Hair Loss Mystery Solved: The Surprising Causes You Didn’t Expect
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This is Open Mind. Now, are you concerned about what's behind hair loss? Well, you're not alone.

The most common culprit for men is called androgenic alopecia, also known as male pattern baldness, when they can get it too from high levels of androgens or male hormones. We'll talk about that. And this is largely driven by genetics and sensitivity to a hormone called DHT, also known as dihydrotestosterone, a hormone that's derived from testosterone. Now, DHT binds to receptors in the hair follicles and it shrinks them.

leading to thinner hair or hair loss. But DHT isn't the only factor. Hormone imbalances, insulin resistance, inflammation, nutrient deficiencies, food sensitivities all play a role in hair loss. Now, in women, conditions like PCOS or polycystic ovarian syndrome often result in high levels of androgens or male hormones, including DHT.

which causes both hair thinning and unwanted hair growth on the face. So you lose it on your head, but you grow it in places you don't want. Now, additionally, chronic stress, poor diet, even aging can accelerate hair loss. And that's why it's so important to address the root cause from hormone imbalances to nutritional gaps and lots more. And in this episode, we're going to dive deep into how to manage and prevent your hair loss using functional medicine, dietary changes, supplements, and more.

Now stay tuned as we uncover the real reasons behind hair thinning and most importantly, what you can do to fix it. Also at Open Mind, we value your support. So share your thoughts on social media. Remember to rate, review, and follow Health Hacks to help others discover the show. And we really appreciate your help in getting the word out about our show. Hi, I'm Dr. Mark Hyman and welcome to Health Hacks.

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6 p.m. Pacific and head over to moment.co forward slash Mark Hyman to get your tickets. I can't wait to see you there. So what are the root causes of hair loss? Well, the number one cause of hair loss is androgenic alopecia, which is commonly known as male pattern baldness. Now women can get it too. And we'll talk about how that works when they have two

two high levels of male hormones, which is not uncommon in women who have insulin resistance or prediabetes or PCOS. Now this condition of male pattern baldness is driven by genetic predisposition and also sensitivity to a hormone called DHT or dihydrotestosterone.

and it results in gradual hair thinning and hair loss. So what is DHT? Well, DHT is a type of androgen or male hormone, sex hormone, along with testosterone that has a lot to do with hair growth, particularly on the scalp. Now, testosterone is converted into DHT by an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase. Now, 5-alpha reductase is an enzyme that's activity is highest in the tissues such as the prostate gland, skin,

liver and hair follicles. And that's why, for example, drugs for the prostate, which we give for an enlarged prostate, which can be from high DHT like finasteride, is also used for male pattern baldness. So it works for your scalp and your prostate. DHT stimulates hair growth, but can also lead to hair loss when levels are too high. Now, how does DHT cause hair loss? Well, DHT attaches to the hair follicle receptors. And over time,

the DHT shrinks the hair follicles, making them smaller and weaker. Now, this leads to hair thinning and a hair loss as the follicles grow kind of sleepy and dormant. Now, hair follicles on the scalp are more sensitive to this hormone DHT than the follicles on other parts of the body, for example, your chest or under your arms or pubic hair. And that's why hair loss is more common on the head than any other part of the body.

Now in men, high DHT levels results in hair loss, typically seen as receding hairlines and thinning at the crown of the head and on the top. In women, DHT can cause thinning across the scalp, also particularly along the part where you part your hair. But it doesn't usually cause total baldness like it does in men. Now, lowering DHT or blocking its action can help slow or stop hair loss. And we're gonna talk about lots of ways to do that in the episode, both natural, dietary, supplements, and even medication. Now, what causes increased levels of this hormone or DHT?

Well, hormone imbalances such as high testosterone can cause it. Well, wait a minute. I thought high testosterone was a good thing, you might be thinking. Well, in men, yes. Testosterone is man's primary sex hormone and is associated with strength, performance, vitality, cognitive function, muscle mass. And women also produce testosterone.

