makes less of as the years go by. Each bottle has 60 capsules, a 60-day supply at the label's one capsule a day. It's a single active ingredient that supports mood and physical well-being.†

DHEA is for adults, mostly people in their 40s and beyond, whose own DHEA has been drifting down since early adulthood and who want a measured amount with their practitioner in the loop. It is not for anyone under 18 or anyone pregnant or nursing. The label says so in capital letters.

Aging isn't optional. Getting old is. DHEA won't turn back the calendar, and we won't pretend the studies say it will. Here's what the research found, encouraging and lukewarm, so you can decide whether 25 mg a day earns a spot in your routine.

Why people take DHEA 25 mg

• To support mood and physical well-being, the benefit printed on the label.†
• To add DHEA, an adrenal hormone whose blood levels peak in early adulthood and then decline steadily with age.†
• To give the body a starting material it converts into other hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen.†
• To support healthy aging as one part of a routine built on sleep, movement and good food.†

What's in each serving

*Daily Value Not Established. Serving size: 1 Vegetarian Capsule. Each bottle holds 60 capsules, a 60-day supply at the label's serving. Other ingredients: Deep mined calcium phosphate, maltodextrin, vegetable cellulose (preservative-free, from capsule shell), cellulose, magnesium trisilicate, silica, and magnesium stearate. The label also reads "Single Ingredient" (one active ingredient, DHEA) and "HPLC Tested." HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography) is a lab method for measuring how much of a compound a sample contains.

How DHEA 25 mg works

What DHEA is

DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) is a steroid hormone made mainly by your adrenal glands, which sit on top of your kidneys. In the blood it travels with its sulfate form, DHEA-S, which is what the studies below measure. Much of what DHEA does, it does as a starting material: the body converts it into androgens such as testosterone and estrogens such as estradiol. The label calls it "An Adrenal Hormone," and its warnings read like a hormone's, not a vitamin's.

Why levels change with age

In a study of 1,462 people aged 11 to 89, average DHEA-S peaked at ages 20 to 24 in men and 15 to 19 in women, then declined steadily in both. Past age 70, average levels were roughly a fifth of the peak.

Why 25 mg in one capsule

The trials below that name a dose used 50 mg a day, and in two of them that amount brought DHEA-S back to young-adult levels. One capsule of ours is half that, a measured starting point for you and your practitioner. We won't claim it does everything a 50 mg dose did in a study. And please don't double up on your own: the label says not to exceed the recommended serving.

What the research shows

One early trial was small. In a 1994 crossover trial in adults aged 40 to 70, 13 men and 17 women took 50 mg of DHEA nightly or a placebo for 3 months each. DHEA and DHEA-S reached young-adult levels within 2 weeks, and the researchers reported a rise in perceived physical and psychological well-being in both men (67%) and women (84%). Body fat, insulin sensitivity and libido didn't change.

A larger study gave 280 healthy women and men aged 60 to 79 either 50 mg a day or a placebo for a year. In the year-long DHEAge study, DHEA-S returned to "young" levels with no potentially harmful build-up of related hormones. Testosterone and estradiol rose a little, and skin hydration and thickness improved, both mainly in women.

What the research doesn't show

Now the lukewarm part. A 2-week crossover trial in 40 healthy older adults (average age 69) found no strong effect of 50 mg a day on well-being, mood or memory tests. Women trended toward better mood, but the difference wasn't statistically significant. A 2-year trial in 87 older men and 57 older women with low DHEA-S (56 of them took DHEA) found no meaningful change from DHEA in body composition, muscle strength, physical performance or quality of life. And a 2013 meta-analysis of 25 placebo-controlled trials in 1,353 older men found a small drop in fat mass, but no effect on quality of life, sexual function, bone measures, or blood lipid and glucose markers.

The honest summary: taking DHEA raises DHEA-S in the blood, study after study, but the effects people feel are modest, and the strongest well-being result came from the smallest trial. It's worth talking over with your practitioner before you start.

How to take DHEA 25 mg

Directions from the label: "One capsule daily, as a dietary supplement, or as directed by your health care practitioner."

The label doesn't specify a time of day or whether to take it with food, so pick a time you'll remember. Don't take more than one capsule a day unless your practitioner directs it; the label warns that exceeding the recommended serving may cause adverse health effects.

