GOT HAIR?
While genes may play a role in determining whether or not one becomes bald, evidence now shows that what we eat may dictate how fast you lose your hair.
Rsearchers from the Harvard University School of Public Health in Boston examined hair loss patterns of 51 elderly Greek men. Those with the LEAST amount of hair had the highest blood levels of two hormones: testosterone and insulinlike growth factor 1 (IGF-1). Some researchers speculate that a high-fat, low-fiber diet that is also rich in meat may raise levels of free testosterone, and consumption of milk and other dairy products may boost IGF-1 levels. (IGF-1 is found primarily in milk.)
Indeed, a 1990 study found that vegans had substantially higher levels of sex hormone-binding globulin, a protein that removes testosterone from the body, than omnivores did. And a 1992 study showed that men who ate a vegetarian diet for 6 weeks had lower levels of testosterone than men on a meat-rich diet.
Neal Barnard, MD., president of the Washington, D.C.-based Physicians Committee for Responsible medicine, thinks that consumption of fiber is key to keeping your hair. "Low levels of fiber in the diet cause the natural mechanism for eliminating testosterone from the body to be disabled. Milk, eggs, cheese, red meat, chicken, and fish--none of these foods have any fiber." --Natural Health, Oct. 2000