An expert has issued a warning over popular drinks consumed by millions of Brits, stating they could cause hair loss. If you are one of the 1.7 million people who consume energy drinks several times a week, you could be leaving yourself vulnerable to balding.
Speaking with Express.co.uk, Dr Abdulaziz Balwi, from hair loss clinic Elithair urged people to cut back on energy drinks to protect their locks, as well as their health.
Certain chemicals in the drinks could trigger balding, the hair surgeon said.
He explained: “Excessive intake of energy drinks is a predisposing factor to the toxicity of certain elements such as caffeine and selenium.
“The toxic dose of caffeine is 3 mg/kg/g, while the daily dose should not exceed 700 mcg of vitamin A and 55 mcg of selenium.
“Selenium and vitamin A are toxic to hair when taken in high doses and can also be a trigger for alopecia areata.”
Some energy drinks for sale in the UK can contain 113 percent of a person’s recommended vitamin A intake and 100 percent of their selenium.
And brands such as Red Bull, Prime and Monster can have up to 150mg of caffeine – almost double that of a black coffee.
He continued: “Excessive consumption of energy drinks is linked to an increase in catecholamines and stress hormones.
“Therefore, energy products can be regarded as a risk factor for diabetes and metabolic problems, and can also cause hair loss.”
Sugary drinks are also a problem, according to Dr Balwi.
“Usually, energy drinks contain many types of sugar,” he said.
“These include corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, lactose, malt syrup, maltose, molasses, raw sugar and sucrose.
“Consumption of over-sweetened drinks such as Red Bull and the like is also associated with health problems, such as weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney dysfunction, non-alcoholic liver cirrhosis, tooth decay, arthritis and gout.”
One study, published in Nutrients journal in 2023, found a link between sugar sweetened drinks including energy drinks and hair loss in men.
It found that men aged between 18 and 45 were at greater risk of male pattern hair loss if they regularly consumed sugar sweetened beverages.
“Interestingly, we found a significant association between high sugar sweetened beverage consumption (SSB) and male pattern hair loss (MPHL),” the study said.
Study authors concluded: “We have shown high SSB consumption in young Chinese people aged 18 to 45 years old, and those who consumed excessive SSB consumption had a higher likelihood of reporting MPHL.
“Anxiety disorder status and disease history might mediate the association between SSB consumption and MPHL.
“Emphasising that SSB consumption could have a potential negative effect on one’s appearance could catch the attention of the young population and promote a reduction in SSB intake.”
Dr Balwi noted three ways to combat hair loss:
- Minoxidil
- Finasteride
- Hair transplantation.
You should speak to your doctor before starting any of these treatments.