And it's involved in fertility and reproductive health, sex drive, bone density, muscle health for women as well as men. Now, when testosterone becomes too high, it can have negative consequences. So what causes then testosterone to become too high? The main driver for women is insulin resistance and obesity, the belly fat. Basically, that fat around your middle is a driver of

inflammation, hormonal dysregulation, and leads to a condition called androgen dominance, where you have more male sex hormones. That's not a good thing. And that androgen dominance is a common phenomena in women who have polycystic ovarian syndrome or PCOS, which is the number one cause of infertility in women. It affects up to 10% of women.

So what exactly is androgen dominance anyway? Well, it's androgen dominance or hyperandrogenism means that testosterone, DHT or dihydrodesostron and another hormone called DHEA is high. Now this has negative effects on fertility that can cause a lot of other symptoms like PMS and heavy bleeding and all kinds of weird symptoms, but it also causes hair thinning and hair loss. And also causes unwanted hair growth in other places like your chin or your belly or your chest, which is

which is not fun for women. In men, high insulin can lead to higher free testosterone levels. Now, that might seem like a good thing, but insulin resistance is also linked to inflammation. It's linked to heart disease. It's linked to obesity, to cancer, and many other chronic diseases. So not a good thing overall. The cons outweigh the pros. So what's going on here? Well, despite high free testosterone, most men with insulin resistance experience low total testosterone. So what does that mean?

This is largely due to the impact of insulin on something called sex hormone binding globulin. So what does sex hormone binding globulin do or SHBG? Well, it binds to sex hormones and makes them unavailable for your body to use. Sort of like the storage, like your bank account for your hormones instead of the cash in your pocket, which is like the free hormone.

So high insulin levels decrease sex hormone binding globulin levels. So when sex hormone binding globulin levels are low, less testosterone is bound and more remains free. When more free testosterone is available, that's when it gets converted to DHT by this enzyme we talked about, 5-alpha reductase. Well, that leads to more hair loss, and that's not a good thing. So what is this 5-alpha reductase? Well, it's an enzyme that converts free testosterone to dihydrotestosterone.

Obesity and excess body fat, which is really common these days, upregulates this enzyme called 5-alpha reductase. So you get more conversion to DHT. So excess body fat is often associated with insulin resistance and prediabetes, metabolic syndrome, and it can stimulate this enzyme.

So high insulin levels from high sugar and starch diets can stimulate the enzyme 5-alpha reductase, and that increases the production of DHT, which then leads to hair loss. So you see how it goes. Basically, being overweight, having belly fat is not good for men or women. Now women, the research shows that women with PCOS have higher levels of this enzyme activity as well. So that's not good. So what else increases this enzyme activity?

which is necessary, but you don't want it overactive, right? Stress. Stress will trigger the release of cortisol and that targets and damages your hair follicles. So many women in their 20s and 30s start losing their hair due to stress. Also sleep deprivation can cause this. It's another form of stress. Poor diet.

I mentioned sugar and starch. That's probably the biggest reason for hair loss in women is sugar and starch. And I would say gluten is probably next on the list. When you eat too much sugar and starch, it causes accumulation of belly fat. That belly fat leads to insulin resistance. That leads to the high levels of 5-alpha reductase. That leads to higher levels of DHT. That leads to hair loss.

on the scalp and hair growth on the face. So you don't want that. So if you're next time you're eating a sugar or ice cream, just think of that. Another reason for increasing activity of 5-alpha reductase is a deficiency in

zinc. Now zinc is a mineral, it's a natural inhibitor of this enzyme 5-alpha reductase and the zinc deficiency if you have low zinc and it's not uncommon in America to have low zinc because we process dye and it doesn't have a lot of minerals in it and that can lead to higher levels of DHT due to this uninhibited enzyme activity. Also as we get older men's

total testosterone levels go down, but the dihydrotestosterone levels remain relatively stable or increased due to changes in this enzyme activity and hormonal metabolism. So that's the reason why older men may experience a more noticeable hair loss, even as overall levels of testosterone drop.

