Ar more men going bald at a younger age?

[Johnny24601]

It seems like I see so many men going bald before they turn 30, but it "seems" as if this was not the case years ago. Has this been the case in your opinions (especially the older dudes here); I do not have the time to look myself right now but does anyone know of any scientific background on this; am I just noticing more bald guys because I am balding; I know farmers and ranchers are using more and more growth stimulators with their animals, is this increase in testosterone in the things we eat (cows and pigs) and the things we drink (milk) causing men to bald earlier because of the increased testosterone. Any thoughts.

 

[chewbaca]

There is no hard evidence to show that men in current times are balding faster than years ago unless a worldwide survey is done.

One possible explaination is that since the Gnene fodr baldness lies int he X chromosome, as human generations progress, more incidences of balding may rise due to the depletion of good non balding genes.

again it may not be pssible if one generation have managed to deplete the baldness gene significantly meaning the baldness gene lying in the x chromosome has lower levels of incidence

Watched a show on National geographic channel " Search for the real adam". In the show it is said that the y chromosome has remained unchanged since the time of Adam.

 

[scud666]

i would say definetely yes. the pollution adn the food we eat is getting back to us.

anyone stating that no hard-evidence crap literally has to live in a cave to not notice. look at photos of your grandpa and 60's TV. everyone back then had very decent hair up till their old years.

look at ppl now and their losing it in their 20's.

 

[chewbaca]

i would say definetely yes. the pollution adn the food we eat is getting back to us.

anyone stating that no hard-evidence crap literally has to live in a cave to not notice. look at photos of your grandpa and 60's TV. everyone back then had very decent hair up till their old years.

look at ppl now and their losing it in their 20's.

well your assumption can be wrong....male pattern baldness is cause by genetics. And saying that the pollution and food we eat is quite illogical. In these times science of health have increased dramatically and organic foods have become prevalen. Even then male pattern baldness is still around..Vegetarians also do lose their hair too...
Much of male pattern baldness has got to do with genetics over generations.
Just like how kids nowadays become obese and myopic at a much youner age than before...I would say X-linked diseases have far mor incidence today.Even fossilised prehistoric men's bones have been found to have health condtions. Most thing shave a genetic susceptibility
A classic example is lung cancer and smoking.

http://www.genetics.wayne.edu/lung

New Breakthrough - Lung Cancer Susceptibility Region found ! (Sept. 2004)
Lung Cancer is the 3rd most common form of cancer diagnosed in the United States and is the leading cause of death in the United States and worldwide. While it is well known that smoking causes lung cancer, there are individual differences in susceptibility to lung carcinogens. Findings of recent studies indicate that individuals with a family history of lung cancer are at an increased risk for developing this disease.

In the September 2004 issue of American Journal of Human Genetics (AJHG,75(3):460-474,2004) researchers in the study consortium from around the country announced the most recent breakthrough. They have discovered an inherited genetic region on the human chromosome number 6 that is linked with lung and other tobacco related cancers. This discovery is the first major step in finding the underlying biological malfunctions for the most fatal form of cancer.

 

[Johnny24601]

re:

male pattern baldness is certainly genetic but there is also clear scientific evidence that testosterone related compounds (specifically DHT) has a huge effect on the progression of male pattern baldness. It stands to reason that if humans are consuming meats that originated from animals that were injected with testosterone as a growth stimulator, then humans may have an increase in testosterone (and thus DHT) in their bodies. It is accepted that finasteride reduces a percentage of DHT and it is this reason why it is effective decreasing the rate of male pattern baldness. If there is more DHT around then it stands to reason that this may have the opposite effect of finasteride and increase the rate of male pattern baldness.
I brought this topic up not to say that that there are now people in this world who could be going bald even though they do not have the gene for male pattern baldness, I brought this up to discuss the men who have the gene for male pattern baldness and who's hairloss may have increased because of an increase in testosterone in their diet. Thus, the are clearly showing the signs of male pattern baldness in their 20's rather then their 30's.
This is all just a discussion topic as I am not in the medical community nor have I read any studies on this (I am not sure there would be a way to study this because there is no baseline study from past generations). I was just looking for opinions.

 

[Johnny24601]

re:

BTW, only a small percentage of the population eats organic foods and this organic push has only come into effect recently so it does not factor into the equation.
Vegatarians going bald does not factor into this discussion because my argument is not that food supplements has altered the gene for male pattern baldness but that it has accelerates the effects on male pattern baldness for those who have the gene.

 

[sadhairloss]

I ate organic foods all my life. They probably dont even know what hormones are back in Pakistan.

 

[jeffsss]

I think the reason is because male pattern baldness is a dominant trait.. Like brown eyes, brown hair.. etc...

once male pattern baldness gets into a family tree it gets bad for everyone down the branches.

 

[Dinzy]

C'mon we all know that we are supposed to evolve into totally hairless beings with huge heads so it is just natural that more people are ending up bald.

 

[Johnny24601]

re:

So tough. The argument is not whether the 21st century diet and/or lifestyle causes male pattern baldness, it is whether it has accelerated the process in those with the male pattern baldness gene. What is so hard to understand?

