Cher once did a television commercial for a large chain of health clubs.  In this commercial, she said that everyone could look like her if beautiful bodies came in a bottle.  Unfortunately, she claimed, you actually had to work out to look like her.

Although we still can’t buy beauty in a bottle, people are finding more and more effective ways of using diet supplementation to aid them in sculpting the perfect body.

As science progresses and the art of “alternative medicine” creeps into the mainstream, there is mounting evidence that some of the supplements that people have been buying at the health food store for years may indeed be effective.

Over the past few years, one of the most striking trends has been for people to manipulate their hormones through supplementation.

It has long been known that the hormone that is responsible for “maleness” may also contribute to the development of new musculature.  Some bodybuilders have used this knowledge and injected themselves with the hormone called testosterone. 

Testosterone is the hormone that is responsible for most of the physical characteristics that we associate with being male including the male body habitus, facial hair, etc.  Although there are legitimate medical purposes for a physician to prescribe this hormone to a patient, it is illegal to take this drug to improve ones physical appearance.

Through biochemistry we know that testosterone is not created in a one step reaction.  Indeed, there are several precursors in a very complex and enzyme mediated cascade that eventually ends in the production of testosterone.

In addition to occurring in the human body, several of these precursors occur in nature.  Because of this, it is legal to sell these drugs at health food stores.  Two of the more popular ones are androstenedione and DHEA.

Both androstenedione and DHEA are precursors of testosterone.  The theory goes that if you take either or both of these drugs then the body will do the work and turn them into testosterone. 

Up until recently, most the evidence that this theory worked was anecdotal.  Several fairly recent medical studies have tried to see if the theory works.  For example, one experiment was conducted by giving volunteers androstenedione by mouth and then measuring the subjects blood levels of testosterone.  The study concluded that for subjects taking a certain dose of androstenedione that their blood testosterone level was indeed elevated when compared to control subjects.

There is ongoing research to answer several questions regarding hormone supplementation including what dose of hormone works best, should the hormones be taken in combination, what side effects can be anticipated, are there any drug-drug interactions,  and are these medicines safe.

Unfortunately even if there is reasonable evidence that these hormones do improve athletic performance or make body toning easier or more effective, there is little evidence that suggests that these drugs are safe over the long term.

Indeed several professional sports associations have banned androstendione for performance and safety concerns.

For now at least, the bottom line is that Cher is right.  You still have to expend precious time and effort to get a beautiful body.  And if you choose to experiment with ergogenic supplements, you do so at your own risk and with little scientific evidence with which to make an informed decision.

In general, you should always do as much research as possible on whatever supplement that you choose to take.  Of course you should always mention any medicines that you are taking to your doctor and pharmacist since even some drugs from health food stores can interact with medicines that your doctor may prescribe.