Introduction to Gray Hair
Many people go to great lengths to cover up their grays, but fans say an effective antioxidant can help stop this discoloration before it even occurs. According to a longevity expert, stress has a direct impact on the color and quality of our hair and the rate at which we turn gray.
Why Do We Turn Gray?
Many factors contribute to graying hair, including genetics, aging, and stress. While the first two are beyond our control, there are some things we can do about the latter. When we get stressed, we produce adrenaline. Adrenaline allows us to meet that deadline and get it done, but too much chronic adrenaline is bad for the heart. To protect itself, the body converts excess adrenaline into hydrogen peroxide – which is then excreted through our pores and hair follicles. If we don’t have enough glutathione to convert the hydrogen peroxide into water, it travels out through our hair follicles and skin and bleaches the hair from the inside out, causing gray hair.
What is Glutathione?
Glutathione is a tripeptide consisting of three amino acids: glutamine, glycine, and cysteine. The body produces it naturally, but levels fluctuate and decline due to poor diet, stress, improper rest, environmental toxins – and aging. Glutathione is the body’s most important antioxidant. If we don’t get enough of it through food, for example from leafy greens, avocados, and broccoli, we will deplete our glutathione stores, and this will manifest itself in, among other things, premature gray hair.
Other Anti-Graying Agents
Premature graying is also likely due to oxidative stress and cell damage caused by environmental toxins, metabolic disorders, and stress. Hair care professionals, dermatologists, and physicians who prefer a causal approach to health will focus on taking antioxidants to combat oxidative stress, which can lead to premature graying. Genetics are often the main reason for premature graying, but environmental and lifestyle factors also play a role and can accelerate graying. While optimizing glutathione and antioxidant levels can be helpful, it can’t offset systemic poor health — including smoking, high alcohol consumption, and a diet high in processed foods.
How to Get More Glutathione
A diet that emphasizes glutathione-rich foods should be your primary source for boosting your intake—but those looking to replenish in other ways can try a liposomal supplement, which is a supplement that encapsulates glutathione in fat bubbles called liposomes. This has better absorption and is more likely to survive the enzymes in the gut that break it down and prevent absorption. Intravenous administration is also effective in bypassing the intestines, but is cost-prohibitive for most.
Limitations of Glutathione Supplementation
Not everyone is convinced of the effectiveness or necessity of glutathione supplementation. Current scientific knowledge is limited, and although glutathione is a powerful antioxidant and could theoretically reduce oxidative stress in melanocytes, there is no robust clinical data to demonstrate that increasing dietary or supplementation of glutathione can reliably prevent or reverse gray hair in humans. The body’s regulation of hair pigmentation is complex, and once melanocytes lose their ability to produce pigment, it is unlikely that antioxidants alone could restore them.
Conclusion
Still, experts recommend that those looking to keep the gray away prioritize an antioxidant-rich diet, avoid smoking, and manage stress. Although these strategies do not reverse gray hair, they can support overall hair health and potentially slow further premature graying.
