Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/F.J. Jimenez
Topics: Community, Health, Social Media, TikTok, Food and Drink
Gerrard Kaonga
Topics: Community, Health, Social Media, TikTok, Food and Drink
If you are consuming this drink on the regular, it could be the reason you are losing your hair faster than expected.
For men, everyone knows your strength is found in your hairline, unless you are rocking a perfectly aura-filled bald look... or at least, that's what the internet would have you believe.
Regardless of your hair situation or your confidence when it comes to your hair, according to a doctor, you may be needlessly losing it due to one simple thing.
Dr Neena Chandrasekaran is a specialist in pulmonary and critical care medicine and regularly takes to social media to offer her followers advice.
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In a new TikTok video, posted to her Neenziemd page, she warned people of consuming a popular drink due to the possibility it may be causing hair loss.
She said: “Things they don’t tell you part 384.
“Recent studies suggest sodas and energy drinks can contribute to hair loss and anxiety in men.”
Yup, those daily Red Bulls and lunchtime Coca Colas might be catching you up a lot sooner than you might think.
Dr Chandrasekaran went on to explain how these drinks can negatively impact the body and result in more stress which can also lead to more hair loss.
She continued: “These drinks are often loaded with sugar, a lot of additives that can disrupt the balance of hormones within the body and negatively impact overall health.
"High caffeine content can increase cortisol levels, the stress hormone, while excess sugar is linked to poor circulation and inflammation which can both weaken hair follicles and increase hair loss.
“The combination of high cortisol levels and sugar can exacerbate feelings of anxiety and overstimulate the nervous system.
“The heightened state of stress also leads to hair loss as this creates more inflammation.
“If you notice yourself losing more hair and feeling more anxious cut these products out.”
However, the link between consuming these drinks and losing hair isn’t concrete, and there has been much discussion in the scientific community.
A team from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, decided to conduct a study to look at the link between soda and male pattern hair loss (MPHL).
While there are multiple factors that contribute to MPHL, the study found that Western diets, which prominently feature the consumption of added sugars, may trigger polyol pathways, thus leading to hair loss.
Dr Susan Massick, associate professor of dermatology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center has cautioned against sweeping conclusions following these results, according to a Healthline report.
She said: “The study findings do not support the misleading conclusion that sugar-sweetened beverages increase the risk of male pattern hair loss.
“Diet does play a critical role in your overall health, particularly regarding risk for developing obesity, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and hypertension; however, male-pattern hair loss is multifactorial. This study does not prove a causal effect that indulging in sugar-sweetened drinks induces male pattern thinning.”