Many keen gym-goers tend to finish their workout sessions with a protein shake or bar to restore their energy levels and help muscles heal after exercising. High-protein products have increased in sales over the last seven years as a 2010 research study suggests consuming protein right after resistance training and weight lifting can promote muscle growth. Protein shakes contain growth hormones such as creatine and DHA which can increase muscle mass.
How do protein shakes cause hair loss?
Whey protein in particular is a by-product of cheese production; therefore it contains all nine of the essential amino acids. However it turns out that whey protein can exaggerate hair loss; evidence suggests that in combination with muscle-enhancing exercises, why protein increases the level of testosterone in the body. This is down to high levels of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) which are important in raising testosterone levels.
It is understood that high testosterone levels in men are the reason behind baldness, as the hormone triggers the chemical DHT which can accelerate hair fall.
The recommended level of BCAA content in dietary proteins is a maximum of 20g per 100g of protein. Therefore, someone who weighs 70kg should be consuming a maximum of 11.2g protein, yet due to the rise in popularity of protein shakes people are consuming more than 60g of BCAA and 250g of whey protein per day leading to accelerated hair loss.
What if I’m already losing my hair?
There is hope however – if you feel that your hair loss is possibly down to protein shakes, once they are removed from your diet, hair growth can resume as normal. If you are concerned about your hair loss then it is important to seek advice from a hair loss expert, so that you can work out the root cause of the hair loss and find the ideal solution to suit you.
