Effect of Race upon Hair Loss

Can your ethnicity or race really affect your hair loss?

It is well documented that Inuits (Eskimos) and Native American Indians suffer from very little hair loss.  Generally speaking Asian and African men also suffer a lot less from hair loss than Caucasian people.

An an interesting aside, a disproportionate number of sales of ProFusion are made to people of Asian origin.  This may not mean that Asian people have more or less hair loss, but probably indicates a greater desire to be proactive.

What is also interesting is that Japanese men suffer from a low level of hair loss, however this has been increasing in recent years.

Theories abound as to why this should be, but the obvious theory, which is scientifically unproven as yet but nevertheless is very interesting, is that the Japanese diet has changed drastically over the past 10-20 years with a much greater consumption of Westernised foods, particularly among young people.  So could there be a link between hair loss and diet?

It has therefore been widely reported that consumption of the following traditional Japanese foods have fallen among young people:-
Soya

Fish Increased consumption of fast food in Japan
Tofu

And more:-

Sugar and refined carbohydrates

Processed foods (think McDonald’s Tokyo)
Deep-fried foods

Less Soya consumption will affect the balance in favour of greater testosterone production and there are also other theories regarding how increased red meat consumption may also increase available (unbound and therefore active testosterone) and also may increase alpha reductase, which converts testosterone to DHT.

However, before swapping your bottles of Bud for a glass of Sake and your spaghetti bolognese for a bowl of raw fish), genetics and physiological science are often not that straightforward and it may be that an increase in sugar and saturated fats may cause hair loss in Japanese men, but a reduction in red meat and sugars may not prevent hair loss in Caucasian males.  However, that said, a reduction in red meat and sugars is very good for you anyway, but research has not been carried out to see if this might have to be lifelong or at least throughout teenage years to make a difference.

In other words once the hair loss process has begun, it is difficult to stop, so perhaps the formative years are the years leading up to when the hair loss begins, which are probably the teenage years, when people are much more likely to be eating KFC and Burger King.  Perhaps (as a bit of levity) there is a gap in the market for Tofu burgers with soya protein and unfried fries, which could be called McBarnet?

On a more serious note however, perhaps there is merit in cutting down on red meat, refined sugars and certainly fast food if you have a family history of hair loss BEFORE the hair loss process begins!  If nothing else, it may help you live longer and may even delay the onset of baldness.