| Author | Message | ||
     Travis |
Tom, what's your stand regarding sugar and caffeine... do you think they have an effect on hair growth? thanks travis | ||
| Tom Hagerty (Admin) |
Travis, I've not seen any research regarding the effect of sugar and caffeine on hair loss. An excess of sugar in the diet may have an effect on insulin levels but this shouldn't cause hair problems. Caffeine can be detected in the hair shaft of a coffee drinker but almost everything else can be detected in the hair shaft upon analysis. I wouldn't advise the overindulgence in either coffee or sugar just for general health reasons. If you see any article about caffeine and sugar and its effect on hair, I wish you'd post a summary. | ||
| mei |
Hi! I'm a woman, 40 years of age, and I noticed that my hair is much thinner than what it used to be. I dye my hair pretty often to cover my grey. If I were to stop dyeing my hair, would it stop the shedding? Also, I noticed that the shedding is at any time of the day and not the usual like right after u wash ur hair. Is this an indication that the hair folicle is dying? After all, no new hair seems to be growing..... It is particularly sparce at the top right hand corner and it appears to be spreading. But anyway, it is thin all over. What is ur advice??? Btw, I'm not pregnant nor had I juz given birth.... | ||
| mei |
Hi again... I don't know y I'm on this site under sugar & caffeine..... But i guess i happened to read it cos i love drinking tea... but it's sans sugar.... Anyway, I'm back here to add on something which i forgot to include in my earlier message.... - Both my parents are not bald. And I'm not on any medication. And I do not have dandruff.... I wash my hair every day cos I live in the tropical island of Singapore. Yes.... \(^-^)/ Now, can anyone please advise??? | ||
| Freddie |
What you may be going through is menopause. Some women do lose hair due to this. It usually tends to be diffuse loss (as in all over the scalp) rather than any particular area. You could try changing your dye. Unless you are having an allergic reaction to it however, I doubt its responsible for your hair loss. I know lots about Singapore. I lived there for some time. By the way Tom, did you know ^_^ is the smiley of choice for most chinese/japanese rather than :-) | ||
| Anonymous |
I try to avoid sugar, but caffine should be fine as long as you are in reasonable health. I would suggest visiting a doctor becasue it might be somethign really simple. How about Soya consumption. Its hard to find breaded products in the U.k. that don't have Soya flour.I don't worry about it, but if i were a woman I would avoid it . Good luck. | ||
| Freddie |
There's no reason (that I know of) to avoid Soya. Its quite healthy in fact. | ||
| mei |
Hi!! Thanks for replying!!! Freddie, did u say menopause?? I'm still young (LOL)!! I'm only 40!!! My mom, aunties, cousins don't go into menopause till they're say 50 plus.... Besides, I do not experience any symptoms of menopause like hot flushes or anything like that.... I've juz bought a hair loss shampoo REGAN EXTRA Hair Reactive Shampoo. I hope it produces results. I've thot of buying some tablets but all of them appear to be very large (big in size) & I have difficulty swallowing. Btw, how does 1 tell if there is fungus or bacteria growing on the scalp??? Is it by telling if it's itchy?? I do have dry hair & scalp but it doesn't really itch... I hate to see a trichologist cos I heard that they'll pull out some hair for testing & I don't like them to pull out what ever that's left of my hair. And btw, I love soya.... Have always thot it's healthy.... Vitamin B.... \(^o^)/ | ||
| Anonymous |
Soya .... healthy? Well, yes I eat it, in small doses I think its great. I prefer it to pasteruised milk But it contains what the industry calls a lot of anti-nutrients , or to you and me toxins. I would beware of big brand bulk produced soya. For soya toxins to be redu ed it has to be carefully prepared. Try searching for soya and thinning hair in women. Not good. Not to say that is what is effecting you though. Could be any number of things. Don't worry about hair being pulled out. If the root is going anyway it will be gone soon, other wise it will grow back. BTW I have heard of women going through the menapause early twenties ! I agree with you thoguh that 40 seems a little young so I wouldnt worry. | ||
| Freddie |
