Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) rapidly increase after maximal aerobic exercise in healthy males: the lowering effect of phosphodiesterase's type 5 inhibitors on DHT response to exercise-related stress.
This is why going for a brisk walk, a run in the park, or riding your bike—along with any great form of cardio—is likely the best way to get your blood flowing and DHT levels dropping.
Repeat sprint exercise is capable of inducing an increase in circulating DHT in healthy active young men, particularly when sprinting cadence is high.
Increased DHT (dihydrotestosterone) can be caused by conditions such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), prostate cancer, male pattern hair loss (androgenic alopecia), and excessive male-pattern hair growth in females (hirsutism).
Practicing a healthy lifestyle can help reduce DHT levels naturally. This includes regular exercise, quit smoking, reduce stress, take time to rest, and do scalp exercises like massages to reduce tension and increase blood flow.
Increasing your cardio and reducing the amount of weights in your routine may assist to lower levels of testosterone and DHT in your body. Avoiding supplements (including shakes) that include substances like creatine or DHEA can also help to minimise testosterone levels.
Generally speaking, regular forms of cardio exercise, like jogging, a brisk walk, or a bike ride, will get your blood pumping, and drop your stress and DHT levels, which is good for hair health.
The most important factor that answers sweat and hair loss relation, is the presence of DHT. DHT (Dihydrotestosterone) is an active form of testosterone, which is mostly found in post-workout sweat. It has been observed that DHT can bind with our hair follicles and prevent them from growing naturally.
There is only one treatment that has been clinically proven and approved to block the effects of DHT, and that is the prescription treatment: finasteride. Finasteride is the active ingredient of the well-known hair loss treatment Propecia.
Sebum, or oil, that is secreted onto the scalp, actually contains DHT, and can further aggravate hormone-related hair loss. So, if you wash your hair every day, you actually decrease the amount of DHT that can contribute to hair loss by decreasing the amount of oil on your scalp.
In the scalp, DHT seems to cause hair follicles to become thinner. But in other areas of the body, such as the underarms and genital area, DHT and other male sex hormones promote thickening of hair follicles.
Women with too much dihydrotestosterone may develop increased body, facial and pubic hair growth (called hirsutism), stopping of menstrual periods (amenorrhoea) and increased acne. Abnormal changes to the genitalia may also occur in women with too much dihydrotestosterone.
There are a number of naturally occurring ingredients that are believed to block DHT and help to slow male pattern baldness. These include; saw palmetto, stinging nettle, pumpkin seed oil, lycopene, green tea, caffeine and fenugreek – to name a few of the most common.
Because DHT blockers like finasteride stop the conversion of testosterone to DHT, they may contribute to a slight increase in your total testosterone levels. In a study published in the journal Urology in 2003, researchers found that long-term use of finasteride was associated with a modest increase in testosterone.
It is important to understand that even though testosterone is the active androgen in muscle, and DHT exhibits relatively little direct anabolic effects on muscle in men, DHT is still very important for the full performance enhancement effects from testosterone.
Testosterone converts to DHT by the action of the 5 alpha-reductase enzyme at these target tissues. [1] This isolated synthesis at a specific target tissue makes DHT primarily a paracrine hormone. [2] As it is produced mainly in the liver, only small amounts are present in the systemic circulation.
Excessive exercise and a lack of nutrition, however, can lead to premature hair loss. Over a long period, too much exercise can cause your body to enter a chronic state of stress, which in turn leads to a condition called telogen effluvium.
In addition to blocking DHT, caffeine is an effective anti-inflammatory. Although you likely associate caffeine primarily with the cup of coffee or tea you drink in the morning, it is a powerful health ingredient. Furthermore, caffeine can help improve blood flow.
Bananas
Bananas also help maintain healthy DHT levels by helping you develop a healthy gut and prevent your body from overproducing DHT. Bananas are your go-to DHT blocking food!
So, by age 20, around 20 per cent of men may experience its onset, rising to 30 per cent of 30 year olds and 40 per cent of 40 year olds. Interestingly, figures for hair loss by the age of 50 appear to vary wildly depending on which country you are in.
It's very common in people AMAB over the age of 50. Your prostate can produce large amounts of DHT. This local DHT production stimulates normal prostate activity but also commonly leads to prostate growth.
When the body has high levels of DHT, it will grow more facial and body hair. In addition to hair, high levels of testosterone cause a number of other changes.
Men experiencing male pattern baldness usually have a high level of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is a byproduct of testosterone that has been broken down for use by the body. DHT has been proven to shrink hair follicles, which makes it impossible for healthy hair to survive.
Getting a blood test is the most common way to establish your DHT levels, but a saliva panel test is considered more accurate. These tests are not generally available through your GP although your doctor should be able to point you in the direction of a specialist who can run these tests for you, privately.