Hair is the most remarkable tissue in human beings.
Apart from its visual appeal, hair has multiple functions and purposes from UV protection to heat retention, sensory reception, and visual identification.
A single strand of hair can reveal valuable information about your diet, personal hygiene, vanity, use of drugs, DNA, your age, and even the probability of heart disease. Scientists claim the future belongs to hair because of its ability to provide unique insights into a patients’ medical prognosis.
According to a clinical study, protein markers from a single hair can accurately tell you how healthy you are, your dietary patterns, what essential nutrients you consume, and even reveal your socio-economic status. The lower the carbon levels, the higher your cost of living!
As hair is built from amino acids in your food, your hair keeps a record of your daily diet. Greasy hair indicates that you may be consuming more animal fats, sugar, and alcohol.
Gray hair is especially informative. The greater the degree of gray hair, the more severe the risk of coronary disease. Other studies also suggest male-pattern baldness is associated with other serious health factors. According to Paradi Mirmirani, MD, a dermatologist with The Permanente Medical Group in Vallejo, California, premature gray hair also indicates that a person may be lacking a healthy diet and is suffering from chronic or oxidative stress which compromises the pigment-producing cells in hair follicles and negatively affect melanin production.
Going gray depends on genetics, chances are you will witness silver shine at the same age as your parents, says Dr. Mirmirani.
According to Dr. Ahmed Ghurbani, assistant professor at the Gilan Agriculture and Natural Resources Research and Education center, lackluster hair may indicate that your body is deprived of selenium, sulfur, and phosphorus, and essential healthy fats. He comments, “Hair forensic multi-phase examination has brought many eye-opening discoveries in medical science. If a hair sample contains the hair root, we can disclose determinism of exact age and male or female DNA identification through Short Tandem Repeat (STR) analysis.”
Re-published with permission from Chris Webb, editor of The Hair Authority. Chris has been a leading figure in the hair replacement and restoration industry for 20 years. While working on Madison Avenue collaborated with Sy Sperling to create the marketing materials that helped build Hair Club for Men. He later launched The National Hair Journal to share information and insights with other business owners to help them enjoy the same business success.
“Seven Secrets of Hair” first appeared in International Hair Authority, 2021 Spring issue and is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. International Hair Authority is a publication that provides top-level hair care information, opinions, and insights from industry leaders and researchers.