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Now, what else can cause hair loss? Inflammation. Chronic inflammation from any source can be a problem. Now, it's present in about half the cases of male and female pattern hair loss. Well, what is causing it? Well, insulin resistance, the biggest cause of inflammation, right? So when you're pre-diabetic, you have a belly fat, that's just a fire in the belly. That's just producing tons of inflammatory molecules or cytokines

So the biggest cause of inflammation in our society is sugar and starch and the consequences of that, which is insulin resistance. And that produces fat cells in your belly that just spew out these inflammatory molecules. Poor diet, which is obviously related to this. Altered processed diet also causes inflammation through affecting the gut, even if it's not full of sugar. Chronic stress will do it. Environmental toxins can do it. Lack of sleep. Nutrient deficiency is a big factor. So all those things can drive inflammation.

Also food sensitivities or allergens, gluten, another big one. Nutrient deficiencies also play a direct role in hair loss. So if you have low levels of certain nutrients because you're not eating enough of them or you have poor absorption because you have gut issues, that can lead to hair loss. For example, iron.

A lot of people are iron deficient. Even if your blood count is normal, if your iron stores are low, called ferritin, which by the way, we test on Function Health. I'm a co-founder of this company called Function Health. You probably heard me talking about it. And we test for ferritin and iron studies and many of the other factors that are causing hair loss, including the EHE, sulfate, including testosterone and so forth, insulin resistance. So you'll get a very good picture. But even without causing anemia, if you have low ferritin,

into your iron stores, that can cause hair loss. And the reference ranges on the lab test are like 16 or less, but it should be over 45 if you don't want to get hair loss. So ferritin is a protein that stores iron in your cells. It's used to measure your body's total iron levels. When the body's low on iron, it can then pull the ferritin from the hair follicles, resulting in diffuse hair loss. So it's not a good thing. So basically, if you're iron deficient, you're basically borrowing from your iron stores. And even if you're not anemic, it will still be a problem.

Protein deficiency is another issue. A lot of people don't think they're protein deficient, but particularly if you're vegan or you have certain gut issues or other problems, even if protein, you actually may get protein or amino acid deficiency. And hair is made of protein, made of keratin. So a lack of dietary protein can cause shedding of hair. So supplementing with collagen, zinc, vitamin D, biotin, vitamin B12,

They all play a role in hair follicle health and growth. And if you're low in these nutrients, it can contribute to thinning hair. And by the way, many people are deficient in particularly zinc, vitamin D, and beach fulff, especially if you're vegan. Now, in addition to high testosterone, there's other hormonal shifts that can lead to hair loss after pregnancy, postpartum, in that period.

Estrogen helps women maintain healthy thick hair, which is why women tend to have thicker hair compared to men. Now during pregnancy, estrogen levels are much higher, often resulting in fuller, thicker hair and less shedding. Now after childbirth, estrogen levels drop dramatically and that can cause what we call postpartum hair loss, but that's usually temporary. Also aging, and getting older often has an impact due to changing hormone levels.

So for example, menopause, women have a lower level of estrogen. And as women approach menopause, estrogen levels can go down. This hormonal shift can cause hair thinning or loss. So just like with estrogen, also progesterone levels fluctuate during menstruation, during pregnancy and menopause. Now progesterone actually inhibits 5-alpha reductase. So progesterone is sort of like the antidote

But it goes down when you are in perimenopause and in menopause. Now, it also goes up during pregnancy, which is why you get such full thick hair because it inhibits this enzyme 5-alpha reductase. And this protects your hair from hair loss, which is great. When you have a drop in progesterone, which can happen after you give birth or with aging, after menopause, that can result in hair loss due to less inhibition of this hormone called

that we've been talking about. Andropause, it's sort of male menopause, also you see a drop in testosterone levels. Now as men approach andropause, testosterone levels naturally go down. Now while total testosterone goes down, some men still experience high levels of this particular hormone, DHT, due to 5-alpha reductase activity, which converts testosterone to DHT. So even if your testosterone is dropping, if your enzyme level is high, you're gonna actually convert more testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, which means more hair loss.

