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Regrow Your Hair, Starting Now
A New Science Now series from New Health & Longevity and Apple Poly LLC
Do Vitamins Grow Hair? Yes, But Not the Ones You Think!
Is it true that vitamins can help grow your hair back?
No.
And yes. Let me explain…
Many people believe that “B” vitamins, especially biotin,
will increase hair growth. I have to tell you that there is little
credible evidence to support this claim- unless you have a severe
biotin deficiency. In that case, biotin will produce hair growth.
But there's really good news about a whole array of
supplements that do promote hair growth. And we’ll get to all
of them
very soon.
To clarify: vitamins and minerals- the kind you get in your
multivitamin- are important for hair growth and many other vital
body processes. Your health, and your hair growth, will be harmed by
deficiencies of basic vitamins and minerals.
The important thing is to make sure that you are not
deficient in vitamins and minerals. A lack of iron, for instance, will
slow hair and nail growth. But too much iron is toxic to cells and
tissues, creates damaging free radicals, and will make your hair fall out.
There's nothing wrong with taking more B vitamins. They're very healthy
for you. They're water soluble, so they have low toxicity. But they won't
make a major difference in your hair growth.
Based on the current science, I recommend that you take a
good daily multivitamin to provide your body with the basic building
blocks of skin, blood, tissues and hair.
But the best vitamin for hair growth may surprise
you.
Now that you know the rule about vitamins and hair loss, here's the exception. The RDA of
vitamin C is absurdly low. 60 milligrams a day is enough to keep you alive
and prevent scurvy, but that’s it.
If your goal is to stay alive, 60 milligrams of vitamin C
will do it. But 50 to 100 times that amount will do you much more good.
And it may very well stimulate follicle activity and increase your hair
growth.
In the past year, the first reports of vitamin C's potential
hair growth effects have been published. Korean and Japanese scientists are
independently reporting that
ascorbic acid 2-phosphate, a long-acting vitamin C derivative, has hair
growth-promoting effects.
Here is a report from the
2005 Zurich conference on Asc2-P.
Japanese scientists have published more information about Asc 2-P and hair
growth in the Journal of
Dermatological Science . I'll be reporting more
on these findings when solid information is available.
I'm currently looking for sources for the correct form of synthetic Asc
2-P. Until more research
is in, you may want to increase your dose of ordinary vitamin C. Why?
Because ascorbic acid 2-phosphate is a
metabolite of ascorbic acid. Your body manufactures it when you have
enough vitamin C.
This definitely qualifies as new science. There are no tests
yet in animals or humans. But it is intriguing for several reasons:
-
It makes biochemical sense in
protein synthesis. Ascorbic
acid is key in
protein synthesis and collagen production, which is important in skin and hair
metabolism.
-
It
makes sense in molecular chemistry.
Vitamin C is a relatively strong antioxidant. The latest science indicates
that antioxidants affect the impact of androgens (DHT) on the follicle.
-
It makes sense in terms of
safety. Vitamin C is among the least toxic
compounds known to medicine. It is one of the few vitamins that is safe in
extremely large doses.
-
It makes sense in ancillary effects.
Vitamin C is well-studied for health effects in numerous organs of the
body. What promotes health in one system will likely have similar effects
in another system.
It may turn out that the
hair-growth effects of Asc 2-P are minor, but I'm guessing the opposite.
Based on its known effects in the body, it makes perfect sense that a
derivative of vitamin C will have a positive effect on hair growth. (New
science on the "Androgen Paradox,"
which we'll discuss later in this series, also lends credence to vitamin C
as a positive influence on hair growth.)
My track record on
identifying potential hair growth agents before they become commonly known
is very good . And I like nothing better than to bring you new, effective
therapies "ahead of the curve."
If my guess is right,
you'll benefit from this new
science long before anyone else.
If I'm wrong, the worst
that can happen is that you'll be healthier, your skin will be better, and your
risk of other illnesses will decrease because of high dose vitamin C intake.
(Other new research indicates that derivatives of niacin [vitamin B3] and
analogues of vitamin D also promote hair growth. However, these are special
derivatives and forms that are not in your multivitamin. I recommend
waiting on these until more research is in.)
What to do today:
1. Find a good, natural, absorbable multivitamin and take them every day,
Starting Now. This will ensure that you don’t have a hidden deficiency
that’s causing or contributing to your hair loss. Your body will have all
the basic elements it needs to make new cells and tissues- including hair.
(You’ll notice throughout this series of reports that compounds that
increase hair growth also tend to increase the overall health of the body.
This is true of a multivitamin, and of vitamin C.)
2. If you want to start megadoses of vitamin C, build up gradually.
Divide your dose throughout the day. How much is enough? Nobel
Prize winner Dr. Linus Pauling recommended up to 18 grams of vitamin C
daily as an optimal dose for health. DO NOT start at this high
level. It's not dangerous, but it will be uncomfortable, because doses
this large all at once will cause loose stool (diarrhea).
For
most people, 2 grams (2000 milligrams) of ascorbic acid per day is
well-tolerated. Build your dose gradually from there. If loose stool
develops, back down, and build more slowly.
(If
you'd like to learn much more about the tremendous benefits of vitamin C, I
recommend this book as a great start:
Ascorbate: The Science of Vitamin C .)
Now, I have to ask you…
What have you done today to stop losing your hair?
Learning about new therapies and options is great, but it won’t
help your hair grow back faster or thicker. What I’m outlining for you as
we continue is
an overall strategy that will make positive changes in the
growth- and regrowth- of your hair.
So don’t just sit there. Start using the apple procyanidins that are
proven to grow
hair. Get down to the natural food store and buy a good multivitamin, and
extra vitamin C. Take them consistently. Religiously.
These are three ways you can make an impact on your hair growth-
Starting Now.
In
the next report, I'll tell you about new science you can drink
to stop hair loss. Until then...
Don't you dare give up!
David L. Kern
New Health & Longevity
www.applepoly.com/2007
© 2007-2010 New Health & Longevity
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