Everyone is afraid of something, and hair loss can worry many people. Unfortunately, if baldness fears are also fans of intermittent fasting, they will have to make a choice. This diet, which limits meal times during the day, could slow hair growth. This is suggested by a new experiment carried out on mice by a team of researchers from West Lake University in Zhejiang, China.
An article from the BBC Science Focus tells us that mice who followed intermittent fasting had better metabolic health (the way the body breaks down fat and sugar), but that their restrictive eating pattern had a link to slower hair regeneration. A similar process could occur in humans and their hair, but not as severely, as the metabolic system is much slower and the hair growth structures are different.
The biologist and lead author of the studyBing Zhang, reassures: “We don’t want to scare intermittent fasting enthusiasts. They simply need to be aware of potential unexpected effects.” Fasting is known for its many health benefits, particularly in terms of blood supply in the body and muscle tissues, as well as its metabolic benefits. But the effect of fasting on hair remained a great mystery until this experiment.
And in humans?
Bing Zhang and his team sought to find out more by examining hair regrowth in mice that were shaved and then put on different diets. Some mice were fed a “normal” diet, while others could only eat for 8 hours, before a 16-hour fast. While the mice on a normal diet saw their hair grow back after 30 days, those who fasted only showed partial hair regrowth…and after 96 days.
According to the team of researchers, the slowdown in hair growth is due to stress suffered by the stem cells of hair follicles, the openings on the surface of the skin through which hair grows. They would be unable to cope with the stress associated with the transition from glucose to fat absorption. The hair follicles would thus go from an active phase to a dormant phase; However, hair only grows when the follicles are in the active phase.
For mice on a normal diet, follicles became active around 20e day. In contrast, for mice subjected to intermittent fasting, the long periods of fasting caused follicles to die, preventing their hair from growing back. After these results, the team carried out a small clinical trial on 49 healthy young adults (humans). Result: a restricted diet involving 18 hours of fasting per day would reduce hair growth by 18% on average.
However, the researchers believe that the results might be different with a larger sample. They plan to continue this research by collaborating with hospitals to study the impact of fasting on other skin stem cells. One of their main goals is to identify links between fasting and the speed of wound healing. If your sweet tooth keeps you from a potential fast, your hair will thank you!
Source: www.slate.fr
