Energy drinks can cause baldness (4 photos)

This conclusion was reached not by British scientists, but by Turkish hair transplant surgeons.





In general, if you drink energy drinks like crazy, then even the thickest and most beautiful hair on a man’s head can easily leave his head. The thing is that excessive consumption of various ingredients contained in them can negatively affect the hair follicles.

Dr. Abdulaziz Balvi, a Turkish hair transplant surgeon, conducted a study that found that uncontrolled consumption of energy drinks predisposes to the toxic accumulation of certain elements such as caffeine and selenium in the body.



“Selenium and vitamin A are toxic to hair when taken in high doses and can also cause alopecia areata, a condition in which the immune system mistakenly targets hair cells, causing them to fall out in patches.”

Energy drink brands such as Red Bull, Prime and Monster contain up to 150 milligrams of caffeine. This is almost twice as much as in black coffee. Moderate consumption of caffeine may promote hair growth. However, excess caffeine can lead to increased stress and hormonal imbalance, which in turn can damage hair follicles.

In addition, energy drinks may not only directly contribute to hair loss, but also aggravate other health problems that lead to male pattern baldness. The high sugar content in these drinks may contribute to obesity and diabetes, which have also previously been linked to hair loss in men.





Dr Balvi also cited a Chinese study of more than 1,000 young men, published last January, which found that men who consumed sugary drinks, including energy drinks, were 42 percent more likely to lose hair. Well, a colossal factor is stress, which men often try to drown out, if not with alcohol, then with energy drinks. Which together leads to early hair loss.

“An acceptable intake is an average of five to seven energy drinks per week. Above this amount there is a risk of serious health damage,” Dr Balvi said.



Dr. Zafer Cetinkaya, an Istanbul-based surgeon, says about 750,000 people a year visit Turkey for hair transplants. More than 40 percent of their clients are in the 25 to 34 age group, and some are even younger.

But British scientists do not agree with Turkish experts. Dr Bessam Farjo from the Farjo Hair Institute said that while energy drinks could theoretically cause hair loss, this had yet to be proven.

“From a basic science perspective, there is no established toxic dose of caffeine that directly leads to hair loss—moderate consumption of energy drinks does not pose a significant risk of hair loss.”

Dr Kiran Daya, lead hair transplant surgeon at the Wimpole Clinic and Mayfair Hair Clinic in London, agreed that the evidence linking energy drinks to hair loss was currently not strong enough.

But he noted that there is some logic that excessive consumption of caffeine, vitamin A and selenium causes hair problems.

“Like anything else, in too large quantities it can become harmful,” he said.