Pregnenolone:

Pregnenolone is similar in structure and function to DHEA. Pregnenolone is the precursor of over 150 human steroid hormones, including DHEA. Pregnenolone is a prime anti-aging hormone. Pregnenolone increases energy, elevates mood and improves both memory and mental performance. It improves the sense of well-being and the ability to deal with stresses.

If DHEA is the mother hormone, Pregnenolone is the grandmother. The adrenals make pregnenolone from cholesterol and then the cells use pregnenolone as is or convert it to either DHEA or progesterone. Then these may be converted into the estrogens (estriol, estrone, and estradiol), testosterone or cortisol.

Pregnenolone affects brain function, energy, reproductive cycles, immunity, inflammation, mood, skin, sleep, stress and healing. The levels of pregnenolone decrease dramatically with aging.

Pregnenolone supplementation is harmonious according to Eugene Roberts, Ph.D., neurobiologist at City of Hope Medical Center, Los Angeles. Pregnenolone has a unique ability to balance all of the other hormones. It stimulates production of other hormones only as necessary.

Stress

The adrenal glands respond to every kind of stress: oxidation by free radicals, chemical toxins, trauma, and psychoemotional life stresses. In the 1940s, Hans Selye performed early studies of pregnenolone. He found that pregnenolone relieves stress and fatigue while increasing energy levels. Like DHEA, pregnenolone reverses age-acceleration caused by stress induced increases in cortisol.

Cortisol is the only adrenal steroid that increases as we age. Cortisol contributes to brain degeneration, skin aging, poor wound healing, fluid retention, depression, and sleep disorders. Pregnenolone also protects against chemical toxicity by protecting liver enzymes from cortisol.

The Minding Body

Pregnenolone can improve memory and concentration while enhancing mood and cellular communication. Humans supplementation with pregnenolone enhances job productivity, sense of wellbeing and the ability to deal with stress. Some neuroscientists believe pregnenolone is the most potent known memory-enhancing agent. Even homeopathic doses improve memory in animal studies.

People who are depressed have only half the normal level of pregnenolone.

Arthritis

In the 1940s, pregnenolone was studied for anti-inflammatory effects in arthritis. One study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showd reduction of swelling and pain in rheumatoid arthritis, while also documenting safety and lack of side effects. The effective dose was 500 milligrams a day. Additional studies show benefits from pregnenolone in lupus, psoriasis and scleroderma.

Because drug companies couldn't make a killing on this natural hormone, this knowledge has laid dormant for over half a century, instead dosing people with cortisone and other potent steroidal drugs known for their nasty side effects but higher profits. In contrast, scientists note pregnenolones virtual absence of toxicity. In lab studies, mice tolerated five grams per kilogram of body weight, which would be equivalent to a human dose of about 4 pound a day. People have taken doses as high as 500 milligrams daily for several months with no negative side effects. The Food and Drug Administration classifies pregnenolone as an unregulated natural food product. A typical dose is 10 to 100 milligrams a day. Unlike DHEA, dosages range the same for both men and women.