Daily HealthBeat Tip

Can a pill keep you young?

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Wouldn't it be nice if there were a Pill of Youth? Something to keep your muscles strong, your endurance hardy, your fat under control and even your ability to avoid diabetes healthy?

There are those who say the supplement DHEA is that pill � but when Mayo Clinic researchers put the steroid hormone to the test, it failed.

The researchers had elderly people take DHEA supplements for two years. The study in the New England Journal of Medicine was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

The results: No change from DHEA on physical performance, body composition, sensitivity to insulin, or quality of life.

So what can you do? Researcher Sree Nair offers one strategy:

"There are no substitutes to a regular exercise program and diet in preventing many potential age-related problems." (six secones)

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: December 14, 2006

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