About Me

Matt Murray is co-owner and manager for GreenAcres Market in Wichita, Kansas. From 1996 until 2002 Matt was co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show, HealthTalk with Shannon and Matt. Current activities involve writing health-related articles for local magazines and newspapers, seminars and speaking engagements.

Active in lobbying for the natural products industry in Washington, D.C., Matt was president of Rocky Mountain Nutritional Foods Association and a member of the national board for NNfA from 2002 through 2006.

Consumer education, advertising and promotions are the key elements for store growth so he spends time on newsletter development and in-store activities.

DHEA Do you need a Boost?

Midlife Depression Can be helped naturally!

A new double-blind study from the National Institute of Mental Health found dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) effective for those who suffered from mild to moderate depression starting in midlife. Depression is a disorder characterized by low mood and feelings of dissatisfaction and lack of meaning in life. DHEA is a naturally occurring hormone, produced in the adrenal cortesx, which is necessary to form (a precursor to) the male sex hormone, testosterone, and the female hormone, estrogen. Levels of DHEA peak between the ages of 20 and 30 and decline with age.

Study participants included 23 men and 23 women aged 45 to 65, all of whom were depressed but otherwise healthy, and none of whom were taking pharmaceutical antidepressants. Half were randomly assigned to take a placebo for six weeks, and half took 90 mg of DHEA for the first three weeks and 450 mg of DHEA per day for the second three weeks. After a two-week rest period, the groups switched treatment and placebo for another six weeks.

Participants reported symptoms in the third and sixth week in each phase of the study. Researchers discovered that, in 23 participants, DHEA cut depression symptoms by 50% or more, and improved sexual function by a like amount, while only 13 reported similar improvement while taking the placebo. Men and women responded comparably.

The researchers concluded that DHEA may help reduce symptoms of mild to moderately severe midlife-onset major and minor depression, and may be a viable alternative for those who do not respond to, or who do not wish to take, antidepressants to alleviate symptoms of midlife depression.

Reference: the Archives of General Psychiatry; 2005, vol. 62, No. 2, 154-62.