Shampoos have no effect on hair growth as such. A lot of "hair growth shampoos" out there are just scams. Its best to use a mild shampoo most of the time as long as it keeps your scalp clean. Usually a dermatologist or trichologist will do a swab test on your scalp if they suspect you have a fungal or bacterial scalp problem. That is he will swab your scalp and plate the swab to see what kinds of microbes/microflora grows on the plate. He will probably look for certain types of acid producing bacteria and fungi which are known scalp pathogens. Usually acid producing bacteria when plated on certain mediums will turn the medium a certain color. If your scalp is not itchy or oily and you are keeping it clean, there's no reason to worry. One other common reason for hairloss in women is traction alopecia. That is, women who pull their hair back into a pony tail so hard that in the long run it results in hair loss at the areas being pulled. Unless you are doing this, I would not worry either. Your hair loss may just be genetic which unfortunately at this point you can do nothing about. | ||
| mei |
Thanks for ur reply Freddie & ..er..anonymous!!! I'll look up the relationship between soya & hair loss. Freddie, u were saying that my hair loss could be genetic. But both my parents do not experience any form of hair loss. In fact they are both in their 70s and they a full head of hair!!! White though but definitely not balding in any way. If shampoos won't work, how about hair tonics??? It's said to nourish the hair & keep the ph-level balanced. I also understand that there are treatments for hair loss like ampoules, etc. Do these work? Salon treatments tend to be expensive.... Altho u may be right in saying that it could be genetic or due to menopause, etc, but I wish there is something that I can do to at least slow down the process of hair loss, cos I still have many good years to live..... | ||
| Freddie |
hi, To my knowledge, soya is fine and good for the health. There are however many quack doctors and practitioners out there misinforming the public. Your parents may not be losing their hair but your problem could still be genetic. In men, both mom and dad may have full heads of hair yet the son can still go bald. And the opposite is true as well. Dad may be bald but son may retain a full head of hair. Its not very common but it is possible. You'll have to have some basic knowledge of genetics for me to explain how this is possible. The simple way of explaining it is that "genes can skip generations". Unless you have a scalp infection, I doubt shampoos will make a difference. Tonics, potions, lotions, nourishment treatments, salon treatments..etc are all scams. Unfortunately, science does not have a clear understanding of hair loss in general and hair loss in women in particular. What we know so far is that hair loss in men is different from hair loss in women. In men, male pattern hairloss (which is the most common type of hairloss) is caused by a harmone called DHT. 2 medicines exist which block DHT production and thus slow down hair loss in men. They are pills called Propecia and Avodart. These medicines only work for men and are not meant for women. There is a third medicine which is both for women and men. Its a tonic/solution called Minoxidil. It is the only tonic medically proven to stimulate hair growth. About 15% to 25% of all people who use it for a year grow cosmetically significant amounts of hair. The rest don't. It comes in two concentrations 2% and 5%. Most people know it by its brand name "Rogaine" but there are cheaper generic equivalents available (but probably not in singapore). It can also be compounded at the pharmacy on a doctor's prescription. Men can use either the 2% or 5%, women I think only the 2%. Rogaine markets the 2% version as "Minoxidil for Women". You can look that up on the web if you want but keep in mind the amount of hair you can expect to grow with it if you are lucky is minimal. I hope you don't feel too sad.  | ||
| mei |
Freddie, Thanks. Now I know what works & what doesn't.... | ||
| mei |
Hi! I have good news. I've been using this REGAN EXTRA Reactive Shampoo for about a week and I think my hair has sort of stopped falling off! (My floor is cleaner.... got lesser hair on the floor....) LOL! I don't know if it's juz my imagination or it is for real. I didn't use anything else.... \(^-^)/ Hope it continues to be like that, then my problem will be solved!!! | ||
| Anonymous |
oh my ...I have the same problem, I am 43 and have thick hair, until 6 months ago. I am freaking out. I am shedding hair everywhere and I am convinced it is the hair dye. My scalp " sings" all the time. I just got my blood work back thinking it was early menopause and the results show all levels are normal- not near the big M. I am so confused, it falls out everywhere and it is thinning on the top. I do wear it back all the time. I've seen several doctors and everyone says--" oh well". What do you think? | ||
