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Do Energy Drinks Make You Bald? (Explained)

A man holding a chunk of hair
Energy drinks are known to cause many side effects and now baldness is one of them

Energy drinks are extremely popular and you may find yourself consuming them in immoderation, as they give you a boost. Energy has been the talk of the town, there have been many studies done on these drinks as they were reported to be the cause of several health complications.

While there are a number of side effects of consuming energy drinks, recent research has found that energy drinks, fizzy drinks, and soft drinks, as well as sweetened tea and coffee, can increase your chances of suffering from hair loss.

In addition, these beverages are created with many ingredients, but sugar and caffeine have been linked with hair loss. Experts believe that sugar may promote inflammation, especially in high contents. When people consume excessive sugar, the sugar floods the blood, which causes an increase in insulin as well as androgens, as a result, it binds to hair follicles and causes hair to fall out.

Besides that, caffeine was also linked with male pattern baldness, researchers found that men who are consuming more than two cups of coffee in a day have much higher testosterone levels, which is a hormone that is associated with hair loss.

While baldness is a concerning side effect, there’re other much life-threatening health complications, that can be triggered by excessive intake of energy drinks, such as rapid heartbeat, and high blood pressure levels.

Those are only the mild side effects, there’re so many dangerous and possibly life-threatening ones, that are known to be induced by chronic and immoderate intake of highly caffeinated and sugar-sweetened energy drinks, so keep on reading to find out.

Can Caffeine Cause Baldness?

Black coffee beans
Caffeine in moderation is good while in immoderation, it can cause many side effects like baldness

Caffeine is one of the most reliable active ingredients, if you’re into energy drinks, you’ll certainly find caffeine in every one of those drinks, usually in large contents. While moderate caffeine intake can boost your cognitive and physical performance, immoderate intake could cause side effects like anxiety.

Besides that, caffeine is recently found to be the cause of male pattern baldness, and energy drinks are big on caffeine because let’s face it, energy drinks without caffeine, aren’t energy drinks.

However, that doesn’t mean that you go overboard with its consumption, according to the FDA, people must restrict their daily caffeine intake to 400 mg or less to avoid side effects that are linked with a high intake which may include:

  • Restlessness.
  • Shakiness.
  • Insomnia.
  • Headaches.
  • Dizziness.
  • Fast heart rate.
  • Dehydration.
  • Anxiety.
  • Dependency.

Furthermore, while you can easily consume an energy drink with a caffeine content of 200 mg, caffeine-sensitive people can hardly process a small content like 50 mg, without risking side effects like:

  • Rapid heartbeat.
  • Headache.
  • Jitters.
  • Nervousness.
  • Having anxiety.
  • Restlessness.
  • Insomnia.

The only way you are getting those side effects is by consuming more caffeine than you can handle, so I’d advise you to be careful and verify your caffeine tolerance.

Check out this video to see how highly caffeinated energy drinks are affecting you:

Can energy drinks even kill you?

Can Sugar Cause Baldness?

Sugar is known to be the most commonly used ingredient in energy drinks, you’ll find sugar in almost every energy drink, well not in the sugar-free ones. The reason sugar is used in such high contents is that it masks the bitterness of ingredients and can also be a source of energy, however, I wouldn’t say that it won’t cause crashes, especially when consumed in immoderation.

Well, besides crashes, too much sugar is also been found to cause hair loss.

Sugar may be sweet candy, but it certainly can cause bitter side effects, if consumed in a chronic and immoderate manner. The AHA recommends women and men to keep an intake of 24 g (6 teaspoons) and 36 g (9 teaspoons) of sugar per day, while more than that will lead to side effects listed below:

  • Headaches.
  • Irritability.
  • Fatigue.
  • Difficulty concentrating.
  • Feeling jittery.
  • Anxiety.
  • Acne.
  • Feeling shaky.
  • Dizziness.
  • Hunger.
  • Bloating.

Whereas in serious cases, sugar can cause:

  • Higher blood pressure levels.
  • Inflammation.
  • Weight gain.
  • Higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
  • Fatty liver disease.
  • Increased risk for heart attack and stroke.

If you’re someone who consumes too much sugar, I’d recommend you limit your intake to 24 g to 36 g, otherwise, baldness will be the least of your worries.

What Triggers Balding?

A man in black shirt looking at his phone
What is causing hair loss? is it caffeine, sugar, or just because hormonal changes

Every health concern has a cause behind it, it could be heredity, hormonal changes, medical conditions, aging, or often a person’s habits, and unfortunately, any one of them can be the reason you’re going bald.

If we talk about what one does that can lead to balding, well it’s your habits that may be increasing the chances of baldness. For instance, excessive and chronic intake of caffeine and sugar has been linked with baldness.

However, there’s a cure for every problem, however, as for balding, there isn’t any cure. It depends, if the follicles aren’t gone, there may be a slight chance that your hair may grow, but if the follicle is closed then, it won’t grow new hair.

Does Caffeine Help Hair To Grow?

Caffeine is a potion of energy, it stimulates the brain and the central nervous system, which affects your cognitive and physical performance. What I like about caffeine is that it isn’t entirely good, nor is it entirely bad, it depends on how much you consume it.

For instance, if you keep your daily intake in moderation, it won’t cause side effects like baldness, but if you consume it excessively and chronically, there’s a chance of baldness.

A 2007 study found that a safe dose of caffeine may help block the effects of DHT (which binds the hair follicle), as a result, your hair will grow.

Here’s the list of energy drinks with moderate caffeine contents:

Energy DrinksCaffeine Contents
ASPIRE80 mg
Jocko Go95 mg
Bai Boost110 mg
NUUN40 mg
Sugar-free Red Bull80 mg
Energy drinks with moderate caffeine contents

There aren’t many energy drinks with low caffeine content, however the ones that are, have high contents of sugar, which can also cause baldness, so what you can do is consume sugar-free energy drinks in small servings.

For instance, if you get an energy drink with 200 mg of caffeine, you don’t necessarily have to drink the whole serving, or you can just stick to those few low-caffeinated energy drinks.

Alternatives To Energy Drinks

Energy drinks are quite popular, however after recent studies showed that they could cause baldness, I’m certain, a lot of people going to start cutting back.

However, an abrupt cutback on your caffeine intake can lead to caffeine withdrawal symptoms, thus what you need is energy drinks with low caffeine contents and zero sugar contents.

So, here’s a list of some energy drinks that include moderate caffeine contents with zero sugar contents:

However, if you are someone who already had a low caffeine intake and is already looking for some alternatives, well we’ve got you covered.

Here’s a list of some healthy alternatives to caffeine:

  • Green Tea
  • Herbal Tea
  • Green or Fruit Smoothies
  • Kombucha
  • Green or Fruit Juice

Conclusion

  • Energy drinks have gained extreme popularity because of their alluring effects on the human brain and the body. However, what people don’t realize is that these drinks can be the cause of so many of their health complications.
  • Baldness is one of the concerns, especially among men. Well, energy drinks that you are consuming every morning, maybe causing that.
  • Research has linked excessive intake of sugar and caffeine with baldness, although a safe dose of caffeine can also help your hair grow.
  • As long as you’re keeping caffeine and sugar intake in moderation, there won’t be a higher risk of baldness.
  • However, hair loss can occur because of a couple of reasons, such as aging or hormonal changes, if your hair follicles haven’t disappeared, there’s a chance that your hair can grow back.
  • While energy drinks are quite dangerous for your health, especially the ones with large sugar contents, I don’t think that these drinks are the real cause of baldness, yes they may be contributing.

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