Saturated Fat intake and Hair Loss

Beyond the genetic propensity of certain people toward hair loss, there seems to be various dietary triggers that activate the process, a notion that is promising since this can be controlled. Fat intake is currently the chief contender as a dietary trigger for hair loss.

Diets high in saturated fat and cholesterol tend to increase testosterone, which is the main component in DHT (Dihydrotestosterone), a hormone produced by the body that is the main cause of hair loss.

People of all races and ethnicities tend to develop male pattern baldness or androgenetic alopecia, on a typical American diet, yet do not exhibit these tendencies on their traditional diets, so changes in diet may be a leading contributing factor.

Societies that consumed relatively low-fat diets such as pre-World War II Japan experienced almost no male pattern baldness, whereas in post-World War II Japan there is an increase in male pattern baldness as their society now consumes a higher fat diet.

So it would appear that high levels of saturated fat and cholesterol rich foods tend to increase DHT levels and their consumption should be limited.