So these elevated levels of DHT, especially in genetically predisposed men, leads to this pattern of hair loss. Now, thank God I don't have that, but I know a lot of guys do. Now, this process typically begins long before andropause, even in the 20s and 30s, and it can continue into the phase of andropause. Also, there's other factors that affect hair growth besides hormones, autoimmune diseases.

These are not uncommon and they affect hair growth. One of the big ones is lupus and that is something that can really affect hair growth and hair loss. So inflammation is caused by lupus, which is a common autoimmune disease, can lead to skin issues like rashes or sores on the scalp that can result in hair thinning or loss. Autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto's or Graves' disease can cause hair loss. Both of these conditions affect the thyroid and can cause thin hair.

In balancing the thyroid hormones, it's really common, either too much or too little. Although, by the way, too little hormone is common in a lot of people. It's one in five women, one in 10 men. A lot of people have low thyroid function and that can cause hair loss. So getting your thyroid can actually help when you have this problem. But it's usually not diagnosed in most people.

In hypothyroidism, when your thyroid is underactive, your metabolism slows down, the hair is actually one of the first things to go, becomes dry, brittle, dull, thin, even your eyebrow hair falls out. In fact, that's one of the ways we diagnose low thyroid is if you lost the outer third of your eyebrows. If you look in the mirror and you're missing the outer third of your eyebrows, you probably are hypothyroid. Scalp psoriasis, which is common, leads to hair thinning and shedding. It's an inflammatory condition, another autoimmune disease.

Rheumatoid arthritis doesn't cause hair loss directly, but the stress of living with a chronic autoimmune disease or inflammation, the use of certain medications like methotrexate also can cause hair loss.

Here's another big one. And I've seen people with full-blown alopecia, meaning no hair, like just zero hair on their body, no eyebrows, no underarm hair, nothing, pubic hair. It's a big problem. And it's often caused by gluten. So celiac disease can manifest in that way. And the body reacts to gluten. It leads to hair loss because you get this autoimmune disease in your scalp, which is basically what celiac disease is. And that can also cause deficiencies of certain nutrients because you're malabsorbing nutrients that are important for hair growth.

So you can also get that even without full-blown celiac, even non-celiac gluten sensitivity, which is a more minor version. Okay, what else can cause hair loss? Well, certain medications, beta blockers, which are common for high blood pressure, anticoagulants or blood thinners, antidepressants like Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Welbutrin can affect your hair. Immune suppressants like methotrexate, chemotherapy obviously can cause hair loss, which we know with cancer patients. Environmental toxins, another big factor, can weaken hair.

and lead to hair loss over time because they trigger inflammation, they mess up your hormones or endocrine disruptors, they can strip natural oils from the scalp, they weaken or damage hair follicles. So things like heavy metals, mercury, arsenic, lead, pesticides, endocrine disruptors, many of these are in personal care products like shampoo, conditioner,

Phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate, parabens, formaldehyde, propylene glycol, hair dye. All these things are not good for your hair, although you put them on your hair all the time. So try to use more natural products. You can use the guide from the Amount of Oil Working Group to reduce your exposures and pick the best products. Okay, so what do you do? So if you have hair loss,

Is there anything you can do? Now that we've discussed why, let's discuss what you can do to bring back your hair to good health using the principles of functional medicine. Well, first we got to address the hormone issues. Test, don't guess. As I mentioned, I co-founded a company called Function Health and we test your biomarkers and we get a really good handle on what's going on with your hormone levels, with nutrient levels. You can measure DHT, we can measure gluten antibodies, we can measure a lot of the factors, autoimmune diseases,

inflammation levels. We look at over 110 biomarkers for less than 500 bucks, 499 a year, twice a year testing. You can add on additional tests to get a deeper dive into some of these issues like PCOS or hair loss, and you can really know what's going on. And so I encourage people to check

and test, don't guess. And you can go to functionhealth.com forward slash mark to learn more and sign up. Skip the wait list, which is 300,000 people now. So you can skip the wait list just by using my code functionhealth.com slash mark and you'll get in. Okay, so let's now, if you've done the diagnostics, you figured out what's going on, what are the basic things you can do? We'll start first with diet.

