Have you noticed your first gray hair? While this process cannot be reversed, it can be slowed down or even stopped. Sometimes graying is caused by deficiencies in certain nutrients. How is this possible?
1. There are four nutrients whose deficiency affects hair pigmentation and contributes to graying
2. Appropriate supplementation and supplementing deficiencies with a diet can slow down the graying process
3. Graying is also dependent on other factors, including genetic factors, smoking, or exposure to stress
Most people start graying around the age of 30, but sometimes the first gray hair appears even in their twenties. Why do we gray and can this process be stopped or even reversed?
Why Does Hair Turn Gray?
Our hair, like skin color, owes much of its pigmentation to melanin. The formation of this substance is dependent on several nutrients supplied with food.
When the body experiences certain deficiencies and provides less important trace elements, hair pigmentation can suffer.
This means that graying can start bothering us even at a very young age. If the hair starts graying prematurely, this process can be successfully stopped with appropriate supplementation.
The vast majority of people start graying in their thirties, although it happens that the so-called. We discover grays much earlier.
It is at an early stage that this process can be reversed and significantly slowed down.
The best method is, of course, to solve the root cause, i.e. to supplement the resulting deficiencies.
In addition to diet, other factors also influence the graying process:
- genes
- age,
- exposure to stress
- smoking.
Vitamin Deficiencies And Gray Hair
Premature graying of hair, according to experts, can be caused by: nutrient deficiencies. According to scientists, deficiencies are most often responsible for this condition:
- copper,
- iron,
- calcium,
- vitamin B12.
Unfortunately, very often we wait a long time for the diagnosis because the symptoms of vitamin and mineral deficiency are very unobvious and we feel poorly for a long time. The best sample is vitamin B12 deficiency.
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Symptoms Of Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms can develop slowly and worsen over time. At first, they are underestimated or not noticed at all by patients.
Some symptoms may appear without the occurrence of anemia, so it happens that the lack of this component is hidden for a long time also during preventive examinations.
Interestingly, vitamin B12 deficiency can also be completely asymptomatic.
Graying Through The Eyes Of Scientists
In 2018, the “International Journal of Trichology” published research on the problem of premature graying of hair.
The researchers found that serum iron, copper, and calcium levels were all lower in the subjects. Importantly, the worse their scores were, the more graying appeared in the study participants.
Premature graying can be an important symptom, letting us know that the hair is not getting enough nutrients and minerals.
It also turns out that timely supplementation with these elements can reverse the entire process and prevent the progression of graying.
However, the researchers remark that more analysis is needed on this issue.
Experts emphasize that the most common cause of graying is a deficiency of vitamin B12, which often co-occurs with a deficiency of folic acid and biotin.
An effective method of preventing and treating this problem is the implementation of appropriate supplementation.
Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that this process will be reversed in every case, as other factors also play an important role, including age and genetics, but they can certainly be stopped and slowed down.
To effectively treat premature graying, make an appointment with a doctor or trichology’s who will guide you and prescribe the necessary tests.
