Pregnenolone, anonymous and unheralded as it may be, is the Mother of all steroid hormones. It is derived from cholesterol. From there it’s converted into testosterone, progesterone, estrogen and cortisol, among other important biochemicals. Even vitamin D, the body’s homemade essential nutrient, is a derivative of the under-appreciated biochemical.

Pregnenolone itself, in its raw unconverted form, can be considered the quintessential biochemical of youth. Kids and teenagers make loads of it. While pregnenolone on its own may not have many hormone properties, it is able to improve the activity of and stabilize the effects of other hormones, including cortisol, testosterone and estrogen. As we get older, our pregnenolone levels tend to decrease. This is one of the reasons for the ever increasing degenerative impact of stress associated with aging.