And then start with correcting nutritional deficiencies first. So what are the dietary things you want to do? Well, as you can probably guess from what I've been saying, the biggest cause of hair loss is sugar and starch and the prediabetes insulin resistance that results from it for both men and women. So you want to reduce your intake of high glycemic foods, high sugar foods, high starch foods,

processed sugars, processed food, all those help regulate insulin and hormone levels. So get rid of all those ultra-processed food, the sugar-sweetened beverages, the juices, anything with high sugar. You also want to increase fiber because that helps blunt this. So spike in sugar in your body, which will help this. Lots of good fats, olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds, omega-3 fats, lots of whole foods, colorful fruits and veggies with antioxidants, polyphenols, really important.

Also, make sure your ferret levels are high, over 45. Not super high, but higher than 45. So if you have iron deficiency and you've got to check your ferret to be sure, and you have hair loss, it's easy. You can take iron supplements. You can eat iron-rich foods like meat, but you want to make sure you're getting the right amount of iron. So that's key. And we're going to talk about next, what are the nutritional deficiencies you need to correct and how are they connected to hair loss?

First one is biotin or vitamin B7. We just call it biotin. It's important for keratin production and for hair health, so you can take that. Vitamin B12 also promotes healthy hair growth by assisting in the production of red blood cells, which support blood flow and also the delivery of

nutrients to your hair follicles. You can take a methylated B vitamin complex to correct any B vitamin deficiencies. All those are key. So I would make sure you look at the label, make sure it has methylated folate or methylfolate, methyl B12, methylcobalamin, methylated B6, or pyridoxal 5-phosphate or...

These are the forms of the B vitamins that you want to be taking. And they're not in typical stuff you'll get at a grocery store or a pharmacy. So you want to make sure you pick good quality products. You can check out the ones I recommend at drhyman.com. This is really important if you're vegan particularly or vegetarian or you don't consume animal products because you will get low zinc, you'll get low omega-3 fats, which is important for hair, you'll get low iron, you'll get low biotin,

low vitamin D, low B12. So you want to make sure that you're getting the right nutrients. Other things you should take? Well, vitamin D. Now it's really hard unless you're running around half naked in your bathing suit all day in the south of Atlanta.

you know, during the summer between 10 and two in the afternoon to make sure you're getting up vitamin D. So if you're a lifeguard, you probably don't need vitamin D supplements, but the rest of us probably do because vitamin D plays a huge role in the creation of new hair follicles and suboptimal levels of vitamin D are common in over 80% of people and particularly in women who have female pattern hair loss.

So I encourage people to take an average between two and 5,000 units. You got to check your levels, test, don't guess. Some people need 1,000 units, some need 5,000. You want to get your level over about 50. Iron. Also, I mentioned iron, but iron really is important. And iron deficiency leads to hair loss. Iron helps...

carry oxygen to hair follicles. You want to eat iron-rich foods, what can you eat? Well, red meat. I prefer regeneratively raised meat. In fact, I had some venison sausage for lunch today. You can get that from great places like forceofnature.com where they have regeneratively raised meat. Seafood is also great. Salmon, oysters, mussels, great sources of iron. And you can get a lot of those from sea-topia.fish, another great source of clean, regeneratively farmed seafood.

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So search Sleep Magic on your favorite podcast app and I'll see you there. Legumes, lentils, chickpeas, black beans also have iron, leafy greens, spinach, kale, Swiss chard, not as well absorbed as animal sources, but still important. Zinc supports hair growth and tissue repair. So make sure you eat zinc rich foods like red meat, oysters, eggs, poultry. Pumpkin seeds are great sources. Hemp seeds, cashews, almonds, peanuts, all good sources of zinc.

