Some days ago, I found myself in a beer-parlor kind of setting where someone was vehemently arguing that “too much sex and masturbation” will make his friend go bald quickly. Because of this, I decided to share this interesting topic with us.

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Male pattern baldness (scientifically called androgenic alopecia) refers to the loss of hair especially on the head and sometimes, on other parts of the body. Hair loss happens in both men and women, but for the purpose of this conversation, we will be talking about hair loss in men.

Unlike what most people think, the hair is actually a very important part of a man’s physical features. This is the reason why most stylish young men have a special barber who does their haircut. For most young men, loss of hair (or receding hairline) is a very sensitive problem because baldness makes a man to feel and look old.

What Causes Baldness?

Apart from inherited genetic traits, male sex hormones called androgens are mainly responsible for baldness. For many years, scientists thought that testosterone was the cause of baldness; however, research has shown that a derivative of testosterone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is the main culprit.

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DHT is produced from testosterone by an enzyme called 5α-reductase, in the hair follicles and other areas of the body.

When there is increased amount of testosterone in the body, some of it is converted to DHT. Normally, DHT helps in growth and regulation of body activities and also in the production of blood cells, but it has a damaging effect on the hair follicles.

How Does DHT Cause Hair loss?

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DHT inhibits proper hair growth by attaching itself to the receptor cells of hair follicles, thereby preventing the necessary nutrients needed for hair growth from getting to the hair follicle.

This makes the hair follicles to become thin, producing lighter and softer hair till it shrinks off completely and stops producing hair completely. This process is called hair follicle miniaturization, and it is worse in people whose scalps are very sensitive to DHT.

How Excessive Sugar Can Increases Hair Loss

As we mentioned earlier, it is free or excessive testosterone that is been converted to DHT. One proven way of reducing DHT levels is by reducing the amount of circulating testosterone.

If most of the testosterone in the body is bound to other molecules, then there won’t be much testosterone to be converted to DHT. A protein called Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG) binds to free testosterone and prevents it from being converted to DHT.

Research has shown that high level of insulin (caused by intake of excessive sugar) reduces the level of SHBG, thereby increasing the amount of free testosterone which is consequently converted to DHT. Therefore excessive intake of sugar contributes to hair loss.

So is there a Link Between Sex, Masturbation and Hair Loss?

One reason why people relate sex with hair loss is because ejaculation of seminal fluid reduces the amount of proteins in the body, thereby depleting the protein supply needed for hair growth. This myth is erroneous because seminal fluid contains only about 10% protein and almost 90% water.

Considering the fact that over 50% of the dry weight of the human body consists of protein, the amount of protein expelled in seminal fluid is TOO SMALL to deplete the protein reserve of the body.

How to tackle Hair loss

The most effective remedy from hair loss is to reduce the formation of DHT in your scalp and the sensitivity of your scalp to DHT.
Taking DHT inhibitors such as Resihi mushroom, Saw palmetto and Green tea.

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Research has shown that increased alkalinity of the body reduces the effects of 5α-reductase which produces DHT. Therefore, to tackle hair loss, you should eat food that alkalinizes the body such as vegetables, spices, raw soaked nuts and fresh fruits.

References
https://www.quora.com/Is-there-any-connection-between-sex-and-hair-loss
https://www.hairlossrevolution.com/best-natural-5-alpha-reductase-inhibitors/
https://www.livealittlelonger.com/male-pattern-baldness-treatments/

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