Natural Supplements For Male Pattern Baldness Treatment
One of the things about male pattern baldness is those whom choose to treat it generally do their research. The know all about the pharmaceuticals they can get from their doctor to manipulate DHT. But oftentimes the mind will get stuck somehow that the drugs of modern medicine are the best way to go. They somehow must be more potent. But really -- hasn't the planet been producing plants with in incredible diversity of natural chemicals for millions of years? And hasn't man been using these plants as medicines for many thousands of years? Could they possibly do an even better job at stopping hair loss? Yes, yes and yes!
It's a mistaken tendency to believe modern pharmaceutical drugs are superior to natural medicines. What makes them seem superior is the massive amounts of money spent on their testing and marketing. It takes incredible amounts of funding to produce studies the FDA deems sufficient to then call a medicine "safe and effective". But we can clearly see from the many news stories produced about such medicines being pulled off the market -- when they were later found neither safe nor effective -- that this process doesn't really hold much weight.
The fact of the matter is that there is a good bit of data revealing that a good many natural medicines have the biochemical activity necessary to prevent hair loss. It's just that these studies have been done in a laboratory, looking at how chemical "A" affects chemical "B". It's just too expensive to test whether a particular supplement affects hair growth in humans on the statistical scale demanded by the FDA. And you'll never see the researchers combine 5 supplements, like any man with a reasonable level of obsessive-compulsive behavior about his hair would be taking. But it's really pretty easy to put your faith in combining several supplements that address multiple conditions involved in male pattern baldness...and here's how you might go about it.
Research on male pattern hair loss itself indicates three important considerations: blocking the formation and binding of DHT, reducing inflammation at the hair follicle, and ensuring an adequate supply of nutrients for hair growth (some of which seem to be important in signaling hair to grow, not just provide the necessary nutrients for the physical formation of hair).
The most consistently suggested supplements for inhibiting formation and binding of dihydrotestosterone are saw palmetto berry extract, stinging nettle root extract, flax seed lignans, soybean extract, and green tea extract. Not that for all of these, if you're going to use them as supplements, you'll want to be sure you're purchasing high quality extracts -- not just powdered saw palmetto berries in capsules, for example. The only whole supplements here you might consider is ingesting a couple of heaping tablespoons of ground flax seeds daily, and/or drinking several cups of green tea daily (if you're not overly sensitive to the caffeine).
These supplements actually work together in synergy -- some will block formation and some will block binding. Typically these are available together, with the lignans as well, in formulas which support the prostate gland. Interestingly, the same nutrients which prevent prostate swelling also prevent hair loss -- so if you want to choose the single most effective supplement, choose a high quality gel-cap (oil-based, for best absorption) prostate support formula. It is actually because we know that these work to reduce prostate swelling resulting from DHT production and binding (the symptoms are alleviated quickly) that it's safe to believe the same actions will help prevent further hair loss.
Soybean extracts sound a little weird -- aren't these for women who need extra estrogen? It turns out that bacteria naturally found in our digestive system turn certain components of soybean extracts into a chemical that has the strongest DHT inhibiting qualities of any known compound to date.
Much of the most recent research has noted hair follicle death being preceded by inflammation. Chronic cellular inflammation is actually implicated in aging, and is now becoming a primary focus of anti-aging medicines and therapies. Curcumin, an extract of the spice turmeric, is now widely available in easily-absorbed formulations (look for these, as otherwise the body will absorb very little of the nutrient). A hair-loss-prevention patent has been applied for with a simple combination of curcumin and red wine extract, so this is certainly worth a look.
A smattering of other nutrients are worth considering as well -- particularly if you favor the "shotgun approach" -- that of including every possible helpful nutrient, expecting that at least some will do the job. Here's a quick rundown: The B-vitamins biotin and inositol, the mineral sulfur (either from the amino acid methionine or MSM), the amino acids taurine (thought to prevent hardening of the follicle), arginine (thought to signal hair growth -- can be taken alone or sourced from raw chocolate or pomegranate extract) and lysine (which seems to boost all other natural supplements). Finally, a tablespoon of coconut oil either eaten or massaged into the scalp on a regular basis has a lot of support from the community supporting natural treatments.
While these seem like a lot, if you choose to take them all, you can simplify the process by spending some time dividing up your daily doses into a vitamin box. This way you won't have to open 5 bottles a day -- just reach in, grab your handful and go. All the supplements her have some sort of scientific support for treating male pattern baldness, and putting them altogether is really likely to have some positive effect on your hair growth if consistently used for 3 months or more. Finally, consider combining them with a topical treatment containing natural hair growth stimulating ingredients such as rosemary, sage and lavender essential oils (yes, they're not just great scents, they're medicines as well). You find excellent recipes for blends of these oils as hair treatments, which can be even more effective when combined with the internal supplement program described here.
