• sabreW4K3@lazysoci.alOP
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      1 day ago

      Thanks for sharing. The fact that science is still delving into this and discovering new information is fascinating in itself. I remember reading a stat, pointing out that capitalism puts more money into researching male pattern baldness than into life-threatening diseases like malaria.

      Down to the nitty-gritty, you’re essentially making the point that gut health is a major factor, with the microbiome playing a significant role in immune and inflammatory responses.

      I don’t disagree with this at all, you’ve clearly presented the evidence that supports it. However, genetics are still foundational when it comes to baldness, and there are mountains of evidence to support this. The microbiome might act as the environmental trigger that dictates how and when those genes are expressed, but the underlying genetic predisposition, especially for androgenetic alopecia (pattern baldness), still has to exist in the first place.

      Think of it like getting visible abs. You can do all the core exercises and drop your body fat, but your genetics ultimately dictate how your body stores fat and the actual shape of your abdominal muscles. If your genetics don’t favour it, it takes a significantly harder environmental effort (strict diet and training) to overcome that hurdle and get them to display.

      Basically, genetics provide the foundational blueprint, and gut health acts as the environmental factor. It’s definitely more nuanced than just saying “baldness is genetic”, but it’s fundamentally not wrong to state that it’s genetic.