New research published in the journal Biology of Reproduction reveals that consuming soy milk and other soy products could reduce hair loss and male pattern baldness. How? When the body breaks down isoflavones from soy products, one of the resulting compounds is equol, which blocks a form of testosterone called DHT that has been linked with hair loss and baldness. The hair loss prescription drug, Propecia, works in much the same way by blocking the conversion of testosterone into DHT.

Naturally, soy milk is far less expensive than prescription drugs, and there are a great number of health benefits derived from consuming products made from soy. But does this latest research mean that men suffering from hair loss should switch to soy milk?

Here’s my take: soy milk may be able to stop hair loss, but that’s only part of the picture. Hair loss also results from premature aging, which is caused by consuming metabolic disruptors in foods and drinks. These are chemical ingredients like white flour, high fructose corn syrup, sodium nitrite, hydrogenated oils, aspartame and MSG that slowly poison the human body. One of the best ways to avoid hair loss is to start choosing healthy whole foods instead of eating the standard junk foods consumed by most people.

There’s one undeniable fact about the human head – it sticks out of the top of your body and represents the first thing other people see when you come into view. In some cultures, it’s acceptable for the head to be completely covered. So, if you go to a strict moslem country, women will only appear in public wearing a hijab (a headscarf) or a burqa which covers the head and upper body. In other cultures, men must cover their heads, e.g. in Sikhism, men are required to wear a turban to cover their uncut hair. Such religious observances and cultural practices are useful if people’s hair begins to thin or fall out. The loss remains hidden. In Western cultures, the majority of people are not obliged to cover their heads. Hence, the decision to do so is often taken as a sign they are beginning to lose their hair and want to hide the fact.

There’s been considered coverage in the press recently about Andre Agassi. He was one of the best tennis players of his generation and remains a celebrity of sufficient star power that he’s publishing a tell-all autobiography. As part of the prepublication marketing campaign, he’s been making one or two startling admissions. No doubt this will do wonders for the book sales figures. The most exciting is the story of his drug abuse. What? Andre Agassi a drug cheat? Well, the story goes that, as his hair started to drop out, Andre got depressed. Just think. Here’s this cool, long-haired athlete with women throwing themselves at his feet and then all his hair starts to drop out. At a stroke, his sex appeal is gone. So he did a little crystal meth, as you do when you get depressed, and then lied about it when the tennis authorities started talking about banning him. Then he cleaned up his act, shaved his head and wore his baldness with pride, marrying one of the sexiest women tennis players on the planet to prove his full recovery.