| Anonymous |
Sugar is the key to hair loss, just like it is the key to acne!!!!!!!!! | ||
| Bewildered |
Does this mean I should eat more sugar or should I eliminate it from my diet? | ||
| Anonymous |
ELIMINATION!!!!!!!! | ||
| Anonymous |
Sugar and starches are one of the most understated causes for baldness. There is way TOO much focus on "DHT, DHT, DHT". Fluctuating blood sugar causes fluctuating insulin levels, which is a far more powerful hormone than DHT. Let me ask you this, how many FAT = BALD men with sugar bellys do you see??? ELIMINATION of sugar and starches goes a long way! | ||
| peter |
I agree that a low sugar and and animal fat diet can help with acne. It got rid of mine. But it hasn't helped me grow hair . | ||
| Freddie |
Whenever I come across homeless persons, I always marvel at the amount of hair they have. Have these guys been using Tom's method and if not, what is their secret to having such thick hair. Now obviously these guys are not taking their multi-vitamin pills or having a healthy diet before diving into a dumpster. It pretty much blows away the idea that vitamins & minerals, healthy eating..etc have any impact on hair loss. In fact, europeans and north americans who are fortunate to have nutritious diets compared to other areas of the world also have higher incidences of mpb within the population. If we were to make a wild assumption based on that, we might conclude that the more nutrition we get, the more bald we get! (Note : I'm not saying that we should make that assumption) Hair loss in my opinion is mostly due to genetics. There might be some factors which have a slight impact in speeding up or slowing down hair loss but its hard to quantify. | ||
| arutha |
Lots of people have made that observation about homeless people. The only plausible connection I've heard is that alcoholics have lower testosterone, which may have a positive impact on MPB. I also wonder what kind of studies have been done of the diets of homeless people. I'm betting that they don't eat fast food three times a week, and they probably don't drink much coffee. They probably don't chronically overeat, either. In some ways, their diets might actually be healthier than those of the rest of us. | ||
| Anonymous |
I kinda agree with "Freddie" about how the more nutrition the more baldness. Following the high grain, high carbohydrate facist of the American Food Pyramid certainly will cause a man to go bald faster. But Genetics, I think is HIGHLY OVERRATTED in the cause of MPB. I think enviorment and diet have a much more profound effect on hair loss. The American diet of low-fat, and carbs just causes a man to go bald faster. Look at the doctors who are among some of the biggest advocates of the low-fat diet, THEY ARE BALD!! | ||
| Anonymous |
not too make things any more confusing... but it doesn't seem like anyone knows. Some people in this thread are saying the high-fat diet of the West causes it. And then, annonymous above says it's the low-fat high grain diet (the one Mercolla is so against), that causes MPB. Also, most Eastern diets consist of a lot of White rice and noodles... one thing that *may* be different is the high fat over here. And, when people say "Environment", what exactly does this mean? The pollutants, mental stress levels? I think MPB may be as complicated as the "right" diet for each person. That is, some diet may work for one person and not for others. So for Tom, maybe his diet and scalp exercises do the trick. For others, maybe they would have to eat different foods and also do the exercises. | ||
| Anonymous |
"Not to make things more confusing....but it does not seem like anyone knows." Thats probably why people are still going bald! I do think you have to look at your family history. | ||
| Tom Hagerty |
Anonymous: You focused on the one truth in all this discussion about diet and hair loss: It's "complicated" and "confusing." I wish I, as the resident guru of this site, had something definitive to say about diet, but I'm still exploring too. Remember that song by Tom Lerher - Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air. I don't know what significance that has, but I don't like to injest anything that is processed or has too much fat dripping from it. | ||
| Wayne Johnson |
I would like to share this with you... I have been losing my hair for years and then I started researching Vinegar, and have learned that this will STOP your hair loss. Just mix 1 cup of apple cider vinegar to 3 cups of water and rinse your hair with it after you shampoo, it will stop your dandruff also.Try adding 2 cups of apple cider vinegar to our bath water, then let me know what you think. | ||
