I saw this brief snip in yahoo news about greying hair and enzyme called catalase .. so im wondering what is it .. where does it come from .. and how can you prevent the *dip* in it , if it is truley a chemical reaction as claimed .

Anyone know ?


Why Hair Goes Gray
Study Blames a Chain Reaction That Makes Hair Bleach Itself From the Inside Out
By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDFeb. 25, 2009 -- Scientists may have figured out why hair turns gray, and their finding may open the door to new anti-graying strategies.

New research shows that hair turns gray as a result of a chemical chain reaction that causes hair to bleach itself from the inside out.

The process starts when there is a dip in levels of an enzyme called catalase. That catalase shortfall means that the hydrogen peroxide that naturally occurs in hair can't be broken down. So hydrogen peroxide builds up in the hair, and because other enzymes that would repair hydrogen peroxide's damage are also in short supply, the hair goes gray.

Putting the brakes on that chemical chain reaction "could have great implications in the hair graying scenario in humans," write the researchers, who included Karin Schallreuter, a professor clinical and experimental dermatology at England's University of Bradford.

The study appears online in The FASEB Journal; the FASEB is the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2009 07:58AM by Jgunn.

Interesting article [www.fasebj.org]

so if im to understand the catalase interupts the enzyme (tyrosinase) ? i think? lol

ima bit confused by this

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Catalase is an ancient protein, almost every living thing has it. It breaks down hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen, a process essential to preventing cell damage, because it renders a destructive byproduct of metabolism harmless.

But it might not actually be the main enzyme to do this job, there may be an emergency backup plan in animals--other enzymes and pathways that do the same thing.

As we age our bodies become less efficient at making good proteins and we make less of it, amd/or what little does get made might have errors in it and not work so well. Or we inherit faulty genes that regulate its production so we go grey sooner instead of later, among other things.

You want to age more slowly: eat less but better, exercise, don't smoke, don't stress, surround yourself with loving, positive people, animals, and ideas, don't obsess and don't get depressed.

They only documented way I know of to reverse depigmentation is by a human placental extract. PMID: 12452998

ok thanks , so the greying factor is because of too much catalase or not enough? and this effects the amount of tyrosinase .. ?

unfortunately i am in the faulty gene pool on this one, my mom went grey mid 30's and i started in my 20's lol

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Not enough catalase.

There is a massive build up of hydrogen peroxide in the follicle because not enough catalase is around to break it down.

This does not necessarily mean there is a problem with melanin production mechanisms per se, but it does mean that whatever is produced will be "bleached out" by the hydrogen peroxide.

I heard that if you are experience hair loss or premature whitening, eating sea vegetables might help. Not sure why though. Could be the iodine content that helps people with low iodine (and therefore an underperforming thyroid).

ok thanks Arugula and Veganlife the part i dont get inthe article then is how they figure this is somehow a breakthrough if there is no way other fix it .. ?

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/2009 01:39AM by Jgunn.

If they can target the follicle to produce more catalase they can probably fix it.

Maybe the catalase problem can be fixed to some extent by eating a raw food diet ?

We know that enzymes are killed by cooking. Catalase is an enzyme. Possibly eating raw foods may provide some usable catalase ?

I wonder if a person who has always eaten fresh raw foods since birth could maintain their hair color longer then someone who has always eaten a 100% SAD diet that is totally devoid of fresh raw garden foods ?

[We know that enzymes are killed by cooking. Catalase is an enzyme. Possibly eating raw foods may provide some usable catalase ? ]

It's not so much that you can use the catalase that is in the foods but that antioxidant-rich diets tend to promote higher antioxidant levels in the plasma in general.

[I wonder if a person who has always eaten fresh raw foods since birth could maintain their hair color longer then someone who has always eaten a 100% SAD diet that is totally devoid of fresh raw garden foods ?]

Fresh apples do increase concentration of some antioxidants in the red blood cells. But not catalase. I can't find any studies showing increased concentration of catalase after a high fruit/veg diet. Also, it's a very long large protein and some people think the body produces more of it when the protein intake is high.

But H202 reduction is probably more important than catalase level per se, and lots of fruits and vegetables will do that.

arugula - Thanks for responding to my post. Your input is appreciated.

yep thankies indeed Arugula

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist