Against hair loss, pay attention to sugars, and in particular to soft drinks. This is what emerges from a very recent scientific research published in the journal Nutrients by a Chinese team from Tsinghua University (Shi et al, Nutrients, 2023).
Soft drinks and hair loss, the study
Scientists have tried to understand the link between lifestyle and hair loss. In particular, they focused on the action of sugary drinks in case of male alopecia. Previous studies had already had the opportunity to show that too much sugar in the blood and type 2 diabetes, in addition to undermining health in general, can increase the risk of hair loss in women. To try to understand if what was observed also applies to men, the researchers recruited 1951 men, aged between 18 and 45 years. For each, it was indicated whether or not they had alopecia. Volunteers were asked to fill out a questionnaire in which they had to indicate the frequency of intake of soft drinks such as soda, fruit juices with added sugars, sports drinks, energy drinks, sugary tea and coffee. Well, what emerged is that those who used to consume sugary drinks more frequently had a higher risk of alopecia. It is believed that the mechanism of action may be as follows. The intake of sugary drinks increases blood sugar, which in turn stimulates a series of processes that use glucose, which is therefore less available to the hair follicle cells that lose their source of energy. As a result, the hair weakens and falls out.
Conclusions
Research is still in its infancy and much will have to be analyzed to fully understand the link between a diet rich in sugar and hair loss. Certainly, however, both current research and previous studies seem to indicate that the intake of foods and drinks rich in sugars can increase the risk of weakening of hair and hair loss. If we add to this that the prolonged and excessive intake of sugary drinks has been shown to increase the risk of diabetes and depression, then a really good choice is to limit the intake of these drinks, preferring drinks such as natural water, unsweetened tea and coffee, freshly squeezed juices with no added sugar and vegetable centrifuges.
