Ever since aging became an obstacle to the tireless pursuit of pleasure, which baby boomers have claimed as our inalienable right, the search for the fountain of youth has been one of our foremost preoccupations. Hormones, and specifically DHEA and growth hormone, have been touted as panaceas because of alleged magical powers of restoration and rejuvenation.

If you want to preserve the way you looked and felt when you were in your 20s, saddle up with these hormones and your ride along the endless highway of youthful vitality will be guaranteed — or so the logic goes. Both DHEA and growth hormone are used by athletes, body builders and gym junkies for muscle-building purposes and to improve recovery. Are they turning back time or is this kind of faith in these super-hormones misplaced?

DHEA: the mother hormone

A steroid hormone produced mainly by the adrenal glands, DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) is also manufactured all around the body, in the brain, in the testes of men and the ovaries of women. As with most hormones, its production peaks in the 20s then goes into decline in the 30s so that by the time midlife is reached, levels of this hormone have decreased by 60 per cent. One of the reasons for this is the impairment in the activity of an enzyme called 17,20-desmolase, found in the adrenals and responsible in part for the making of DHEA.

Much of the initial enthusiasm for DHEA was generated by animal studies, which showed that this hormone has anti-cancer, immune-boosting, cognition-enhancing, cardio-protective and anti-obesity properties. Most of its influence seems to be as a pro-hormone, as it converts to both male and female sex hormones, becoming oestrogen in women and testosterone in men. Once the ovaries start to shut down, the primary source of hormones in the female body is DHEA, which is why giving this hormone due consideration is so vital.

Why does nature seek to curb the activity of this potent hormone if, as animal studies suggest, DHEA has a multitude of benefits? It might have something to do with the risk of cancer. Studies have shown that in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women the more DHEA you have the greater your risk of breast cancer. The possibility of developing cancer becomes more complicated in the male experience. While DHEA may protect against the development of prostate cancer if cancer cells are not present, once cancer cells have established themselves in the prostate and a process called inflammation is taking place (often hand in hand with obesity), DHEA can stimulate cancer growth.

The body in its wisdom might be turning off the production of hormones to protect against the development of cancer with aging. Enhancing the presence of hormones needs to be considered with extreme caution. Tampering with nature might lead to unwanted outcomes as we attempt to outwit the unremitting march of time.