Gone With the Grey

Doesn’t it amaze you that some people retain their natural hair color their entire lives while others will start going grey as early as their late teens - early twenties?

Research has shown us that most of what happens under your hat has to do with a host of genetic factors that are essentially out of your control. But all hope is not lost.

Graying hair is a natural part of the aging process true enough – but just like any the other symptoms that come with advancing years you can slow down and in some cases even reverse these ravages of time.

And the first step is to understand exactly why your hair is turning grey – then and only then can you start taking the necessary steps to recapture your hairs long lost luster, color and sheen.

Basically each of your hairs is made up of two separate parts:

Shaft – the colored part of your hair that grows out of your headRoot – the base of the hair strand that anchors it to your scalp

The root of each strand of hair is surrounded by a capsule of tissue under your scalp called a follicle. And each follicle contains special pigment cells that continually produce a chemical that gives your strands hair their color – melanin.

Melanin is the same chemical responsible for coloring our skin – and depending on how much melanin your hairs contain will determine the shading of your hair from light to dark.

Unfortunately as we get older the cells responsible for producing this melanin slowly die off. And over time each hair will slowly start to lose its store of melanin and begin taking on more of a transparent silver or grey color.

For most folks the first signs of the graying process usually start around their mid to late thirties and continue on until all signs of color are all but forgotten. But there are a few tools at your disposal that can slow down and ever reverse this biological process.

Researchers do agree that genetics play a major role in the onset of grey hair – but they’ve also recently discovered a relationship between graying hair and certain environmental factors, illnesses and lifestyle choices associated with unnaturally accelerated aging .

So a full head of dark lustrous hair could very well be in your future if you’re just willing to make a few simple adjustments to your daily regimen, diet and lifestyle. Here’s what you do…

1) Smoking: A 1996 study reported on in the British Medical Journal discovered that smokers are four times more likely to go grey than non-smokers. Smoking cigarettes is one of the surest ways to accelerate the aging process and the onset of grey hair – so if you want to look like you’re 80 when you’re 60 smoking is the way to go.

2) Food Faux Pas: If you want to avoid going grey and numerous other conditions associated with aging you have to cut the foods out of your diet that are responsible for aging you prematurely. The worst culprits are white flour, soda, fried foods, refined sugars, food additives and preservatives and any foods cooked in hydrogenated oils.

3) Supplements: Another key component to any anti-aging program is the addition nutritional supplements. And the ones best suited to slowing down the aging process and keeping hair young and vibrant are Vitamins C and E, Fish Oils and Omega 3 Fatty Acids. There are also a handful of herbal formulations that have been used in China for 1000’s of years to help men maintain their original hair color and sheen. The best one I’ve come across is TiHair – it’s just recently been made available here in the US and you can find it right here http://www.bestlife-herbals.com/-TIH01 .

4) Super Foods: One of the best ways to ensure yourself a lifetime of thick lustrous hair is through a diet rich in essential nutrients and anti-oxidants - as both help delay the onset of aging. Super foods like chlorella, spirulina, sprouts, all green vegetables, garlic, ginger and of course berries.

These foods are hands down the best weapon in your arsenal for fighting off the ravages of time – and they can work wonders for your sex drive and overall energy levels as well.

And that’s really the best we can hope for. Because the truth is we’re all getting older – there’s nothing that can be done about that.

But just because we’re getting old doesn’t mean that we have to look or feel like it. At the end of the day if we feel good and we look great – what difference does age make?!

Stay Healthy!