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What Is 7-Keto DHEA?
7-Keto DHEA is an oxygenated metabolite, and it is 1 of the 3 that form Dehydroepiandrosterone. It is most commonly used as a supplement to help with weight loss and boost the immune system.
7-Keto DHEA is also sometimes called 7-oxodehydroepiandrosterone, but it is most well-known by 7-keto, which is a popular shortening used in many product and supplement names.
Out of all of the 7-keto supplements currently on the market, we reviewed to most popular and found the 7-Keto LeanGels from Now Foods to be the best product available when considering price and quality.
7-keto is not a hormone, and it isn’t androgenic or estrogenic in nature. However, it can actually interact with your body’s hormone system, specifically having an effect on steroid metabolism. Some studies have shown that 7-keto also has anti-cortisol properties.
Cortisol is a stress hormone, so this leads to the conclusion that 7-keto can help you reduce stress. Unfortunately, more research needs to be done in this area. There isn’t currently enough evidence to conclusively support the activity of any anti-cortisol mechanism that can be seen after taking 7-keto orally.
What has been seen during these studies is that 7-keto can help to increase metabolism during times when the subject is eating fewer calories. There have been some studies which reported the potential of 7-keto as a non-hormonal fat burner, but there has not yet been enough evidence to back these claims.
As alluded to above, 7-keto DHEA is known by many names. It may be called any one of the following:
- 7-keto
- 7-ketodehydroepiandrosterone
- 7-ketoDHEA
- 7-oxo
- 7-oxodehydroepiandrosterone
- 7-oxoDHEA
It’s important to remember that 7-keto has a parent molecule known as Dehydroepiandrosterone, and you should not confuse this with any of the many names for 7-keto DHEA.
7-Keto DHEA Benefits
7-keto DHEA is a natural byproduct of DHEA that is created in your brain, adrenal gland, and skin. There are nearly 10 different DHEA metabolites, and out of these 7-keto is not only the most well-known but also the most valuable to your health.
Weight Loss
7-keto DHEA has been proven to help you lose weight and to increase your resting metabolic rate. 7-keto is a thermogenic supplement, meaning that it can increase the oxidation of fatty acids in your body by boosting the activity of your body’s thermogenic enzymes. There have been studies which proved this effect by showing 7-keto’s ability to increase the body’s malic enzymes by 860 percent and boost CoA oxidase by 128 percent.
One such study was placebo-controlled and followed 30 overweight subjects. The study found that those who were in the placebo group were able to lose an average of 2.1 pounds, while those in the group given 7-keto DHEA were able to lose an average of 6.3 pounds. The study did note increased thyroid hormones as a possible side effect, but this was the only side effects noticed in the study.
It has been clearly shown that when 7-keto DHEA is combined with diet and exercise, users were able to see as much as 3 times more weight loss than they could achieve without using any weight loss supplements.
Immune Support
7-keto DHEA has also been shown to be able to boost the immune system’s ability to fight off disease and infection.
One study was performed using monkeys showed that the introduction of 7-keto was able to increase wellbeing, boost T cell count, and help them to regain weight that was lost due to illness. All of this is particularly impressive because the subjects were infected with simian HIV.
Another trial was performed on human subjects by the Minnesota Applied Research Center. This study followed elderly men and women for a period of 4 weeks to determine the effects of 7-keto DHEA use. The subjects were given a dose of 100 milligrams of 7-keto 2 times a day.
By the end of the study, the subjects were seen to have improved immune health, lower blood pressure, and higher white blood cell counts. They also had an increased number of immune helper cells, which are responsible for increasing overall wellness and are especially helpful to elderly patients.
Anti-Aging
7-keto DHEA doesn’t just help you lose weight and fight off diseases, it also has anti-aging properties.
Because 7-ket is a naturally occurring DHEA metabolite, its presence in the body declines over time due to the decrease in the presence of the parent DHEA hormone. Your body’s levels of DHEA continually rise until you are about 20 years old, and then by the time you are 30 you can observe a significant decrease in the DHEA concentration in your blood. By the time you reach 50 years of age, your blood concentration of DHEA will be roughly half what it was at age 20.
Taking a regular 7-keto DHEA supplement can help to replace the levels naturally lost in order to improve overall well being and counteract the common signs of aging.
Heart Disease
Another study was performed which tested the possible effects of 7-keto supplementation on cardiovascular disease. The study found that a daily dose of 25 milligrams of 7-keto over the course of 5 days was enough to see a noticeable increase in the blood levels of good cholesterol. There was little difference in the overall amount of cholesterol, but improving the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol had a major effect on the atherogenic index that is used to indicate a person’s overall risk of heart disease.
Psychological Benefits
There are some studies which suggest that 7-keto DHEA can help the brain’s neurons communicate with each other more efficiently and stop mental aging, therefore improving a variety of different brain functions.
7-Keto DHEA Side Effects
It’s rare to find a product that has absolutely no side effects, but it can honestly be said that 7-keto DHEA has no recorded side effects whatsoever.
Dr. Henry Lardy is a researcher who has studies 7-keto DHEA and he has openly claimed that the supplement is all about benefits. There was a trial that lasted for 29 days and which was conducted on human subjects and the results showed that there were no changes in blood cultures, urine chemistry, or hormone levels in either males or females. The subjects also did not report experiencing any negative reactions. The subjects who were observed during the study were given a daily dose of 200 milligrams of 7-keto.
Recommended Dosage For 7-Keto DHEA
The majority of the clinical trials performed gave participants 100 milligrams to 200 milligrams of 7-keto twice a day, which equates to between 200 milligrams and 400 milligrams as a daily recommended dosage.
That has been some research which used lower doses of 50 milligrams to 100 milligrams, and these were typically concerned with treating neurological conditions.
Because this is a supplement that naturally occurs in your body and has many different uses, there is not a strictly firm daily recommended dosage available for all situations. The dosages usually taken are derived from those that have been shown to be effective in various studies.
Final Words on Benefits of 7-Keto DHEA
7-keto DHEA is a naturally occurring metabolite that is 1 of the 3 components of the hormone Dehydroepiandrosterone. It has been shown to provide benefits in the areas of weight loss, immune support, and anti-aging, with some studies also suggesting usefulness in warding off neurological disorders and heart disease. Throughout all of the different clinical studies and trials involving 7-keto, there have been no reported or observed side effects.
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