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Topics: Health, Food and Drink
Britt Jones
If you drink this common beverage and notice your hair thinning and falling out - it could be linked.
A man's hairline is regularly the topic of conversation amongst themselves. Whether it's receding, if it's shaped, or if it is on the brink of needing to be removed completely.
Whatever it is, a doctor has revealed that you might just need to stop drinking one thing for your hair to last longer on your scalp.
Dr Neena Chandrasekaran, a specialist in pulmonary and critical care medicine, took to her social media account to explain why a popular drink could be the cause of hair loss.
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In her TikTok video, posted to @Neenziemd, she warned her followers: “Things they don’t tell you part 384.
She explained: “Recent studies suggest sodas and energy drinks can contribute to hair loss and anxiety in men.”
You're probably regretting those daily cans of energy drinks right about now.
Dr Chandrasekaran went on to link the drinks to hormones, stress, and hair follicles.
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.”