Product Description

Biochemist Stephen Cherniske gives readers all the information they need to take advantage of and maximize the properties of this superhormone--safely and effectively. Includes up-to-the-minute research on DHEA's effect on women's health, the immune system, depression, and memory.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #152738 in Books
• Published on: 1998-05-27
• Released on: 1998-05-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 368 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780345426468
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
Touted as the fountain of youth in pill form, DHEA, or dehydroepiandrosterone, is a hormone naturally produced by the body. The young body, that is; by age 85, you produce 95 percent less DHEA than at age 25. Stephen Cherniske, a biochemist who has tracked the research on DHEA for years, has compiled a handy reference to help sort out the hype from this hormone's reported helpfulness for boosting libido and immune function, improving bone density, aiding weight loss, relieving depression and atherosclerosis, and even reducing the size of tumors.

DHEA is inexpensive and readily available in health food stores or through the Web; that's about where the simplicity wears off. It's not regulated by the FDA, so recommended doses vary widely, from 10 to 50 milligrams or more a day. It's also available in both natural and chemical forms, and, unfortunately, sometimes in combination with potentially dangerous stimulants such as ephedra, an herb that has been shown to cause insomnia and an irregular heartbeat. Cherniske gives suggestions for which type of DHEA to buy and in what doses, depending on such things as your age and activity level, as well as recommended sources. He also provides a "longevity program" with suggested co-supplements, such as ginseng and vitamin B6, along with exercises suited to even the completely out-of-shape, to optimize the effectiveness of the DHEA. There's also information about the ins and outs of DHEA testing and how to analyze your results (Cherniske reminds us that "normal" often tells us nothing), and potential side effects for both women and men. Overall, Cherniske does an excellent job of separating fact from fiction about this controversial but quite extraordinary supplement.

From the Publisher
Stephen Cherniske is one of this county's premier researchers in DHEA. He was studying and testing DHEA years before most of the currently touted "experts." Additionally, he is living and breathing proof that a sensible, tailored lifeplan - - including DHEA - - can make an amazing contribution to health, outlook, and appearance. Reading DHEA BREAKTHROUGH is like being in the same room and having a conversation with Stephen: his voice, energy, charm, and recommendations are immediate and tangible.

Cathy Repetti
Associate Publisher

From the Inside Flap
DO YOU WANT . . .

The high energy you enjoyed in your twenties and thirties?
Protection against cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis?
Renewed sexual appetite and vigor?
To beat depression, boost your memory, and handle stress?
To lose body fat while building up your lean muscle mass?

DHEA can do all this and more! In The DHEA Breakthrough, biochemist Stephen Cherniske gives you all the information you need to take advantage of and maximize the extraordinary properties of this superhormone--safely and effectively.

The DHEA Breakthrough contains the easy-to-implement DHEA Plan, including a diet designed for our "paleolithic" bodies, stress reduction techniques, and an exercise program that eases you into the next level of performance, no matter where you are now. With this comprehensive, accessible book, you can look forward to a longer, more satisfying, more healthful life!

"I've used DHEA in my practice for five years and seen how it can help restore physiologic balance. That's close to a modern day miracle, and this book describes the breakthrough perfectly."
--Jesse Hanley, M.D., Medical Director, Malibu Health and Rehabilitation

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews

Cherniske's analysis of DHEA is persuasive.
After reading "The DHEA Breakthrough" by Stephen Cherniske, I bought some DHEA and since my age is 57, I now take 50 mg daily and have been for about 10 months. I can't respond to all of the claims Mr. Cherniske makes, but as to improved energy, strength and increased vitality, the results are there---in spades!

Response to 'a reader' that barks more than Researches
This is in response to the 'a reader' below who seems to suffice on half-efforted research. I have met Mr. Cherniske and found the following information from my own meager research.

In a free society, people are entitled to express their opinion. Stephen Barrett uses websites to express his opinions regarding a number of topics, including network marketing, alternative and complimentary medicine, nutritional supplements and those who promote nutritional supplements. He presents his views in an authoritative manner, leading some to confuse these opinions with actual fact. In reality, what Dr. Barrett chooses to include in his "profiles" is extremely limited and loaded with innuendo. What's the issue? Stephen Cherniske attended Columbia Pacific University from 1979 to 1982. The school, as Dr. Barrett admits, was accredited at that time, and then degree requirements were quite stringent. The court order referenced by Dr. Barrett only affects students who attended after June of 1997. Still, he includes Mr. Cherniske in a list of recent graduates from Columbia Pacific University, hoping to disparage by association what he cannot say in print.

Of course, the fact that one's Masters Degree is not from Harvard should mean very little in a review of someone's career. Mr. Cherniske has letters of commendation from the head of the UCLA program where he was an instructor, as well as letters from Chapman University where he taught extension classes for nine years. Mr. Cherniske has certificates for 171 hours of state approved Continuing Medical Education that he has completed since 1980 as well as course materials from the CME courses that he has taught.

I would also point out that his selection for a faculty position with the American College of Sports Medicine was not based on where he went to school, but rather his expertise in the field of nutrition and human performance. Likewise, the medical reviewers at Random House and Warner Books gave Cherniske high marks for accuracy and scientific insight. Since 1980, he has presented more than 6,000 hours of lectures to professional and lay audiences. Lectures that were subsequently published in scientific proceedings are listed in his CV, which he makes available to anyone who asks.

Still, skeptic choose to ignore these accomplishments and focus instead on membership in the National Academy of Research Biochemists, an organization that Cherniske joined in 1975 and subsequently left.

