Responsible Marketing of DHEA
September 22, 2008
Members of The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), have adopted a new voluntary program for responsible marketing of Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Under the new program, CRN members agree to the following voluntary guidelines when marketing DHEA:
To refrain from marketing the DHEA products that they manufacture or market under their brands as providing a general anabolic steroid-like response (muscle enlargement, increased strength, etc.).
Not to target those under 18 years old in their marketing or advertising, as this ingredient is unlikely to provide performance-enhancing benefits in this population.
“This is an important step forward in self-regulation by the dietary supplement industry, and we encourage other companies to join our members in following these guidelines,” said Steve Mister, president and CEO of CRN. “It’s disturbing to see some of the ads in magazines or online that promote DHEA as if it were a drug or anabolic steroid, when the fact is existing research has not demonstrated that kind of effect. Advertising that overpromises results leads to consumer confusion and casts a negative shadow over the entire industry.”
In 2004, Congress enacted the Anabolic Steroid Control Act with the full support of the dietary supplement industry, which placed a number of steroid precursors on the Controlled Substances List. Recognizing that DHEA does not act as a performance enhancing substance in the same manner as anabolic steroids and is not subject to abuse, addiction or the side effects associated with anabolic steroid compounds, Congress omitted DHEA from that list. The primary function of anabolic steroids, such as androstenedione (“andro”), which is now a controlled substance, is to produce extra testosterone in order to increase muscle size and strength and reduce post-exercise recovery time, thereby making these products “performance-enhancing substances.” Unlike anabolic steroids, DHEA is naturally produced and is the most common steroid hormone found in the body. The body tightly regulates the conversion of DHEA, preventing excess production of testosterone—essentially the body recognizes when it is already achieving normal hormone levels and thus ignores the additional DHEA. Nevertheless, some companies continue to promote DHEA as if it does have anabolic effects.
“Research demonstrates that in young, healthy adults, supplemental DHEA does not affect testosterone levels and does not provide performance-enhancing benefits, therefore, it should not be marketed as having an anabolic steroid effect,” said Mr. Mister. “Even though research suggests that DHEA, when used as directed, has a strong safety profile, manufacturers should not be marketing this product to those under 18 years old, as it does not appear to have benefits for that age group. The benefits of DHEA appear to be for older individuals who are experiencing the normal decline in hormone levels that come with age, or in those people who have otherwise compromised hormone levels.”
Patrick Arnold Brings Back 1-AD
August 26, 2008
By Scott Welch
A few years back, baseball homerun hitter Mark McGwire was taking a pro-hormone supplement called Androstenedione a.k.a. “Andro” to boost his testosterone levels. This substance converted into the hormone testosterone once your liver processed it. This controversy got tons of mainstream press as everyone wanted to know exactly what the heck this stuff was that he was taking to hit so many homeruns. But what didn’t get as much press was the story of a chemist working behind the scenes in Chicago named Patrick 
Arnold (pictured on left). Patrick had looked closely at the DSHEA laws governing supplements and found a loophole which allowed anything not classified as a drug before 1994 to be sold as a dietary supplement – provided these substance were found in nature! So, he moved full speed ahead to hunt for old steroids that were not brought to market that were also found in nature. So in the case of Andro, it was not an approved drug before 1994 and it was found naturally in Scotch Pine Trees! Therefore, it was “found in nature” as the law stated so it could be sold as a supplement legally. Patrick partnered with anesthesiologist Dr. Scott Connelly who was the owner of MET-Rx at the time. The two formed a division of MET-Rx called “Substrate Solutions” and began introducing a bunch of different prohomone combinations. Over time, other companies found new prohormones such as: Nor-Diol, OHAT, ADT, 1-MT and 1-AD.
Prohormone Heroes
The discovery or at least the commercialization of the various prohomones can be traced back to the following guys:
- Pat Arnold - CEO of Ergopharm
- Bruce Knellar - one of the key formulators for Gaspari Nutrition
- Eric Marchewitz - CEO of LG Sciences
- William Llewellyn - CEO of Molecular Nutrition
- Derek Cornelius - former owner of Syntrax Solutions.
- Dan Amato - CEO of Fizogen SDI Labs and also Cibexo Labs
- Bill Roberts - former formulator for Biotest
- L. Rea - CEO of ALR Industries
- Jeff McCarrell - coowner of Nutrex
- Jack Owac - owner of VPX
- And of course the gang at Zoe Labs
But with the flood of dozens of prohormones that has hit the market, there were a few that really stood out. One such prohormones was the original 1-AD that was originally was released in 2001. It did not take long for people to realize that the stuff was not like the prohormones. Gains of 15 pounds were common. Of course, this stuff was really not a supplement but rather a supplement that converted into a steroid once it hit your liver. But all good things must come to an end however and in 2005 1-androstenedione and 1-androstenediol (the two versions of the original 1-AD) were added to the Anabolic Steroid Control Act and made controlled substances. It seemed that the good old days were officially in the history books.
1-AD Is Back!
Patrick Arnold has managed to pull one last rabbit out of his hat. There is still a naturally occurring precursor to the original 1-AD that converts with high efficiency that is not yet banned. This precursor is not on the list of controlled anabolic steroids. It’s called 1-androstenolone and it will convert into 1-AD once it hits your liver, which will convert into Testosterone. Yes, two steps rather than the good old days with just one chemical step being needed. The product is only sold on ErgoPharm’s website (www.ergopharm.com).
I’m personally not a fan of using pro-hormones as they carry the same side effects as other oral steroids do, but they’re indeed quite popular.