Early balding, metabolic syndrome and diet

[Davey Jones]

thats exactly what it is.

Since when is producing too much DHT the issue? Isn't it more so the oversensitivity to DHT?

[BaldinLikeBaldwin]

Since when is producing too much DHT the issue? Isn't it more so the oversensitivity to DHT?

Well, with lower DHT levels the oversensitivity becomes less of a factor.

[25 going on 65]

Your DHT levels, whether from diet or genes, aren't the problem. The problem is follicular sensitivity to DHT. That's what causes miniaturization, and lifestyle changes unfortunately won't anything much to help that.

[gutted]

Since when is producing too much DHT the issue? Isn't it more so the oversensitivity to DHT?

well i guess that is probably what modern science has established so far, but in my opinon, flawed.

[Maradona]

Your DHT levels, whether from diet or genes, aren't the problem. The problem is follicular sensitivity to DHT. That's what causes miniaturization, and lifestyle changes unfortunately won't anything much to help that.

Injecting steroids it's a life choice that alters your hormones and it does change much your hair loss status. Look at all the body builders !

Unless they all decided to get buffed once they started losing their hair

[Aston]

The point is that you should lose your hair in advanced age. That seems to be trend for "healthy" individuals. People who lose their hair in their twenties or teens always seem to have certain hormonal imbalances, mostly lack of SHBG and/or 5a reductase hyperactivity. Research is only now tentatively linking metabolic syndrome to many common diseases. In my case, taking finasteride has solved a number of small issues and made me a more "healthy" individual in the eyes of others. Even if the effect of the drug doesn't solve the underlying cause, it seems to me that such cause can hardly be natural.

[WashedOut]

The point is that you should lose your hair in advanced age. That seems to be trend for "healthy" individuals. People who lose their hair in their twenties or teens always seem to have certain hormonal imbalances, mostly lack of SHBG and/or 5a reductase hyperactivity. Research is only now tentatively linking metabolic syndrome to many common diseases. In my case, taking finasteride has solved a number of small issues and made me a more "healthy" individual in the eyes of others. Even if the effect of the drug doesn't solve the underlying cause, it seems to me that such cause can hardly be natural.

I'm beginning to believe I'm in a similar situation. I have all the signs of high DHT but I have very low t. What other small issues did you have?

[Aston]

I'm beginning to believe I'm in a similar situation. I have all the signs of high DHT but I have very low t. What other small issues did you have?

-Acne (now gone);
-Extremely oily scalp regardless of washing cycles (now gone);
-Extremely deep and efficient sleep, inability to skip sleep for a day without paralyzing side effects (now gone, i'm sleeping 8-9 hours instead of 5-6 and can skip a night and remain focused);
-Body hair in unusual places, unlike any member of my family (too soon to say if gone or not).
-No effect on libido for now (is there such a thing as "excessive libido" ?)

I am taking finasteride at about 0.3mg every other day and very low doses of arimidex (0.25mg, a quarter of a tablet, twice a week) to control estrogens.

Low T is typical in balding men. It's "normal" for aging men, but clearly abnormal in young ones. Some say the lack of SHBG causes hyperactivity of 5a reductase, but i'm somewhat skeptical.
Low SHBG can only cause high bio-availability of DHT, but not a decrease in T levels. What i think happens is that low SHBG causes both high bio-availability of DHT AND estrogens, and an excess of estrogens is known to dampen libido in men.
This is still doesn't explain why balding men have low T in their tests, which seems to point invariably to 5a reductase hyperactivity.

[Maradona]

-Acne (now gone);
-Extremely oily scalp regardless of washing cycles (now gone);
-Extremely deep and efficient sleep, inability to skip sleep for a day without paralyzing side effects (now gone, i'm sleeping 8-9 hours instead of 5-6 and can skip a night and remain focused);
-Body hair in unusual places, unlike any member of my family (too soon to say if gone or not).
-No effect on libido for now (is there such a thing as "excessive libido" ?)

I am taking finasteride at about 0.3mg every other day and very low doses of arimidex (0.25mg, a quarter of a tablet, twice a week) to control estrogens.

Low T is typical in balding men. It's "normal" for aging men, but clearly abnormal in young ones. Some say the lack of SHBG causes hyperactivity of 5a reductase, but i'm somewhat skeptical.
Low SHBG can only cause high bio-availability of DHT, but not a decrease in T levels. What i think happens is that low SHBG causes both high bio-availability of DHT AND estrogens, and an excess of estrogens is known to dampen libido in men.
This is still doesn't explain why balding men have low T in their tests, which seems to point invariably to 5a reductase hyperactivity.

wait you have these symptoms from high DHT?

I think I have extremely high DHT since last year. I have acne, oily scalp, body hair growing thick and long, incredible libido and Super agressive hair loss.

Problem is my family has pretty good mild baldness somehow I have developed super HIGH DHT since last year, what do you think has caused this rise in DHT?

Was it pre-programmed to rise tremendously this time of my life? or did I do something?

what's your opinion.

Thanks.

[Aston]

wait you have these symptoms from high DHT?