Make sure you get your omega-3 fats. If you don't have omega-3 fats and you're deficient, which is common in about 90% of people who are insufficient or deficient, you're going to get dry hair.

patchy sort of cracked hair and it's not good so uh you want to get omega-3 fats from fish i encourage you to eat the smash fish which is salmon mackerel anchovy sardines and herring small fish less toxins more omega-3s these are great for nutrition great for hair great for protein great for healthy follicle function and protein you want to make sure you're going to protein

Uh, and your hair is made of protein. So adequate protein is really essential for hair growth. So make sure you're eating a protein about one gram per pound of ideal body weight. Um, make sure you, you, um,

That's so if you're like 120 and your ideal body weight is 120, that's about 120 grams a day. If you're exercising, if you're not exercising, maybe 0.7 grams per pound of ideal body weight. Okay, what else should you be eating? Healthy fats. One in particular is really great for hair called lauric acid, which is a saturated fat with a C12 chain. It actually inhibits 5-alpha reductase. So where do you find this? Breast milk, which is definitely hard to find.

but also coconut oil and coconut cream and coconut milk all have this particular form of fat called lauric acid, which is a saturated fat that has this benefit of inhibiting this enzyme that makes high levels of DHT. Also, there's unsaturated fats like oleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid also inhibit 5-alpha reductase, which, where do you get that? Well, oleic acid is from olive oil, which is great. It helps cut back the production of DHT and reduces hair loss.

Also, there's a lot of phytochemicals or plant compounds that help to inhibit 5-alpha reductase. Some of these phytosterols and phenolics are quite good at this. And this is maybe because they kind of mimic structurally the sort of inhibitors of 5-alpha reductase. So it seems like they kind of block it.

naturally. Quercetin is a great inhibitor of 5-alphreductase, which is found in apples, onions, capers, kale, berries, broccoli, cherries. Also in Himalayan tartary buckwheat, I have Himalayan tartary buckwheat sprout powder every morning in my shake. I get that from Big Bold Health. It's great. You can get it from my website too, drhyman.com. It's a great product with lots of other health benefits and immunorejuvenation. Camphorol, which is another phytochemical that is found in kale, spinach, broccoli, green beans, cabbage, leeks,

Phycetin from strawberries, apples, and grapes, also similar effects. Soy products from non-GMO organic soy have genistein and diazine, which are from tofu, tempeh, soy milk, miso, edamame, also great for hair. EGCG, which is from green tea, epigallactocannabinolates, these are catechins from green tea, lots of benefits.

So really important to make sure you up your phytochemical intake just in general. And it also has a lot of other collateral benefits. Next, after you've kind of optimized your diet, you've got your nutrient levels up, what do you do? Well, if you have an autoimmune issue, you got to deal with that. So that might require working with a functional medicine doc to heal the gut, to rebalance your hormones, to reset the immune system. Sometimes just an elimination diet, like the 10-day detox diet works great. And we have a whole 10-day detox online program, which you can join. And that often really will make a big difference.

get the weight off if you're overweight getting the belly fat out especially that visceral fat there can really balance your hormones and help correct some of the hormonal imbalances that lead to this excess testosterone and androgens and dihydrotestosterone or dht in men and women

Also, diet should be low starch and sugar. Strength train also. Walk or exercise. These are powerful ways to lower insulin and help balance your hormones. Managing stress, also really important. Lowering stress through active relaxation like meditation, yoga, regular exercise. That also helps regulate cortisol. It helps reduce the impact of stress on androgen production. Sometimes you need medical treatment. So you've done all these things. You've fixed your autoimmune disease. You've managed your stress, your exercise. You're eating good. You're taking your vitamins.

And then what? You've dealt with your autoimmune issues. Well, you might need further treatment. So for example, PCOS, insulin resistance, thyroid issues, all those, if they're treated, can help you restore hormonal balance and they can lower testosterone. There's a lot of things that can help hair growth through increasing blood supply to the scalp.

like scalp massage, exercise, cardiovascular fitness, all help promote hair growth. So make sure you exercise, that boosts blood circulation, including all the blood to your scalp, that delivers more oxygen, that nutrients the hair follicles, which keeps your hair going. Getting sleep is important.

