Too much carbohydrates leads to hair loss?

[Mjotter]

I've read articles about how having a high level of insulin can lead to hair loss. You get high levels of insulin from eating foods high in carbs and drinking alcohol. The symptoms include having a big belly from all the sugar build-up, fatigue, poor memory, increased blood pressure, and more. I basically have all of these symptoms including the big belly even though I'm skinny. I also read that having insulin resistance would lead to early male pattern baldness which I also have as well since I'm 18. I've gone a couple weeks without eating carbs or whole grains and I see improvements in my skin, energy levels, excess fat, but nothing yet on hair. I've also been exercising and eating more healthy. I'll continue this regime for a while since I'm already getting extra benefits although my main goal is to see if there will be any positive effects on my hair.

Here are some articles:
http://www.drmirkin.com/men/8842.html

http://www.diabitieslife.com/diabetes/d ... mptoms.htm

 

[Hoppi]

I believe there may well be a connection, at least in some cases, although I am in a minority in this view in this forum. I think many things that can disrupt sex hormone balance and possibly also nutrient levels, and inflammation, can cause male pattern hair loss.

 

[Mjotter]

I exercised at least 1-3 times a week before I started this diet and I still have a pretty big belly. I would notice that it would get really bloated after I ate things like Rice, Burritos, things with lots of carbs in them. After about 2 weeks of abstaining from carbs, my stomach has gotten smaller and I'm pretty sure it's just not my imagination. Anyways I think having too much insulin would speed up your male pattern baldness if you have androgenic alopecia, which is not good for me because I'm only in college.

 

[Brains Expel Hair]

Since you're semi new here, you'll have to learn to just ignore seaback he's amazingly short on logic, severely close-minded and can't even tell when the stuff he's ridiculing for being scientifically unsound is actually a scientifically sound principle (just see his signature for example).

Anything that increases your inflammation, alters hormonal levels and leaves you at an increased risk for fungal infection will affect your hair loss eventually even if it's not the cause of it (as in the case of androgenic alopecia). The modern day high carb diet is somewhat idiotic, out of the three caloric food sources it's the only one that the body has ZERO need for. If you don't consume protein you'll have numerous health problems and die, if you don't consume fat you'll have numerous health problems and die, if you don't consume carbs you'll have increased energy/better looking body/less risk of heart disease/less risk of mental problems/less risk of dementia/less risk cancer/no diabetes/etc.

You mention skin/energy/bloating issues, have you ever been tested for gluten intolerance?

 

[Mjotter]

No I've never been tested before. I know that my grandmother had diabetes and died from it so it may run in the family but I guess since I'm young and skinny, I don't look like I have any problems. I don't think I can claim increase energy levels as a benefit from this diet, I think it's because I've just been fairly stress free these past weeks so I have more energy. I do think that my skin and belly are getting better though.

 

[el_duterino]

if you loose hair at the male pattern baldness zones as per the norwood scale..this means that you have androgenic alopecia and it has nothing to do with diet, exercise, or your general health.

Some hair at those zones are more sensitive to androgens and some hair are immume to androgens that's why the male pattern baldness "pattern" develops.

male pattern baldness is a perfectly healthy process caused by the genetic plan to become bald just like you have genes to set your eye color for example.

The most healthy people on the planet can have male pattern baldness and there is nothing they can do to stop it apart from cutting the androgenic signal to the hair follicles which leads to miniaturization of the hair follicle.

Now, if you ALSO loose hair at other areas..the non-male pattern baldness places... such as the side of the hair, back ..then you can start looking at other causes..diet..illness etc..

 

[Hoppi]

But surely sex hormone fluctuations such as an increase in free T or DHT can cause male pattern baldness? So what about the fact that insulin can reduce SHBG which then increases free T? What about green tea being shown in a study to increase DHT? What about people like Brains whose hair loss was driven largely by gluten... and what about inflammation levels?

 

[Brains Expel Hair]

Ahahaha! See he did it again:

You did not mean that the body does not need carbohydrates, did you ? It would be such an epic failure. Because as you know, the main source of energy for the cells (especially neurons) is glucose... If this is really what you meant, I advice you to learn about glycolysis, Krebs cycle, ATP formation... I mean, stuff that people learn in junior high school.

Your ignorance and will to recklessly throw it around is amazing. I've quoted this so that you can't edit it away once you look it up, but you might want to actually look this up. The body is completely adapted to live off of zero carbohydrates. Although it might be above you cause it's part of the false high school info they correct once you get to college.

 

[Bryan]

But surely sex hormone fluctuations such as an increase in free T or DHT can cause male pattern baldness?

Do you really think that minor daily fluctuations in the levels of androgens are going to significantly and noticeably increase (or decrease, for that matter) the course of male pattern baldness?

So what about the fact that insulin can reduce SHBG which then increases free T?

Consider this very hypothetical scenario: what do you think would happen if you were able to inject external SHBG into your bloodstream? Don't you think your body would react to it by making more testosterone, to maintain the proper level of androgenic stimulation? Similarly, what do you think would happen if you were somehow able to reduce your body's production of SHBG?

