A new study has found a strong link between excessive sugary drinks and hair loss that affects the top and front of the scalp. This type is called “male-pattern hair loss” or “androgenetic alopecia.”
The study was conducted between January and April 2022 on the Chinese mainland, and included 1951 men between the ages of 18-45 years, and they came from 31 provinces, reports a local Arabic daily.
The study, published in the “Nutrients” periodical this January, says respondents filled out a questionnaire online, and two verification questions were added to the survey to ensure its high credibility, and 4 participants were excluded from the survey because they suffered from a scalp infection or cancer or provided the researchers with illogical information.
In 1,028 study participants, researchers found an association between consuming highly sweetened beverages and an increased risk of hair loss.
The researchers called on men to reduce consumption of this type of drink, especially among young people, to reduce negative damage to their health.
Not only does this type of hair loss affect hair, but it leads to other effects such as shaking self-confidence, psychological distress, and physical health. Several factors can contribute to this, such as sleep, anxiety, genetics, age, and body mass index.
Young people consume more sweetened beverages such as juices and energy drinks. For example, 63 percent of young people in the United States drink sweetened beverages daily. Sweetened drinks have been linked to many health problems, such as tooth decay, obesity, and emotional problems.
In explaining the relationship, the high sugar content in sweetened drinks leads to an increase in the concentration of glucose in the blood, which leads to the activation of what is known as the “polyol” pathway, and this reduces the amounts of glucose available to the keratinocytes in the skin from which hair follicles grow, which leads to to “androgenetic alopecia”.
