I'm 25 and balding mildly. I'm a PhD student in biology, so I've read a fair amount of literature on anything I can connect to male pattern baldness. I've formed a theory that explains everything from anecdotal evidence to what I've seen first-hand in research labs. I believe the main cause of male pattern baldness to be insulin resistance. Insulin resistance causes down-regulation of SHBG, which normally binds free testosterone, making it inaccessible to 5?-reductase to be converted to DHT. Furthermore, insulin-resistance has been linked to PCOS, which has been linked via pedigree analysis to male pattern baldness. One of the labs I worked in found that a gene that increased insulin sensitivity also increased hair growth dramatically.
So, I'm thinking that high-carb and high sugar diets are what cause male pattern baldness. Basically the culprit is likely anything that keeps insulin levels artificially high. This would mean that diet could play an enormously important role in fending off male pattern baldness. I can't explain why guy A goes bald and guy B doesn't even though they eat the same stuff. That's obviously due to genetic differences. But for the men who do have male pattern baldness, it is VERY likely that it is due to high levels of insulin lowering SHBG. I think it would be very hard to find an male pattern baldness man in America who doesn't eat a lot of grain, processed food, etc. Also, excessive insulin can also cause inflammation, which may explain the irritation that some men suffer from in the areas where they are balding.
This is not to say that one needs to be generally insulin-resistant in order to suffer from male pattern baldness. Keep in mind that it is a local phenomenon. Thus, only the hair follicles need to become insulin resistant.
This also explains the fact that the incidence of balding in countries in Asia went up after processed grains were introduced into their diets (after WWII).
This is something I recently started to think and read about, so let me know what you think.
So, I'm thinking that high-carb and high sugar diets are what cause male pattern baldness. Basically the culprit is likely anything that keeps insulin levels artificially high. This would mean that diet could play an enormously important role in fending off male pattern baldness. I can't explain why guy A goes bald and guy B doesn't even though they eat the same stuff. That's obviously due to genetic differences. But for the men who do have male pattern baldness, it is VERY likely that it is due to high levels of insulin lowering SHBG. I think it would be very hard to find an male pattern baldness man in America who doesn't eat a lot of grain, processed food, etc. Also, excessive insulin can also cause inflammation, which may explain the irritation that some men suffer from in the areas where they are balding.
This is not to say that one needs to be generally insulin-resistant in order to suffer from male pattern baldness. Keep in mind that it is a local phenomenon. Thus, only the hair follicles need to become insulin resistant.
This also explains the fact that the incidence of balding in countries in Asia went up after processed grains were introduced into their diets (after WWII).
This is something I recently started to think and read about, so let me know what you think.