Eating Less of This Could Reduce Your Hair Loss, New Study Finds | Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

A 2021 study published in the journal Nature reveals that among a group of mice fed either a high-fat diet or a standard diet, those fed a high-fat diet were more likely to experience hair thinning and loss.

In just four days, researchers were able to observe changes in the hair and skin of mice fed the high-fat diet, as well as signs of increased oxidative stress, which has also been linked to tissue damage and an increased risk of cancer.

A 2018 study published in Scientific Reports found that among mice fed a high-fat Western-style diet, taking a drug that inhibited the production of glycosphingolipids (GSLs), a type of lipid found in cell membranes, helped reverse both hair loss and the loss of hair pigmentation.

"Our findings show that a western diet causes hair loss, hair whitening and skin inflammation in mice, and we believe a similar process occurs in men who lose hair and experience hair whitening when they eat a diet high in fat and cholesterol," explained the study's lead author Subroto Chatterjee, Ph.D., a professor of pediatrics and medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in a statement.