Harvard study: People with gray hair are less likely to get cancer, really? How to turn black hair back to white?

"Oh, why are there more and more gray hairs of mine? I have a few white hairs every day. Do you want me to dye my hair?" Grandma Zhang faced the mirror, looking at the increasing number of gray hairs, and frowning.

Grandma Liu next to her responded: "What's the matter with dyeing your hair? Let me tell you, long white hair is a good thing. It has been said in some articles that people with long white hair are not prone to cancer."

Grandma Zhang was very puzzled. If this is the case, people will almost have gray hair when they are old. Is it not easy for people to get sick and cancer when they are old? Does what Grandma Liu said make sense?

1. Long white hair is not easy to get cancer, is it true or false?

It is said that people with long white hair are less likely to get cancer. It is said to be because of a study from Harvard, published in the British "Daily Mail".

This research suggests that the formation of gray hair is actually a protective mechanism of the body. The production of gray hair means that the genes of the melanin-producing stem cells have been damaged and have been eliminated. If these damaged stem cells are not eliminated in time, they will replicate wildly and form cancer cells.

In fact , there is no basis for this claim . Gray hair is associated with a reduction in melanin granules in the hair, and so far no studies have confirmed the link between gray hair and cancer.

The specific reasons for gray hair are actually more complicated. The most important one may be caused by aging . When cells age, the activity of tyrosinase decreases, and the synthesis of melanin decreases, resulting in gray hair. Therefore, we can see that when people get older, Lots of white hair. In addition, there are these reasons.

Genetic factors: People with congenital gray hair often have a family history of gray hair, among which localized gray hair is more common, and most of the anterior hairline is located. Some children and teenagers have the problem of white hair at a young age, commonly known as "juvenile white".

·Disease factors: The hair of diabetic patients may appear gray. In addition, there are also diseases such as vitiligo, albinism, tuberculosis, hyperthyroidism, pernicious anemia, etc., which will also reduce the synthesis of melanin in the body, and eventually lead to the appearance of white hair.

·Mental factors: Long-term exposure to high-pressure environments or staying up late for a long time or lack of sleep can easily lead to mental stress and emotional depression, which may accelerate the production of gray hair.

Nutritional factors: If a person is malnourished for a long time and lacks nutrients such as protein and B vitamins in the body, it will affect the synthesis of melanin required for hair, and will also lead to "clumps" of gray hair.

Hu Yang, Deputy Chief Physician of the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University, once explained that gray hair and cancer are both caused by aging . Fatigue, stress, and staying up late are all factors that increase the risk of cancer.

2. Rumors are not credible, and there are no predictors of cancer

Why do people get cancer? Cancer evolves from normal cells and is the result of many factors.

The evolution of normal cells into cancer cells and then into visible cancer is actually a long-term, progressive, and multi-stage process that usually involves dysplasia first, then progression from dysplasia to precancer, and then Carcinoma in situ, and then develop into invasive carcinoma, until lymph node metastasis and distant tissue and organ metastasis.

This process of canceration can range from a few years to as many as several decades. Therefore, we should not listen to rumors in our daily life, and it is the last word to pay attention to physical examination. Prevent problems before they happen, early detection, early diagnosis and early treatment.

Generally speaking, the high-risk groups of cancer are as follows:

1. Have a family history of cancer

For example, mothers and sisters in the family who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, other women in the family have a much higher chance of developing breast cancer than people without a family history of breast cancer. For example, patients with familial multiple polyps have a higher probability of developing bowel cancer than the average person. .

2. Have a personal history of infection and medical history

People with oral leukoplakia and erythema are at high risk of oral cancer, those with hepatitis are at high risk of liver cancer, and those with chronic gastric disease are at high risk of gastric cancer. Clinical medicine has found that certain viral or bacterial infections are associated with the occurrence of cancer, such as EB virus and nasopharyngeal cancer, human papilloma virus and cervical cancer.

3. Environmental and occupational factors

Because occupational relationships require long-term exposure to harmful gases, liquids or dust, the risk of developing lung cancer is high, and workers who have long-term exposure to synthetic rubber, aniline, and benzidine have a higher risk of bladder cancer.

4. Age > 40, have a special lifestyle

People over 40 years old and people who have long-term special lifestyles are high-risk groups of cancer. Special lifestyles include: long-term smoking, alcoholism or passive smoking, long-term consumption of smoked and preserved foods, long-term high-protein, high-fat and low-fiber diets, sex Premature life, long-term psychological pressure and so on.

3. Can the white hair go back to black?

This varies from person to person, and it's actually difficult.

Generally, doctors will first find the cause of whiteheads. If it is caused by age, genetics, etc. , it is irreversible. The solution is to pull out or dye the hair.

If gray hair is caused by mental factors , you need to relieve emotions and stress, change your lifestyle, and it is possible to gradually reverse it. For gray hair caused by disease , active treatment is required to solve the cause.

In the case of nutritional deficiencies or drug effects , it can be treated but may not be effective. There are some oral medications available, but success is rare or relapses after a period of time.

Many people are anxious about growing white hair on their heads, so they are more likely to listen to rumors and advertisements, and even take health medicines on their own. So far, the level of scientific evidence on the efficacy of health supplements "recovering gray hair" in the published literature is relatively low, so don't blindly believe in the legend that "health supplements can restore your black hair".

Fourth, do not want premature gray hair, pay attention to these diets

In addition to the gray hair caused by aging, more and more people are now growing gray hair before they are old. It is rumored that eating black sesame, black rice, and black beans can improve gray hair. Is it true?

Many people believe that black is used to make up for black. In fact, although black food may have more nutrients than other foods, the melanin in it cannot be directly converted into pigment on the hair. However, the protein, B vitamins and trace elements among them can improve the gray hair problem caused by nutritional deficiencies to a certain extent .

Although it can't improve the problem of gray hair, we can do the following to prevent the formation of gray hair and improve hair quality:

First of all, eat less high-sugar diet, high-sugar diet may cause hair loss, and a large amount of sugar is easy to form a large number of organic acids in the process of metabolism. Solid yellow and dry.

And pay attention to nutritional supplements, such as insufficient copper, which will promote the formation of white hair. According to the data of Popular Science China, in general, the average daily intake of people is only about 0.8 mg, and the required copper content is 2 mg. Then, it is possible to alleviate the formation of gray hair by appropriately increasing the intake of copper-rich foods such as animal liver, shellfish, fungi, nuts, apricots, and oats .

In addition to diet, it is also necessary to regulate stress, pay attention to release emotions , develop regular work and rest habits, avoid bad behaviors such as staying up late, smoking and drinking, and reduce the number of hair perming and dyeing to avoid hair damage.

It is unscientific to say that people with white hair are not prone to cancer. For cancer, don't put your hopes on rumors. Physical examination is very important. If you have white hair, whether it can be reversed to black requires a symptomatic discussion. It is better to prevent premature whiteheads in advance than to trouble with white hair.

References:

[1] "White hair is not easy to get cancer? Rumors are not credible, there is no predictor of cancer, physical examination is very important". Respiratory doctor Hu Yang. 2019-10-13

[2] "The Big Truth of Oncologists: How Do You Get Cancer? You Need to Know These 7 Points". Medical and Food Reference. 2021-02-26

[3] "Grey hair shows old age, how can we make white hair "black back"? 》. Eat three meals a day. 2019-10-22

[4] "The age has not yet come, why does the white hair grow out impatiently? ". Human Health. 2020-03-19

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