| Tom Hagerty |
Wayne Johnson: Sometimes when I read a message that I disagree with I might show some ironic humor in my response. But your statement that an apple cider vinegar rinse will STOP hair loss is just too much. I have to say categorically that it won't. I don't want the visitors to this forum to think it will, and perhaps because of this wishful thinking abandon another more useful treatment option. I use an apple cider vinegar rinse after I shampoo although not one cup to three cups of water. My rinse is much less concentrated. By the way, I get my apple cider vinegar from Bragg, a company in Santa Barbara, California where I used to live. It's a fine rinse perhaps neutralizing the effects of hard water. It also is helpful for people who have dandruff problems. But, "this will STOP your hair loss." Come on. | ||
| Fre |
Most likely the myth that apple cider vinegar is good for hair loss stems from its use as an anti-fungal/bacterial. Perhaps in the past when there was no head and shoulders, using apple cider vinegar was the only way to get rid of dandruff. | ||
| Jenifer |
Hi, I came upon this board while researching diet and hair loss, and I think now I am going to quit drinking coffee (and toast w/butter) in the mornings. I found the below into I've pasted in from the lacetoleather.com site, in a long article about apple cider vinegar which they call "the wonder drug of today and tomorrow." So for the purposes of hair growth, maybe it is more important to take it internally. My own hair is still looking pretty good but a little bit thinner on top so I am going to try it...will keep ya posted! HAIR LOSS: The falling out of hair is primarily due to a tissue salt deficiency, thus cider vinegar with its 'wonder products' will re-establish a natural balance, and supply the deficiencies where needed. Therefore, by taking the cider vinegar treatment the hair will maintain its natural growth. It will cease to fall out and grow more rapidly and thickly. This will take approximately two months, so perseverence is needed. The dosage is one teaspoonful of cider vinegar to a glass of water to be taken with or between meals. | ||
| Tom Hagerty |
Jenifer: Oh, does this message bring back memories. When I was a teenager living in Glendale, California, the Bragg health food store was in neighboring Burbank. I would often talk to Mr. Bragg about health matters because I was a bodybuilder and wanted to gain muscle. Mr. Bragg told me that the secret to health was apple cider vinegar. I didn't believe him. His daughter Patricia is still pushing this product in their store, which is now in beautiful Santa Barbara. You can click www.bragg.com and read all about the wonders of apple cider vinegar. Patricia claims that it keeps cancer at bay, but more important, it grows hair. If only life and hair loss were that simple - a teaspoonful of cider vinegar in a glass of water and we have instant Nirvana. | ||
| Jenifer |
Hi Tom, That's interesting that you've had that contact with Paul Bragg! He is certainly one of the biggest influences in the field of natural health. So, did you ever give the apple cider vinegar a try? From the pics I've seen, he kept a beautiful head of hair throughout his life, though it did turn white. Looks like Patricia is doing fine there too. So they were good examples of what they preached. I am fond of coffee but I have reluctantly concluded that it was contributing to the thinning of my hair. I read an article that said it raises DHT levels, so this makes sense. This morning I mixed Bragg's ACV with a little organic blackstrap molasses in water and drank it down. Doesn't taste as good as coffee with cream and sugar, but I have a feeling it will be worth it... By the way, like you, I am a believer in brewers' yeast, but I take the tablets... | ||
| ann smith |
According to the link below -- Paul Bragg didn't exactly practice what he preached and neither did several other "health gurus." Check it out -- you'll get a chuckle. http://216.239.39.104/search?q=cache:7BeR8NsGXDcJ:chetday.com/healthgurus.htm+pa ul+bragg+ate+meat&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 | ||
| Jenifer |
Thanks Ann! I did get a chuckle. :-) But, Bragg did say that he had meat sometimes: "This is what my body seems to thrive on, but as I said, I don't like the word 'Never,' because there are times when my body tells me to eat a piece of meat or a piece of fish, or to have some natural cheese or a few fertile eggs. In other words, my body has developed an instinct for the selection of foods." And apparently there were times when his body told him he had to have a burger... :-) | ||
