DHEA levels are known to decline with age. The older you are, more likely that DHEA will help you reduce belly fat. Your doctor can also do a blood test for DHEA levels.

The theory of hormone replacement therapy, which links your body’s gradual loss of certain hormones to aging and age-related disease, has a lot of established medical proof. In its narrowest sense, HRT is means replacing estrogen in menopausal women. But broader picture of HRT includes human growth hormone, melatonin, sex hormones, and DHEA.

If you are still young, you probably have adequate levels of most or all of these hormones. There would be no sense in giving you more, because you are not yet “deficient.”

The key to HRT, especially as it relates to aging, is to return your hormone levels to a more youthful profile. Levels similar to what you had when you were, say, 25 years old. Before most of us were worried about diabetes, heart disease, or our bulging bellies.

Just as low levels of this hormone can be a problem, too much DHEA can also cause problems. Ask your doctor about blood test before you supplement.