In this two-part series on gray hair, I will go through why hair turns gray.

What's the role of genetics and what we can do about it?

The graying of hair is one of the most obvious signs of aging.

It's also known by a technical term that I'd never heard of, Canities.

The first time I saw the word I misread it, wondering what gray hair had to do with dentistry.

Evidently, gray hair isn't really white, but the pale yellowish tinge of the constitutive

keratin protein, but like polar bears, it just looks white, by the way, light reflects

off of it.

Why is hair pigmented in the first place?

Some suggest it may be for detoxification, natural toxins like heavy metals bind to the pigment

melanin to be extreated from the body through hair outgrowth.

That's why you can estimate the amount of fish consumption from the mercury content of children's

hair clippings.

Why analysis of hair mercury may be warranted before pregnancy

in women who eat a lot of fish, and why the levels of mercury in the hair of those eating

plant-based diets were found to be up to ten times lower than those who just occasionally

ate fish.

Within three months of switching to a plant-based diet, the levels of

mercury, lead, and cadmium growing out in your hair appeared to drop significantly,

but builds back up when meat and eggs are added back into the diet. Enough with the science

trivia, what causes our hair to turn gray and what can we do about it?

In medical school, you learn about the so-called 50-50-50-50 rule.

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