Creatine is a substance that all of our bodies manufacture. Although this natural organic acid is non-essential, it does help build muscle mass and provide you with more energy. The only people who realize the role creatine can play in the body are those who are interested in developing all of their possible muscle mass. Since beef is a source high in creatine, people such as body builders and wrestlers may eat as much as 2 pounds of meat at a meal in order to maximize the amount of creatine in their muscles. The question with creatine is, however, while you’re beefing up your muscles, are you causing your hair to fall out?
You may be wondering what the substance does exactly. Can it really accelerate balding by increasing the body’s levels of testosterone? One of the side effects of creatine that has been discovered is the fact that it raises the body’s DHT levels which can conceiveably cause issues. DHT is produced mainly in the hair follicles, but it’s also found in other areas of the body. This substance plays a large role in male pattern baldness. However, there’s still cause for doubt, because no long-term testing has been conducted, and although creatine has been used for many years, there’s no record of anyone going bald from using it.
You will probably come across a lot of conflicting information when researching the effects of creatine on the body. You’ll probably find plenty of articles that state that it does cause balding, however, you will also come across some that state it doesn’t cause baldness at all. You can’t help but wonder who to believe.
Some people believe DHT triggers the condition in men who are already genetically prone to going bald. The hair on both the top of the head and the sides have proven to be more sensitive to increased DHT than back hair does. If there are large quantities of DHT present in the body, the hair follicles in these areas decrease in size and eventually stop producing hair.
We won’t be able to reach a complete conclusion until there has been long-term testing done on the subject. Until that time, athletes who ingest high levels of creatine will need to take their chances of losing some hair. You’ll find plenty of people who feel it’s worth the risks to eat high levels of the substance.
Kristie Brown writes on a variety of topics from health to technology. Check out her websites on Vitamins for hair growth and Hair loss after pregnancy
