From Publishers Weekly
Supplemental nutrition, meditation, friendships, exercise, sensible eating and proper sleep are all parts of doctor Cherewatenko's "stress cure." But what sets his program apart from the typical anti-stress guidelines is its use of the "coping hormone" dehydroepiandrosterone, a.k.a. DHEA. Said to check cortisol, a "fight or flight" hormone the body produces under stress, DHEA is not regulated by the FDA. But, according to Cherewatenko, once DHEA is administered patients report remarkable improvement in their emotional well being. "Within 3 days of taking the DHEA I felt everything inside of me lift," reports one patient, Rebecca. "It was like I had come back from the edge. I feel more in control." DHEA levels can be checked by a doctor, Cherewatenko says, and DHEA supplements can be prescribed for women with below normal levels. Cherewatenko recommends that it be purchased from a "reputable" source-namely his company, HealthMax, Inc. (Conveniently, HealthMax also offers a DHEA-level saliva testing kit.) Whether DHEA is, in fact, a safe and viable remedy for fatigue, migraines, weight gain, muscle aches, sweating abnormalities, PMS, depression, infertility or any of the 27 other symptoms Cherewatenko claims it cures is yet to be declared by the FDA. In the meantime, the authors' clearly-presented guidelines for applying the more usual solutions to stress (avoiding perfectionism, eating right, exercising regularly, etc.) should satisfy readers who are wary of medicating themselves with new drugs.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Vern S. Cherewatenko, M.D., is a family physician in private practice and founder of HealthMax Incorporated, a company specializing in functional medicine with emphasis on diabetes, obesity, stress, nutritional biochemistry, and longevity medicine. He is cofounder of the American Association of Patients and Providers (AAPP), a nonprofit organization advocating commonsense changes in healthcare. Dr. Cherewatenko conducts community seminars nationally on female stress, diabetes, obesity, and other issues and has been featured in the
Wall Street Journal,
Newsweek,
USA Today, and on the cover of
U.S. News & World Report. He and his family live in Renton, Washington.
