Current Routine

[Joey]

Hey guy's, great forum here with lots of interesting info. Ive on the immortal regime and just wanted to check with you guys if my routine looks right? i

Morning
400mg of EC after breakfast
500mg MSM (helps make my hair thicker)

Lunch
100mg of Bio-Enhanced Na-RALA
1 Vitamin D-3/K-2 capsule
5mg of Biotin

Dinner
100mg Bio-Enhanced Na-RALA
500mg Curcumin
200mg Resveratrol

Before Sleep
400mg of EC
500mg of MSM
I want to add Acetyl L-Carnitine to the above (taking it with breakfast/lunch/dinner). I there anything else that would benefit me? I'm also looking into the papain topical, sounds very interesting. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Nashville Hairline]

What brand of Curcumin are you using? There has been some debate on that recently. Basically: Life Extension, not good; Jarrow's, good.

[Joey]

Using the Jarrow's.

[Nashville Hairline]

Nice one! Looks like your missing an Omega 3 supplement too ...I'm no expert though. Its another good thing to counteract inflammation.

[Joey]

I feel theres maybe something else I can add. Source of Omega 3 is a good shout. I have a supply of Saw Palemtto and Beta Sis that I have also been thinking about adding (not sure what the best time to take this with is)

[Nashville Hairline]

Oh and green tea! Its so cheap and has some good studies re: hair behind it, to me its a no-brainer to include in a regime!

[big mike]

Oh and green tea! Its so cheap and has some good studies re: hair behind it, to me its a no-brainer to include in a regime!

Do any of you guys think there is any merit to the study that states green tea actually raises DHT? I can say that up until a few months ago, I had been drinking 5 to 10 cups of premium green tea 5 days a week, but started shedding towards the end of summer. Since then, I have stopped drinking it just in case there is any validity to this study. I certainly hope it's not true and I would never discourage anyone from drinking green tea because the health benifits are seemingly endless, reguardless of its effect on hair.

[CausticSymmetry]

big mike - No worries about green tea. I was asked this question back in '06, so here is a paste of the answer:

check out the study below

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1995 Sep 25;214(3):833-8. Selective inhibition of steroid 5 alpha-reductase isozymes by tea epicatechin-3-gallate and epigallocatechin-3-gallate.

Liao S, Hiipakka RA.

Ben May Institute, University of Chicago, IL 60637, USA.

Inhibitors of 5 alpha-reductase may be effective in the treatment of 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone-dependent abnormalities, such as benign prostate hyperplasia, prostate cancer and certain skin diseases. The green tea catechins, (-)epigallocatechin-3-gallate and (-)epicatechin-3-gallate, but not (-)epicatechin and (-)epigallocatechin, are potent inhibitors of type 1 but not type 2 5 alpha-reductase. (-)Epigallocatechin-3-gallate also inhibits accessory sex gland growth in the rat. These results suggest that certain tea gallates can regulate androgen action in target organs.

What was gleaned out of the previous thread that was some components of Green Tea increase 5-alpha reductase type I.

However, the primary Gallate EGCG inhibits 5-alpha reductase.

The main kicker is the most recent study, which shows human hair growth both in vitro and in vivo.

Human hair growth enhancement in vitro by green tea epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG).

* Kwon OS, * Han JH, * Yoo HG, * Chung JH, * Cho KH, * Eun HC, * Kim KH.

Department of Dermatology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Laboratory of Cutaneous Aging and Hair Research, Clinical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Institute of Dermatological Science, Seoul National University, 110-744 Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Green tea is a popular worldwide beverage, and its potential beneficial effects such as anti-cancer and anti-oxidant properties are believed to be mediated by epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a major constituent of polyphenols. Recently, it was reported that EGCG might be useful in the prevention or treatment of androgenetic alopecia by selectively inhibiting 5alpha-reductase activity. However, no report has been issued to date on the effect of EGCG on human hair growth. This study was undertaken to measure the effect of EGCG on hair growth in vitro and to investigate its effect on human dermal papilla cells (DPCs) in vivo and in vitro. EGCG promoted hair growth in hair follicles ex vivo culture and the proliferation of cultured DPCs. The growth stimulation of DPCs by EGCG in vitro may be mediated through the upregulations of phosphorylated Erk and Akt and by an increase in the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax ratio. Similar results were also obtained in in vivo dermal papillae of human scalps. Thus, we suggest that EGCG stimulates human hair growth through these dual proliferative and anti-apoptotic effects on DPCs.

I just did a daily topic on green tea, even more benefits (they never seem to end with it).

http://www.immortalhair.org/apps/blog/

[The Natural]

I sure enjoy drinking the stuff. I did read a year or so ago (I am trying to remember where, maybe at Regrowth) about the negative interaction between curcumin and green tea extract.

It may be a good idea to take these herbs at different times.

[RobHealthMan]

i was a little worried about the 'increased DHT" level report so i chose to go with Black Tea theaflavin supplement to start with instead.

CS, your thoughts on Theaflavins vs. Green tea extract supplements?

thanks!

[CausticSymmetry]

RobHealthMan - It's very difficult to speculate on this one. Green or Black teas benefits may be limited unless they are used topically, however it's not too convenient and there are better topicals from other botanticals. Black tea theaflavin looks really interesting because of the potency as an antioxidant, but how long this protection lasts internally hasn't been fully examined. I looked at an vitro study and based on it, Theaflavins are do not last as long as EGCG from green tea.

I really wanted to order the Theaflavins, but I hesitated when thinking about the short half-life. However, I could be wrong. For right now I've been taking green tea phytosome, which is extends the active qualities of green tea some twenty times over its typical protection.

In non phytosome form, green tea still lasts longer than theaflavins.