Does Body Building Affect Hair Loss?

We don’t have a definitive answer, but there is strong belief that some of the supplements that men and women take while working out or body building can affect hair loss. We know that having an intensive weight workout based exercise regime, won’t cause hair loss but can it actually accelerate hair loss?

What can cause Hair Loss in Bodybuilding?

Having a regular high intensity weight based workout can cause your body to increase the level of testosterone in the body. This increase in testosterone is only short-lived however and can last for around 15-20 minutes after the exercise is complete. In reality, we still have a lot to learn about how exercise can affect the testosterone levels in the body.

We know that genetic pattern baldness is caused by a by-product of testosterone called dihydrotestosterone(DHT). In theory, we can assume that an increase in testosterone above your normal level can lead to an increase in DHT being created. DHT can only lead to hair loss in men and women who are susceptible to DHT. To see pattern baldness, you must already have receptors at the base of your hair follicles that will interact with DHT. Not everyone has these receptors, which is why some people will never see hair loss in their lifetime.

How can supplements for Bodybuilding affect Hair Loss?

Today most people who regularly engage in high intensity weight workouts will be taking a supplement to aid their workout or recovery. In a lot of cases, people will be taking multiple supplements as part of their daily diet to try and get the most out of their workout. While all these supplements are healthy when taken in moderation, some of them can accelerate your hair loss.

The first category of products that can cause this accelerated hair loss, are those that contain testosterone boosters such as Creatine. Creatine will boost your strength and reduce fatigue from your workout, but it will boost your testosterone levels. If your body converts some of this additional free testosterone into DHT, any existing hair loss will be accelerated.

Some Whey Protein Powders, can contain ingredients such Creatine and other inorganic growth hormones that will all raise testosterone. But it’s not as simple as that. The type of protein powder you are using may also be causing an accelerated hair loss.

Whey Protein Isolate is a common type of protein used in protein powders, but can cause higher testosterone levels due to the nature of the powder. Whey Protein Isolate contains certain high branched chain amino acids that lead to an increased testosterone level following weight resistance training. These branched chain amino acids are less present in other types of protein, such as Whey Protein Concentrate, which therefore does not accelerate hair loss like Whey Protein Isolate.

What supplements can I take?

If you are concerned about your hair loss, but want to keep taking supplements to aid your workout and muscle growth then try Help Hair Whey Protein. Help Hair is a low anabolic protein powder that has all the supplemental nutrition to promote healthy hair growth. It is made with Whey Protein Concentrate, so avoids the testosterone boosting you get from Whey Protein Isolate. Help Hair has a low protein content of 8g per serving. If you are using Help Hair as part of a body building regime, then you can supplement Help hair with another source of protein (preferably a pea or rice based protein powder).

Avoid any supplements that can lead to an increase in your testosterone, if you already suffer from hair loss.

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