When the body sleeps, it repairs, it regenerates, including the hair follicles. So poor sleep can affect hair growth by increasing stress hormones like cortisol, and they can disrupt your growth cycle in your hair. So you want to make sure you're sleeping. Melatonin actually has a positive relationship with hair growth and

Hair follicles contain melatonin receptors, so it's a powerful antioxidant and it actually protects the hair follicles from oxidative stress or free radicals. And research has shown, for example, that topical melatonin applied once daily for 90 to 180 days can improve scalp hair growth and density and increase hair thickness in people with androgenic alopecia. Now there's a lot of other things that can help regulate hair loss. For example, herbs.

The best herb is saw palmetto, which can work for both men and women. It's used for prostate health, but it also works for hair loss. I use it in women with PCOS. Ashwagandha, an Ayurvedic herb, also helpful. Pumpkin seed oil, green tea extract are great at balancing hormones, especially DHT, which is linked to hair thinning.

For example, several studies have shown positive effects of saw palmetto supplements on hair growth in patients with androgenic alopecia. A review of studies found that oral and topical saw palmetto supplements, about 320 milligrams a day, improved overall hair quality by 60%, increased total hair count by 27%, and increased hair density in 83.3% of patients with androgenic alopecia. Another study,

comparing salt palmetto to finasteride, which is Propecia, which they use for hair loss, found that 38% of people taking salt palmetto had improvement in hair loss compared to 68% taking finasteride. So it worked, but not as good as the drug. Now, salt palmetto may inhibit 5-alpha reductase, which is an enzyme that converts testosterone to DHT. We've talked about that.

Now, medications also can help with hair loss. I recommend starting with diet and lifestyle approaches before moving on to these, but there's a lot of medications out there. Medoxinil or Rogaine is an over-the-counter topical treatment that stimulates hair growth and slows hair loss. It's used for both men and women with androgenic alopecia. Finasteride or Propecia, which is a prescription oral medication for men that blocks hair

the enzyme 5-alpha reductase that reduces this DHT level and prevents further hair loss. Now there's side effects of those drugs though in men, particularly decreased libido, erectile dysfunction, so not so fun.

There's another one called Avidart or Nutasteride, which is similar to Finasteride, but more potent. This medication inhibits both types of 5-alpha-redactase enzymes and is sometimes described off-label for hair loss. So it's mostly for prostate, but also works for hair loss. But again, there's sexual side effects, which are no fun. So you get hair, but you have low libido and erectile dysfunction. For women, there's another hormone, and sometimes we use it in men as well, called spironolactone or aldactone, which is a diuretic.

But it's used in women as an anti-androgen. It blocks this DHT's effect and slows hair loss. But there's also side effects, right? Menstrual irregularities, breast tenderness, fatigue, headaches. So no free lunch here. There's other therapies out there like platelet-rich plasma therapy or PRP. Not a medication. But this involves injections of a patient's blood plasma into the scalp, which is rich in growth factors that actually stimulate hair growth.

Also, people are using low-level laser therapy or LLLT, which is a non-medication option, but it uses lasers or light emitting devices to stimulate hair growth follicles and promote hair growth. So that's it for today's episode. We've taken a deep dive into the root cause of hair loss from hormone imbalances to inflammation and nutrient deficiency. And remember,

Hair loss isn't just about genetics. Your diet, your lifestyle, your overall health play a major role in the health of your hair. Whether you're dealing with androgenic alopecia or other forms of hair thinning, there's plenty you can do to address the underlying issues and promote healthier hair growth.

If this episode resonated with you, make sure to test, don't guess, check out Function Health to discover what's going on in your body from hormone levels to nutrient deficiencies to gluten. Go to functionhealth.com forward slash mark to jump the 300,000 person wait list. And don't forget, diet and lifestyle changes are often the best first steps for everything for reclaiming your health and your hair health.

So thanks again for joining me today. Don't forget to rate, review and follow Health Hacks wherever you get your podcasts to help me stay informed. And I'll catch you next Tuesday for another episode of Health Hacks. Ever wonder what the stars have to say about your favorite celebrities and yourself? Allie Luber is breaking it all down on her brand new show, Starstruck. New episodes drop every Wednesday. Just search Starstruck wherever you listen to podcasts.