I think I have extremely high DHT since last year. I have acne, oily scalp, body hair growing thick and long, incredible libido and Super agressive hair loss.

Problem is my family has pretty good mild baldness somehow I have developed super HIGH DHT since last year, what do you think has caused this rise in DHT?

Was it pre-programmed to rise tremendously this time of my life? or did I do something?

what's your opinion.

Thanks.

Well, that's what i'm trying to understand. It could be evolutionary: higher libido and higher muscle mass gain would probably trump any drawback from losing hair or having acne and an oily scalp in a primitive settings. At the same time it doesn't seem to me the human body operates in such roundabout ways. Hormonal imbalances resulting in visible symptoms are usually the sign of a disease or negative change in the body.

My opinion is this: it is both. This is an imbalance caused by a typical hyper-caloric, high-fat modern diet, however it is also a perfectly natural way for the body to react to such diet. Exactly like diabetes type 2. There is no doubt that diabetes type 2 is a disease, however certain people are more vulnerable to it genetically than others. It is also a perfectly natural way for the body to react to chronic excess insulin.

Changing your diet to a healthier one won't heal diabetes type 2 or balding. However recently a popular study has cured people of diabetes type 2 simply by putting subjects on an extremely harsh low calories diet. The reasoning is that the pancreas of the subjects was coated in a lipidic "film" from excess visceral fat, which a simple diet wasn't enough to eliminate, mechanically impeding the release of insulin! (Take from it what you will, diabetes type 2 has different mechanisms than that, as far as i know)

The theory for excess DHT as a disease is:
Hyper-caloric diet > chronic hyperglycemia > fatty liver syndrome/metabolic syndrome > chronic low SHBG (gene expression change) > excess DHT

Here's a study linking T levels, fatty liver syndrome and metabolic syndrome http://www.endo-society.org/media/EN...mentformen.cfm

The most common counter-argument to this idea is the fact that many MPB sufferers are relatively fit and eat a "healthy" diet. However it doesn't mean they always have, or that a "bad diet" is one that makes you fat. Simply a lack of certain elements or wrong proportions could in theory be enough.

[yeahyeahyeah]

Davey; I'm entirely curious, how do you make proper gains when lifting but eat nearly no meat?

i lost my most hair when I wasn't lifting.

Don't think lifting is the problem, nor do I think meat is because I know meat eaters with a full head of hair.

That and Sting is a vegan and is still balded.

[Davey Jones]

Interesting thread. Quick question: Aston, were you prescribed Arimidex, or self prescribed? If prescribed by a doctor, what for? Were you experiencing gynecomastia before as well?

[WashedOut]

-Acne (now gone);
-Extremely oily scalp regardless of washing cycles (now gone);
-Extremely deep and efficient sleep, inability to skip sleep for a day without paralyzing side effects (now gone, i'm sleeping 8-9 hours instead of 5-6 and can skip a night and remain focused);
-Body hair in unusual places, unlike any member of my family (too soon to say if gone or not).
-No effect on libido for now (is there such a thing as "excessive libido" ?)

I am taking finasteride at about 0.3mg every other day and very low doses of arimidex (0.25mg, a quarter of a tablet, twice a week) to control estrogens.

Low T is typical in balding men. It's "normal" for aging men, but clearly abnormal in young ones. Some say the lack of SHBG causes hyperactivity of 5a reductase, but i'm somewhat skeptical.
Low SHBG can only cause high bio-availability of DHT, but not a decrease in T levels. What i think happens is that low SHBG causes both high bio-availability of DHT AND estrogens, and an excess of estrogens is known to dampen libido in men.
This is still doesn't explain why balding men have low T in their tests, which seems to point invariably to 5a reductase hyperactivity.

Wow this sounds so familiar to my own situation. Low T at a young age, oily skin/scalp, body hair. I will say that physically I'm not as strong or fast as guys my age and my libido while not terrible is not very impressive. I hope I can resolve it by regulating my hormone levels as well.

[25 going on 65]

Unfortunately there isn't really any evidence showing that general health and diet correlate with when MPB strikes in your lifetime. Generally healthy people with good dietary history start balding in their teens, 20's or 30's all the time. (And then generally unhealthy people with a lifetime of terrible eating habits live to age 60 or beyond with a Norwood 2... the bastards)
By 35 most of us are losing our hair to genetic alopecia. It's a dominant gene.

Edit...

Injecting steroids it's a life choice that alters your hormones and it does change much your hair loss status. Look at all the body builders !

Unless they all decided to get buffed once they started losing their hair

Haha, this is true. Changing your hormones directly with drugs can affect your rate of loss (that's why fin works). Just not whether your follicles are sensitive to DHT.

[2020]

Changing your diet to a healthier one won't heal diabetes type 2 or balding.

type 2 diabetes is not a life sentence. You can heal from it despite what your doctor tells you.

The theory for excess DHT as a disease is:
Hyper-caloric diet > chronic hyperglycemia > fatty liver syndrome/metabolic syndrome > chronic low SHBG (gene expression change) > excess DHT

did immortalhair sent you here?