Gifts-911

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!

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!

Our tendency to believe synthetic chemicals produced by the scientists in well-funded labs MUST be making drugs more effective than nature. At the same time, these same scientists are spending millions of dollars and lots of time looking for natural compounds to extract, and then patent a unique delivery system so they can call them their own. But when you think about it, there's nothing their doing that evolution hasn't been doing already --- making new chemicals! It's just that the pharmaceutical companies then spend millions of dollars in research on humans to prove their chemicals work just a little bit better than a placebo -- where this isn't financially feasible in the case of herbs and nutrients.

And there are studies which clearly support the efficacy of natural treatments. They tend to be small in scale, and often focus on the effects of the herb extracts "in-vitro". This means than it can be shown that chemical X can inhibit the enzyme that converts testosterone to DHT. This is the same thing the pharmaceutical does. But the study to get 100 men involved to take the pill with the herb for six months and evaluate their hair loss (or re-growth) is very costly, and the herb companies can't afford it. (Though actually some small scale studies are in fact just producing the data we're looking for -- whether the FDA allows it to be used in marketing literature is still another matter).

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).

First, the limiting of DHT production and activity: The primary nutrients recommended are extracts of saw palmetto berry, nettle root, green tea, soy and flax seeds. Always find these in extracts, not just the powdered herb -- and best to find standardized extracts, so you know you're getting reasonable amounts of what is considered the "active ingredients" of each. For flax and green tea, you could consider taking these as whole food supplements (a couple tablespoons of ground flax seeds and several cups of green tea per day).

Your better off taking one or more off these supplements together, as they attack the source of hair loss from different angles. Some will block DHT production while others will prevent its binding at receptor sites. You can find high quality combinations of several of these supplements together in formulas for reducing prostate gland swelling. The same issues implicating DHT as the cause of swelling of the prostate gland are those involved in male pattern baldness. (And because these supplements very clearly work for reducing prostate swelling, they're more than likely going to have positive benefits for hair loss prevention.)

Soy extract supplements may seem a little strange for treating hair loss, but it's been noted for many years that while Asian men still living in Asia have little hair loss, those now living in Western countries experience it at a significantly higher rate. The cause has been narrowed down to their soy intake. It turns out that beneficial bacteria in the gut uses certain constituents of soy to make one of the most potent natural chemicals known for the prevention of dihydrotestosterone formation.

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.

Finally, there's a few common nutrients that might be of help. The amino acid "l-arginine" is thought to play an important function in the stimulation of hair growth, but its exact roll is as of yet unknown. B-vitamins are important, specifically biotin -- it helps the formation of new hair. Lecithin is also necessary for hair formation, as is the mineral sulfur. If you wish to supplement for sulfur, use a supplement called MSM. The amino acids taurine and lysine may also be helpful. Taurine prevents the hardening of follicles before they "die", and lysine seems to actually support every other hair growth supplement in some yet-to-be-understood way. Last but not least, eating a tablespoon of virgin coconut oil and hempseed oil each per day also seem to have a beneficial effect -- not only on the hair, but on the brain as well.

Yes, there are a great many supplements to choose from. If you can afford it, buy as many as you can in bulk form, and spend some time dividing up your daily doses. You're more likely to take them all regularly (a must if you want to see results) if you don't have to open ten bottles a day. Be sure to give yourself several months before deciding whether these are helpful for you -- hair naturally does grow slowly. And you may consider a topical natural treatment as well -- combinations of "fixed" oils and essential oils have a lot of backing (for example, rosemary, helichrysum, lavender and sage essential oils based in tamanu nut, coconut and rosehip seed oils can potentially be very effective). And you'll smell great too!