Bewusst
dead inside
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2019
- Posts
- 16,981
- Reputation
- 21,950
I mentioned it already but I decided to make a thread about this. I hope you guys appreciate what I‘m about to share with you. I‘m tired of garbage threads.
Hair loss, androgenetic alopecia or male pattern baldness, is not caused by DHT. DHT triggers it but only under a certain circumstance. This circumstance being the loss of androgen receptor gene methylation in hair follicles (study).
What is AR gene methylation?
-> DNA methylation is a biological process of adding a methyl group to DNA.
In this case, adding a methyl group to the CpG island in the promoter region of the androgen receptor gene in hair follicles will reduce its expression. Think of it as an on/off switch and methylation turns gene expression off.
A common characteristic of MPB (male pattern baldness) is that it affects the top of the head (vertex) much more than the back of the head (occiput). This is because vertex hair follicles have much lower levels of methylation than occipital hair follicles and thus are a lot more sensitive to DHT. Occipital hair follicles have twice the amount of methylation, on average. Hence, the occiput is not affected as much from MPB.
If hormones really were to blame (they are not), you‘d see androgenetic alopecia begin in puberty and improve with the decline of men‘s T levels as they age and gain weight. But this isn‘t the case. It usually begins in one‘s mid- to late twenties or later in life and does not resolve on its own.
The real cause of AGA is a gradual decline in DNA methylation, which is also heavily involved in aging and the onset of diseases and cancer in general. So, instead of removing the signal (DHT) from the overactive androgen receptors, we should normalize their expression. If it works in puberty - lots of androgens but healthy levels of methylation = no hair loss - it‘ll work at any age. DHT does not matter. You need it for well-being. No more jewtasteride.
The solution?
-> Increase overall methylation in your body. The methylation cycle requires vitamin B2 (riboflavin), B6 (pyridoxine), B9 (folate) and B12 (cobalamin), methionine and choline. Deficiencies in dietary methyl donors can result in global hypomethylation and accelerate hair loss or the onset thereof.
Make sure to get plenty of all of the above every single day. If you already suffer from hair loss, take supplements. For B6, get pyridoxal-5-phosphate, for B9 L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate and for B12 methylcobalamin.
Make sure to eat enough protein as a source for methionine and to consume enough choline and minerals. Good mineral and trace element sources are unprocessed sugar cane syrup, fruits such as bananas and dates, leafy greens and whole grains.
You can add trimethylglycine (betaine) and S-Adenosylmethionine (SAMe) for a 100% guaranteed increase in methylation. Just make sure not to overdo the SAM, since hypermethylation isn’t your goal either.
Other things apart from methylation support you should be taking are vitamin C (read my guide) and D with its cofactors (A, K2, magnesium).
Tl;dr: If you want to keep your hair, increase methylation.
How? Take:
• riboflavin
• vitamin B6 as P-5-P
• vitamin B9 as L-5-MTHF
• vitamin B12 as methylcobalamin
• vitamin C
• vitamin A, D, K2 + magnesium
(• SAMe)
(• TMG (betaine))
• diet rich in (trace) minerals and with plenty of protein and choline.
Hair loss, androgenetic alopecia or male pattern baldness, is not caused by DHT. DHT triggers it but only under a certain circumstance. This circumstance being the loss of androgen receptor gene methylation in hair follicles (study).
What is AR gene methylation?
-> DNA methylation is a biological process of adding a methyl group to DNA.
In this case, adding a methyl group to the CpG island in the promoter region of the androgen receptor gene in hair follicles will reduce its expression. Think of it as an on/off switch and methylation turns gene expression off.
A common characteristic of MPB (male pattern baldness) is that it affects the top of the head (vertex) much more than the back of the head (occiput). This is because vertex hair follicles have much lower levels of methylation than occipital hair follicles and thus are a lot more sensitive to DHT. Occipital hair follicles have twice the amount of methylation, on average. Hence, the occiput is not affected as much from MPB.
If hormones really were to blame (they are not), you‘d see androgenetic alopecia begin in puberty and improve with the decline of men‘s T levels as they age and gain weight. But this isn‘t the case. It usually begins in one‘s mid- to late twenties or later in life and does not resolve on its own.
The real cause of AGA is a gradual decline in DNA methylation, which is also heavily involved in aging and the onset of diseases and cancer in general. So, instead of removing the signal (DHT) from the overactive androgen receptors, we should normalize their expression. If it works in puberty - lots of androgens but healthy levels of methylation = no hair loss - it‘ll work at any age. DHT does not matter. You need it for well-being. No more jewtasteride.
The solution?
-> Increase overall methylation in your body. The methylation cycle requires vitamin B2 (riboflavin), B6 (pyridoxine), B9 (folate) and B12 (cobalamin), methionine and choline. Deficiencies in dietary methyl donors can result in global hypomethylation and accelerate hair loss or the onset thereof.
Make sure to get plenty of all of the above every single day. If you already suffer from hair loss, take supplements. For B6, get pyridoxal-5-phosphate, for B9 L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate and for B12 methylcobalamin.
Make sure to eat enough protein as a source for methionine and to consume enough choline and minerals. Good mineral and trace element sources are unprocessed sugar cane syrup, fruits such as bananas and dates, leafy greens and whole grains.
You can add trimethylglycine (betaine) and S-Adenosylmethionine (SAMe) for a 100% guaranteed increase in methylation. Just make sure not to overdo the SAM, since hypermethylation isn’t your goal either.
Other things apart from methylation support you should be taking are vitamin C (read my guide) and D with its cofactors (A, K2, magnesium).
Tl;dr: If you want to keep your hair, increase methylation.
How? Take:
• riboflavin
• vitamin B6 as P-5-P
• vitamin B9 as L-5-MTHF
• vitamin B12 as methylcobalamin
• vitamin C
• vitamin A, D, K2 + magnesium
(• SAMe)
(• TMG (betaine))
• diet rich in (trace) minerals and with plenty of protein and choline.
