Popular and controversial anti-aging supplement DHEA may actually promote heart disease, according to a new study published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Researchers exposed human cells to DHEA and discovered that “some cells appear to take in more cholesterol, potentially clogging arteries,” reported HealthDayNews.

“People should refrain from taking DHEA in an unsupervised fashion,” says co-author Dr. Martin K.C. Ng, a cardiologist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, Australia.

DHEA, or dehydroepiandrosterone, is a natural hormone produced by the adrenal glands and is converted into other steroid hormones such as androgens (male hormones) or estrogens (female hormones) in the cells.

“At this early point in research, it’s not clear if the potential risks to the heart posed by DHEA may be as dire as those posed by smoking, diabetes and obesity,” Ng said to HealthDayNews. “But he still advises plenty of caution about its use.”.

(via HealthDayNews)