The label's warnings, in plain English:

• Not for use by anyone under the age of 18. Do not use if pregnant or nursing.
• Talk with a physician or licensed qualified health care professional before using DHEA if you have, or have a family history of, any prostate condition, any heart condition, or low "good" cholesterol (HDL).
• Do the same if you use any other dietary supplement, prescription drug or over-the-counter drug.
• Possible side effects listed on the label: skin breakouts, hair loss, hair growth on the face (in women), aggressiveness, irritability, and increased levels of estrogen.
• Stop using it and call a physician or licensed qualified health care professional right away if you notice a rapid heartbeat, dizziness, blurred vision or other similar symptoms.
• Keep out of reach of children.

Read the full warning on the bottle before your first capsule. If you take medication or have a medical condition, ask your healthcare practitioner before use.

Don't take our word for it

• Verified by independent labs. ISO 17025-accredited labs check our test results.
• Every ingredient lot tested before use. Federal rules only require an identity test on incoming dietary ingredients. We test every incoming lot, DHEA included, for identity, potency, heavy metals and microbes.
• If it misses spec, it doesn't go in a bottle. More than 99% of our tests pass, and the lots that don't are turned away.
• A certificate of analysis for every lot.

Made in the USA with globally sourced ingredients, in Mt. Angel, Oregon. It's a farm town of about 3,500 people in the Willamette Valley, and our UL-certified cGMP facility is where the formulators, the makers and the testers all work under one roof. The owners work in the building too, and the company has been owner-run since 2017. We've been making supplements in Oregon since 1974, and we're not getting old either.

Frequently asked questions

How much DHEA is in each capsule?

Each vegetarian capsule contains 25 mg of DHEA, and the label's serving is one capsule a day, so a 60-capsule bottle lasts 60 days.

When should I take DHEA, and does it need food?

The label doesn't say, so choose a time you'll stick with. The 1994 trial had people take it at night, but that was study design, not a rule. If your practitioner has a preference, follow it.

How long before I notice anything?

There's no guaranteed timeline, and some people notice nothing. In studies using 50 mg a day, blood DHEA-S rose within about 2 weeks, and well-being was measured after 3 months. If you're unsure whether it's doing anything for you, check in with your practitioner.

Is DHEA for men or women?

Both. Men and women make DHEA, and both took part in the studies above. In the 1994 trial, androgen levels doubled in women taking 50 mg while men saw only a small change. The label lists "hair growth on the face (in women)" among possible side effects. It's for adults 18 and older only, and not for use during pregnancy or nursing.

Can I take it with one of your multivitamins?

Check with your practitioner first, since the label asks you to talk with a physician or licensed qualified health care professional before combining DHEA with any other dietary supplement or drug. Our multivitamins don't contain DHEA, so you wouldn't be doubling up, and a multi covers everyday vitamins and minerals that DHEA doesn't.

Is DHEA safe to take with my medication?

Ask your practitioner before you start. The label asks you to consult a physician or licensed qualified health care professional if you use any prescription or over-the-counter drug. Bring the bottle so they can see exactly what's in it.

Keep learning

Companions to discuss with your practitioner:

• Men's Multi, a daily multivitamin for men
• Women's Multi, a daily multivitamin for women
• Men's 50+ Multivitamin, built for men over 50
• Women's 50+ Multivitamin, built for women over 50
• B-Complex, a vitamin B complex in one daily capsule

References

1. Orentreich N et al. Age changes and sex differences in serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate concentrations throughout adulthood. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1984. PubMed
2. Morales AJ et al. Effects of replacement dose of dehydroepiandrosterone in men and women of advancing age. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1994. PubMed
3. Baulieu EE et al. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), DHEA sulfate, and aging: contribution of the DHEAge Study to a sociobiomedical issue. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000. PubMed
4. Wolf OT et al. Effects of a two-week physiological dehydroepiandrosterone substitution on cognitive performance and well-being in healthy elderly women and men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1997. PubMed
5. Nair KS et al. DHEA in elderly women and DHEA or testosterone in elderly men. N Engl J Med. 2006. PubMed
6. Corona G et al. Dehydroepiandrosterone supplementation in elderly men: a meta-analysis study of placebo-controlled trials. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013. PubMed

†These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.