Turkish hair transplant surgeons tell men to stop drinking energy drinks… because study shows they can make you bald

With sky-high levels of caffeine, sugar and additives, it should come as no surprise that energy drinks are doing our health no favors.

But can they also cause some people to go bald?

The answer is yes, according to Turkish hair transplant surgeon Dr. Abdulaziz Balwi, who said he warns his patients to stop drinking completely.

Many of them contain ingredients crucial for hair growth, including vitamins and minerals, but in the case of “too much of a good thing,” he said consuming excessive amounts could have the opposite effect.

‘While these energy drinks can be fine in moderation, if consumed in excess they can cause a greater risk of immediate hair loss or affect overall health,’ says Dr Balwi of Elithair in Istanbul.

‘Excessive intake of energy drinks is a predisposing factor to the toxicity of certain elements such as caffeine and selenium.

‘Selenium and vitamin A are toxic to the hair when taken in high doses and can also be a trigger for alopecia areata, a disease where the immune system mistakenly targets hair cells, causing them to fall out in parts.’

Some energy drinks on sale in Britain can provide 113 percent of a person’s recommended vitamin A intake and 100 percent of their selenium.

Additionally, brands like Red Bull, Prime and Monster can contain up to 150 mg of caffeine, almost double that of black coffee.

While moderate levels of caffeine can stimulate hair growth, Dr. Balwi says too much caffeine can lead to increased stress and hormonal imbalances that can damage hair follicles.

Therefore, drinking multiple cans or eating foods and drinks that also contain these substances in a short period of time can cause a person to consume too much, resulting in possible health consequences such as hair loss.

He added that while energy drinks can directly contribute to hair loss, they can also worsen other health problems that cause men to go bald.

The drinks’ high sugar content could contribute to obesity and diabetes, both of which have previously been linked to male hair loss.

Some brands of energy drinks can contain almost 28 grams of sugar per can or bottle.

As the NHS recommends that adults consume just 30 grams of free sugars (sugar added to food, from syrups or fruit juices) per day, this means that a single energy drink can make up more than 90 per cent of a person’s daily intake.

Dr. Balwi also cited a Chinese study of more than 1,000 young adults, published in January last year, which found that men who consume sugary drinks, including energy drinks, are 42 percent more likely to lose their hair.

Although the study suggested this potential link between sugary drinks and hair loss, the authors note that they could not prove that consuming such drinks directly caused people to lose their hair.

They also noted that factors such as stress may also play a role in encouraging the consumption of sugary drinks and causing hair loss. Further research was needed to unravel this relationship.

It could also be that excessive consumption of energy drinks is an indicator of an unhealthy lifestyle and poor diet, which can contribute to hair loss in general rather than directly causing it.

It is well known that consuming too much sugar increases the risk of obesity, which in turn can increase the risk of serious health problems such as high blood pressure and certain cancers.

Dr. Balwi said men should try to drink fewer energy drinks to reduce the risk of baldness.

‘An acceptable consumption is on average five to seven energy drinks per week. Above this amount there is a risk of serious damage to health,” he said.

However, British hair transplant surgeons said any supposed link between energy drinks and hair loss is tenuous at best.

Dr. Bessam Farjo of the Farjo Hair Institute said that energy drinks could theoretically cause hair loss, but this has not yet been proven.

“While it is theoretically possible that energy drinks contribute to hair loss, it is extremely unlikely,” he said.

‘From a basic science perspective, there is no established toxic dose of caffeine that directly leads to hair loss; Consuming energy drinks in moderation does not pose a significant risk of hair loss.”

He added that metabolic problems, such as diabetes, can indeed contribute to hair loss, but these should be specifically addressed rather than focusing on energy drinks.

“Moderate consumption of two to three energy drinks per day is unlikely to cause hair loss,” he said.

‘The main concern should be the overall impact on health, rather than attributing hair loss directly to energy drinks.’

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

“To my knowledge, there is not enough evidence at this time to suggest any link between energy drinks and hair loss,” he said.

However, he did acknowledge that there was some logic in the overconsumption of caffeine, vitamin A and selenium causing problems with your hair.

“As with anything, in too much quantity it can be harmful,” he said.

“These energy drinks contain an extremely high amount of things that stimulate people, so it doesn’t sound that far-fetched.”

Dr. Dayah said that at this time he would advise people to limit their intake of energy drinks in general.

“Everyone is becoming increasingly aware of the damage energy drinks can do in terms of overall health,” he said.

‘If hair problems are also one of them, then the list of reasons to avoid is to avoid using too much of it.

‘If you are going to drink an energy drink, don’t drink several a day, but stick to NHS guidelines on caffeine and sugar intake.’

An estimated 6.5 million men in Britain experience male pattern baldness, rising to around 50 million in the US.

The majority of men will experience some degree of hair thinning by the time they reach their sixties.

However, for some men it happens much earlier in life, between the ages of 20 and 30, which can cause self-esteem problems for some people.