 

[Brains Expel Hair]

Oh wow, neat info there. So like you're saying the body has built in protection methods designed to prevent hypoglycemia, and that the body can actually manufacture glucose from non-carbohydrate sources? Congratulations, you not only proved to have all of the knowledge of the introductory chapter of a nutrition book but also partially proved my point (even though you still missed the other hormones we can use to raise blood sugar, the fact that we can use glycerol to manufacture glucose as well and that there are multiple non-carbohydrate entry pathways into the TCA cycle). I also liked how you tried to act above trying to berate me and then did just such a thing just 2 sentences later, but that doesn't matter because this isn't your thread so we don't really care about your failures in your field of research.

So getting back on track. If you haven't been chased away already Mjotter, you need to realize for one reason or another that there are quite a few people on this board who will fervently attack anyone who mentions a way of treating hair loss that either won't work in their particular case or that they are too lazy/scared to try. In the end it doesn't matter though; if you're seeing positive results with something like eating a lowered amount of carbs (you wouldn't be the only one), then no study they link (though they can't in this case) can tell you that the results you're experiencing aren't real. It's certainly a sad reflection on our current culture when something like eating a healthy diet is considered a fringe treatment by anyone but who cares? While your diet is keeping your hair loss from getting aggressive, they're looking for consultations on hair transplants.

I would look into potentially keeping a food diary (something I recommend a lot) based on any temporary bloating you may experience in the future. As you mentioned you may have a family history of a grain intolerance (assuming your grandmother had type-I) and being skinny/fatigued would also potentially point towards this as well. Based on what you've said so far it's certainly nothing that would unequivocally point towards such a condition but it does raise a small warning flag and a food journal is an easy way to put such fears to rest.

 

[Hoppi]

Wow, getting aggressive round here lol

Fantastic point Brains about no number of studies being able to disprove the actual results someone is getting, and that is something I see time and time again.

It's amazing how polarized this forum can get though lol

 

[Brains Expel Hair]

So, basically, you do agree that the body needs carbohydrates and that gluconeogenesis is not the body favorite way to obtain glucose, since it requires amino acid, citric acid cycle intermediates, triglycerides... which is detrimental to the body proper functioning in other processes.

You've completely failed at reading comprehension yet again. I'd like for you to go up and specifically quote where I said that gluconeogenesis is always a detrimental mode of action? It's not, the fact that you think it is proves once again that you're clueless in this area.

Further more it appears as if your whole basis for starting this particular argument was based off of yet another complete failure to understand english. Where in this thread did I state that glucose is not used in the body? Here I'll help you out and even bold specifically what I said in it's regards:

out of the three caloric food sources it's the only one that the body has ZERO need for(...) if you don't consume carbs

Now how is a compound that your body produces a caloric food source? How do you consume this compound that your body manufactures? Do you not understand at all what we are talking about?

 

[purecontrol]

I've read articles about how having a high level of insulin can lead to hair loss. You get high levels of insulin from eating foods high in carbs and drinking alcohol. The symptoms include having a big belly from all the sugar build-up, fatigue, poor memory, increased blood pressure, and more. I basically have all of these symptoms including the big belly even though I'm skinny. I also read that having insulin resistance would lead to early male pattern baldness which I also have as well since I'm 18. I've gone a couple weeks without eating carbs or whole grains and I see improvements in my skin, energy levels, excess fat, but nothing yet on hair. I've also been exercising and eating more healthy. I'll continue this regime for a while since I'm already getting extra benefits although my main goal is to see if there will be any positive effects on my hair.

Here are some articles:
http://www.drmirkin.com/men/8842.html

http://www.diabitieslife.com/diabetes/d ... mptoms.htm

What people here need to remember is that male pattern baldness is caused by not too high level of DHT, but rather higher than normal sensativity to androgen ie DHT.

One of the reasons is inflamation/oxidation.

Diet and life style play a large role here.

I keep growing my temples in better and better each year.

 

[Mjotter]

So what do you do? I've been on this diet for about...4 weeks now and my hair hasn't improved much but I'm going to continue it. What kind of diet do you eat and what changes did you make to your lifestyle?

 

[fight_the_power]

I think the theory that was posted on her previously, that there was a link between sugar and hair loss, or more specificly spikes in insulin causes inflammation that results in hair loss is worth exploring. Based on that, carbohydrates then could cause spikes in insulin and inflammation.

Dr. Perricone has presented some interesting information on inflammation and skin care and a diet he recommends to combat inflammation and wrinkles. Might be good for hair loss as well.

 

[purecontrol]

So what do you do? I've been on this diet for about...4 weeks now and my hair hasn't improved much but I'm going to continue it. What kind of diet do you eat and what changes did you make to your lifestyle?

You are going to need a lot longer than 4 weeks.

1) Basicly the diet is to not eat anything that causes inflamtion, bread is out, all dairy is out, anything with hydrogenated oils is out, high fat is out, things that raise histamine is out. One thing to consider would be an allergy test to see what else you should avoid.