A relevant question is, why should one believe Stephen Barrett, a retired psychiatrist and consumer "watch dog," who condemns anything he does not personally believe in, including chiropractic care, which he calls "organized crime." Dr. Edward Maurer, chairman of the board of the American Chiropractic Association, disagrees. He calls Dr. Barrett "... a self-appointed vigilante committee of one."

Barrett also believes that taking vitamins is useless ("If you are eating food," he says, "you are going to get vitamins.") and maintains that position even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Dr. Barrett wrote the forward for a colleague's book (which he sells on his web site) in which vitamin E is called "Snake-Oil for the Heart." Seeing as vitamin E has been found - in Harvard studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine (1, 2) - to remarkably reduce risk for heart disease should give one pause before believing everything Dr. Barrett says.

Barrett also criticizes the Anabolic / Catabolic Index, essentially arguing that the ACI does not measure overall healthfulness and therefore has no value. In fact, Cherniske never claimed that the ACI measured overall healthfulness, although this point was included in an agreement between the FTC and myself. Apparently, Dr. Barrett feels that reading one FTC action letter is sufficient to pass judgement on a test that has received accolades from clinicians and scientists around the world.

Barrett ignores the research paper on the ACI test published in the Journal of Chromatography, a highly respected peer-reviewed laboratory science publication. (3) He must also be unaware that the test was selected for inclusion in Science Direct, the world's largest biomedical database and was selected and quoted by the prestigious scientific bibliography "Current Awareness in Biomedicine."(4)

He also missed the fact that the ACI test has received a U.S. Patent as a biomarker of aging (5), and was presented at the 2002 International Conference on Biomedical Spectroscopy in Cardiff, UK.(6) The second peer-reviewed paper validating the ACI test as an aging biomarker appeared in the international journal Spectroscopy.(7)

Bottom line, Mr. Cherniske and his readers are extremely proud of his academic and professional accomplishments over the last 30 years. His CV has always been accurate and available to anyone with a genuine interest in evaluating the true science.



1. Stampfer MJ, Hennekens CH, Manson JE, Colditz GA, Rosner B, Willett WC. Vitamin E and the risk of coronary disease in women. N Engl J Med 1993; 328:1444-9.

2. Rimm EB, Stampfer MJ, Ascherio A, Giovannucci E, Colditz GA, Willett WC. Vitamin E consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease in men. N Engl J Med 1993; 328:1450-6.

3. Jia Q, Hong MF, Pan ZX, Orndorff S. Quantification of Urine 17-ketosteroid sulfates and glucuronides by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography - Ion Trap Mass Spectroscopy. Journal of Chromatography B. Jan 2001, Vol 750, (1) 81-91.

4. http://www.shef-ac-press.co.uk/subis.
The ACI paper was quoted in " High Performance Liquid Chromatography" with reference # 1010706961.

5. Cherniske, S, Jia, Q., Hong, M-F. Measurement and Quantification of 17 ketosteroid-Sulfates as a Biomarker of Biological Age.
US patent, US 6,326,209 B1, Dec. 4, 2001

6. Jia, Q., Hong, M., Ritter, C., Vance, S., Cortes-Guzman, M., Cherniske, S.
Quantification of Urine 17-Ketosteroid Sulfates and Glucuronides by LC/MS and Using the Normalized Total 17-KS-S as a Bio-Marker of Aging. Proceedings, First International Conference on Biomedical Spectroscopy in Cardiff, UK (7-10 July 2002).

7. Qi Jia, Mei-Feng Hong, Zhao-Xing Pan, Cheryl Ritter, Susan Vance, Mariam Cortes-Guzman and Stephen Cherniske. Quantification of urine 17-ketosteroid sulfates and their age correlations. Spectroscopy. 2002; 16:171-81.

INFO-PACKED, ENGAGING READ
This book provides all the information one needs to take advantage of and maximize the amazing properties of the natural hormone DHEA in a safe and effective manner. His DHEA Plan is not only about taking pills but also improving one's lifestyle with stress-reduction techniques, an exercise program and dietary guidelines.

DHEA is a natural hormone produced in the adrenal glands; the full name is Dehydroepiandrosterone. The author covers all aspects of the hormone, from the Dioscorea plant in which the supplemental form is obtained, through the manufacturing process, down to dosage directions. The therapeutic potential of the substance is examined with reference to its ability to reduce stress, protect joints, build bones & lean muscle mass, counteract fatigue, beat depression and boost memory. DHEA may eventually play a greater role in the fight against cancer, diabetes, heart disease and osteoporosis.

Cherniske's witty writing style keeps the attention throughout, and the book contains a number of appendices (resources, health support organizations, reasons why it is essential to take vitamin supplements) plus a glossary, bibliographic notes and index. Each chapter concludes with a bibliography of articles from the scientific literature and the text contains a few black & white illustrations. Oddly enough, the grandmother of all natural hormones, Pregnenolone, is never mentioned and is not found in the index. This is strange in view of the fact that in the body DHEA derives from Pregnenolone and shares with it a number of features.

I also recommend Ray Sahelian's books on DHEA, Pregnenolone & Melatonin, The Superhormone Promise by William Regelson and the work of Ronald Klatz as valuable sources of information on all the superhormones & other supplements that can extend and improve human life; besides natural hormones these include amino acids, vitamins, minerals, trace elements & phytochemicals as well as medicines like Cimetidine & Deprenyl.