It's a mistaken tendency to believe modern pharmaceutical drugs are superior to natural medicines. What makes them seem superior is the massive amounts of money spent on their testing and marketing. It takes incredible amounts of funding to produce studies the FDA deems sufficient to then call a medicine "safe and effective". But we can clearly see from the many news stories produced about such medicines being pulled off the market -- when they were later found neither safe nor effective -- that this process doesn't really hold much weight.
The fact of the matter is that there is a good bit of data revealing that a good many natural medicines have the biochemical activity necessary to prevent hair loss. It's just that these studies have been done in a laboratory, looking at how chemical "A" affects chemical "B". It's just too expensive to test whether a particular supplement affects hair growth in humans on the statistical scale demanded by the FDA. And you'll never see the researchers combine 5 supplements, like any man with a reasonable level of obsessive-compulsive behavior about his hair would be taking. But it's really pretty easy to put your faith in combining several supplements that address multiple conditions involved in male pattern baldness...and here's how you might go about it.
Research on male pattern hair loss itself indicates three important considerations: blocking the formation and binding of DHT, reducing inflammation at the hair follicle, and ensuring an adequate supply of nutrients for hair growth (some of which seem to be important in signaling hair to grow, not just provide the necessary nutrients for the physical formation of hair).
The most consistently suggested supplements for inhibiting formation and binding of dihydrotestosterone are saw palmetto berry extract, stinging nettle root extract, flax seed lignans, soybean extract, and green tea extract. Not that for all of these, if you're going to use them as supplements, you'll want to be sure you're purchasing high quality extracts -- not just powdered saw palmetto berries in capsules, for example. The only whole supplements here you might consider is ingesting a couple of heaping tablespoons of ground flax seeds daily, and/or drinking several cups of green tea daily (if you're not overly sensitive to the caffeine).
These supplements actually work together in synergy -- some will block formation and some will block binding. Typically these are available together, with the lignans as well, in formulas which support the prostate gland. Interestingly, the same nutrients which prevent prostate swelling also prevent hair loss -- so if you want to choose the single most effective supplement, choose a high quality gel-cap (oil-based, for best absorption) prostate support formula. It is actually because we know that these work to reduce prostate swelling resulting from DHT production and binding (the symptoms are alleviated quickly) that it's safe to believe the same actions will help prevent further hair loss.
Soybean extracts sound a little weird -- aren't these for women who need extra estrogen? It turns out that bacteria naturally found in our digestive system turn certain components of soybean extracts into a chemical that has the strongest DHT inhibiting qualities of any known compound to date.
Much of the most recent research has noted hair follicle death being preceded by inflammation. Chronic cellular inflammation is actually implicated in aging, and is now becoming a primary focus of anti-aging medicines and therapies. Curcumin, an extract of the spice turmeric, is now widely available in easily-absorbed formulations (look for these, as otherwise the body will absorb very little of the nutrient). A hair-loss-prevention patent has been applied for with a simple combination of curcumin and red wine extract, so this is certainly worth a look.
A smattering of other nutrients are worth considering as well -- particularly if you favor the "shotgun approach" -- that of including every possible helpful nutrient, expecting that at least some will do the job. Here's a quick rundown: The B-vitamins biotin and inositol, the mineral sulfur (either from the amino acid methionine or MSM), the amino acids taurine (thought to prevent hardening of the follicle), arginine (thought to signal hair growth -- can be taken alone or sourced from raw chocolate or pomegranate extract) and lysine (which seems to boost all other natural supplements). Finally, a tablespoon of coconut oil either eaten or massaged into the scalp on a regular basis has a lot of support from the community supporting natural treatments.
While these seem like a lot, if you choose to take them all, you can simplify the process by spending some time dividing up your daily doses into a vitamin box. This way you won't have to open 5 bottles a day -- just reach in, grab your handful and go. All the supplements her have some sort of scientific support for treating male pattern baldness, and putting them altogether is really likely to have some positive effect on your hair growth if consistently used for 3 months or more. Finally, consider combining them with a topical treatment containing natural hair growth stimulating ingredients such as rosemary, sage and lavender essential oils (yes, they're not just great scents, they're medicines as well). You find excellent recipes for blends of these oils as hair treatments, which can be even more effective when combined with the internal supplement program described here.
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