2) is sleep, sleep optimised when you do not eat 1-2hrs before, when in total pitch black, and if you can get to bed ~9:00pm you drasticly lower your cortisol levels, lower testosterone levels, lower insulin levels, raise anti-oxidant levels etc.

3) consume anti-inflammatories, ie krill oil, fish oil, EPOil (GLA), Curcumin, bromelain, resveratrol, grape seed, mangosteen

4) consume anti-oxidants ect, ie full spectrum vit. E, vit. D, SOD,

5) use methlated folate to fight high histamine levels, acts as a COX-2 inhibitor


You would not take all of those as many are redundant, however if you can lower you inflamation and thus oxidation levels you greatly lower your chances for hair loss and increase your chances of hair growth.

 

[Mjotter]

So what do you do? I've been on this diet for about...4 weeks now and my hair hasn't improved much but I'm going to continue it. What kind of diet do you eat and what changes did you make to your lifestyle?

You are going to need a lot longer than 4 weeks.

1) Basicly the diet is to not eat anything that causes inflamtion, bread is out, all dairy is out, anything with hydrogenated oils is out, high fat is out, things that raise histamine is out. One thing to consider would be an allergy test to see what else you should avoid.

2) is sleep, sleep optimised when you do not eat 1-2hrs before, when in total pitch black, and if you can get to bed ~9:00pm you drasticly lower your cortisol levels, lower testosterone levels, lower insulin levels, raise anti-oxidant levels etc.

3) consume anti-inflammatories, ie krill oil, fish oil, EPOil (GLA), Curcumin, bromelain, resveratrol, grape seed, mangosteen

4) consume anti-oxidants ect, ie full spectrum vit. E, vit. D, SOD,

5) use methlated folate to fight high histamine levels, acts as a COX-2 inhibitor


You would not take all of those as many are redundant, however if you can lower you inflamation and thus oxidation levels you greatly lower your chances for hair loss and increase your chances of hair growth.

Damn I don't think I can do all of that. I already have a pretty hard time eating a sufficient amount of calories with this diet and it's tough for me to find things to eat which is not good since I'm skinny. I think I'll hold off on most of the bad foods but I'm not going to completely eliminate them from my diet...probably just eat in moderation. I don't think I can go to sleep at 9 pm, I'll try but I don't think it's likely for me to do. I consume fish oil and vitamin packs everyday and I'll try exercising more to lower testosterone. Thanks for the information, it gives me motivation to keep going.

 

[Brains Expel Hair]

You are going to need a lot longer than 4 weeks.

1) Basicly the diet is to not eat anything that causes inflamtion, bread is out, all dairy is out, anything with hydrogenated oils is out, high fat is out, things that raise histamine is out. One thing to consider would be an allergy test to see what else you should avoid.
[/quote]

You can't reduce consumption of carbs AND high fats! The only feasible way of doing such a thing would be to go on an almost all protein diet which is NOT healthy. Additionally the avoidance of fat is a ridiculous idea when fat only becomes inflammatory in the case of over consumption of omega-6s in relation to omega-3s (like in any westernized diet that includes grain consumption and non-pasture raised livestock), consumption of trans fats or consumption of fats along with high carbohydrate consumption.

The easiest way to eat healthy is basically to just start buying quality meats/fats/seafood/eggs/produce and avoid all grains (corn is a grain). If you're constantly putting cut rate food into your body you'll end up with nothing but cut rate health.

 

[Mjotter]

You are going to need a lot longer than 4 weeks.

1) Basicly the diet is to not eat anything that causes inflamtion, bread is out, all dairy is out, anything with hydrogenated oils is out, high fat is out, things that raise histamine is out. One thing to consider would be an allergy test to see what else you should avoid.

You can't reduce consumption of carbs AND high fats! The only feasible way of doing such a thing would be to go on an almost all protein diet which is NOT healthy. Additionally the avoidance of fat is a ridiculous idea when fat only becomes inflammatory in the case of over consumption of omega-6s in relation to omega-3s (like in any westernized diet that includes grain consumption and non-pasture raised livestock), consumption of trans fats or consumption of fats along with high carbohydrate consumption.

The easiest way to eat healthy is basically to just start buying quality meats/fats/seafood/eggs/produce and avoid all grains (corn is a grain). If you're constantly putting cut rate food into your body you'll end up with nothing but cut rate health.[/quote]

My diet consists of mainly meat and veggies/fruits. I've been eating salmon, chicken, tuna, beans, eggs, nuts, and a variety of vegetables/fruits. I've recently added dairy products such as yogurt and cottage cheese but I'm still unsure if I should leave these out of my diet. I also eat stuff like chicken noodle soup, tomato soup, and other types of soup which I'm unsure about as well. I read your signature and you wrote that you cured your male pattern baldness through a diet change...may I ask how long it took for you to notice improvements so I can get an idea?

 

[fight_the_power]

What is the inflammation diet you are following? It it basicly the same as the one Dr Perricone uses? He recommends protein with every meal, like salmon and a lot of berries. He basicly eliminates all high glycemic foods, like carrots, potatoes, etc.