| Tom Hagerty |
One message from someone in that link that Ann Smith posted said, "He was a nice man and ran a free exercise class on the beach." That's Paul Bragg. He was a nice man with an infectious smile who everyone liked. Even though I was fifteen when I first shook hands with him, I never forgot him. Several months ago I read a biography of George Bernard Shaw. He was a strict vegetarian. He almost died of anemia as he got older. Finally he was persuaded to add liver extract to his diet when his doctor told him that he would die if he continued with his "iron-free" diet. | ||
| Jenifer |
I agree that totally vegetarian diets can be dangerous. There is a lot of info about this at the beyondveg.com site. I am mostly vegetarian myself but I eat eggs regularly, chicken once in a while, take brewers' yeast tablets with vitamin B-12 added, and dessicated liver tablets. One more advantage of apple cider vinegar is that it helps assimilate iron. | ||
| Tom Hagerty |
Jenifer: Tomorrow I'm going to write a good description of www.beyondveg.com and put it on my Links page. This is an excellent site full of informative articles on rational as opposed to idealogical nutrition. I'm going to read many of the articles and the book reviews. Thanks for this link. | ||
| Jenifer |
Great, Tom, glad it was helpful! | ||
| Jenifer |
Just want to say that I contacted Wayne to ask about his statement that apple cider vinegar stops hair loss. Here's the text of our exchange: hi Wayne, just read your comment about ACV stopping hair loss, at a message board. So has this worked for you? I note that you didn't post anything in response to Tom's challenge. I just posted something there about taking it internally to regrow hair... Thanks, Jenifer Jen, Thanks for your reply... sorry that I have't gotten back to you sooner, my Mother had a massive heart attack a few weeks ago, and I've been to the Hospital alot lately. The ACV treatment seems to stop my scalp from itching and it seems to have helped the hair loss alot. Please tell Tom that I'm not avoiding his challenge it's just that with all that's been going on, I may have deleted it by mistake. Let me know what you posted to regrow hair and if it's worked for you.<< Well, that's interesting, to say the least. I use vinegar on my hair occasionally as a natural coloring treatment for my brown hair (half a cup of ACV to a quarter cup of tamari soy sauce) and I've noted my hair looks and feels thicker afterward. Maybe I'll start using it as a rinse as well, though I still think it's more important to take it internally, as far as hair growth is concerned. | ||
| Tom Hagerty |
Apple cider vinegar mixed with blackstrap molasses! If I had to take that brew every day, I'd rather be bald. If you bottled that concoction and tried to sell it, I wouldn't buy stock in your company. | ||
| Jenifer |
Hi Tom, didn't see your message previously! Hey, it's not that bad. I'd say black coffee or hard liquor tastes worse...anyway, you know the old saw: "You have to suffer to be beautiful." (And handsome...) :-) | ||
| Anonymous |
AM 48 YEARS OLD, GOING THROUGH MENAPAUSE, I NOTICED AM LOSING A LOT OF HAIR ON DAILY BASIS , MY HAIR IS GETTING THINNER EVERY DAY, WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND, THANKS IN ADVANCE. | ||
| ruthie |
Hi I anm 55 yr old woman,that was dianosed with Alopecia Areata in june of last year ,i found 2 bald patches in back of my hair underneath where i can hide it ,i went to a dermatologist he looked at patches said it was AA,he never did any blood work no other tests ,i was so emotionally disturbed by this i never had this before i do't know why it happened ,he said stress maybe and its do to an overworked immune system ,i am always anxious anget panic attacks ...wll its a year this june no growthin the 4 spots i have and my hair is shedding alot ,my question is if anyone is familiar with this condition i need my hair colored get grays out ,some say color it it won't hurt nd some say not to i was just wodering if anyone has suffered from alopecia areata ,i can still cover spots buy mt hair isn't as thick as it was and know ths condition can get worse ,if anyone knows or suffers from this any info i would appreciate it so much can you please e mail me i'm so depressed plus i'm obsessed with my hair ,i worry everyday, i am not using anything for it the beta val lotion i used for 3 months it did nothing thank you !!! |