 

[chewbaca]

Re: re:

So tough. The argument is not whether the 21st century diet and/or lifestyle causes male pattern baldness, it is whether it has accelerated the process in those with the male pattern baldness gene. What is so hard to understand?

well a definete answer is hard to predict..but by observing anecdotal patterns, we may be closer.take the case of Japan, and china, over there their diet mainly consist of seafood...they also do have moden processed food, but certainly i see people over there balding too......

I say u dont worry about the food u eat.if u think it is doing harm to your hair, then change your diet...but in the first place i say male pattern baldness is mainly genetic, once it starts, it will hunt u down like a vicious killer eventually...depending on how much u are doomed.....Even if u do eat a good diet, it wont stop...maybe just slow it down only.

this is the overall scheme of things.u can run but u cant hide.

 

[Johnny24601]

re:

Percentage wise, from what I understand, asian men have a lesser amount of men dealing with male pattern baldness. Asian men also eat less meat and thus this would support my original thesis that food additives could be affecting male pattern baldness with men. I am not bringing this up so the crazies on this board will go out and become a vegetarian. It was only something to consider. male pattern baldness is certainly something in our genes, however, there are certainly factors such as stress, diet, scalp health, hair care products, vitamins etc. which MAY effect the rate at which one's male pattern baldness progresses. Since there is no way we can adjust our DNA to remove the gene that causes male pattern baldness, we have to search and discuss things that may accelerate our hairloss.
I don't give a crap about my own diet, that is not why I brought this up. I am not looking for a discussion on the cause of male pattern baldness (which is 100% genetic) nor am I considering changing my diet for any reason. I eat all organic with no red meat or pork out of personal decision. I could never eat a cow or a pig regardless of the physical effects either positive or negative.
Visit a non-organic farm and speak with them about additives, specifically testosterone based additives, used on pigs and cows as you will be surprised. So again, anyone have an informed opinion as to whether the typical 21st century western diet accelerates hairloss. Food additives are a newer age break through in cattle and it just seems like the percentage of bald guys in their 20s or early 30s, who have had this stimulated meat all their life, rivals the percentage of bald guys in their 50s, who have had the stimulated meat for only a portion of their lives. Yet, this should not be the case. I would love to be convinced that my observation is wrong.

 

[michael barry]

MORE alpha five reductase enzymes seem to be sythesized by the liver in people who eat alot of saturated animal fats from red meat and dairy products. This might accelerate baldness to an extent. http://www.diagnose-me.com/cond/C489728.html Read that for more info on the Japanese, to whom baldness was rare before WW2, are now balding earlier and more often.

 

[allopeciajimmy]

testosterone or any other steriod (DHT, Estrogen, etc) are not well absorbed so eating them would not increase the amt of testosterone in the blood stream.

I think though that environment plays a huge part in male pattern baldness. I think stress playes a major part in male pattern baldness (atleast male pattern baldness occuring earlier).. secondly..and this has not been proven but maybe someone has some info on it.. People w/ Diabets tend to loose their hair earlier.. just an observation from seeing hundereds of diabetics. Can be due to incrased gluces levels in the blood or even increased levels of insulin which can cause several reactions in the body besides uptaking glucose.

 

[Johnny24601]

re:

Good stuff. How do we know that we do not abosorb testosterone when injested?

 

[powersam]

i think it has a lot to do with the massive amount of sugars and simple carbs our diets now contain. huge amounts more than we used to consume.

 

[allopeciajimmy]

We can absorb testosterone when injected... (even that has to be a synthetic testosterone). When you eat though.. .the food gets absorbed in the Small intestine and goes through the liver.. liver breaks down a ton of things but is especially good at breaking down lipid soluble products. This is called a "first pass affect" Testosterone and other steriods are very sensitive to this. They are almost immediatly broken down.. This is why testosterone has a 1/2 life in the body of a few minutes (5-10).

 

[biff]

I posted a similar question some time ago. It seems there are more bald people around these days, but then again, before I started going bald I didn't pay as much attention so I'm not sure.

You could be on to something with growth hormones, but I believe these have been used for quite a while now. It could also be that there are more bald people passing their genes onto the next generation. If we work at it, in 1000 years or so we might spread the baldness gene to the majority of the population and most men will be bald! By then they will most likely have a cure. Probably!

 

[shutterfly]

A most commonly agreed theory on hair loss is genetics. However it's not true on my case. No one in either of my parents' families has had any hairloss. My father is already in his 60s and he still has hair as full as when he was 20 and 30. Ｉ　ｈａｖｅn't seen any thinning at all. But me, I am 33 and started loosing hair 3 years ago. And even worse, I have been on propecia for a year and haven't seen any effect yet.
So, for my case, yes, there are more people getting bald.


By the way, I am a Chinese and I moved to the States about 6 years ago.

 

[Johnny24601]

re:

male pattern baldness is not a dominate gene and can skip generations. Almost every male in my family has a full head of hair and I do not. If you have male pattern baldness thenit is genetic.