Evidence of your diet can be found in your hair, according to a new study
You are what you eat, so the saying goes. But few people would suspect that dietary choices are reflected, inch by inch, in the hair growing on your head.
This type of hair analysis could be a useful tool to assess a community's dietary patterns and health risks, the researchers said. Diets rich in protein, as opposed to plant-based ones, were associated with a greater risk of health problems like heart disease, the study said, citing existing research.
The analysis also suggested that the proportion of animal protein that people ate was higher in ZIP codes with a lower socioeconomic status, There was even an association between the cost of a haircut and the carbon isotopes in hair -- with cheaper haircuts in areas where people had a higher proportion of corn-fed protein in their diet.
Ehleringer has also developed a similar type of hair analysis to trace where a person has been, as a result of the isotopes in the water they drink, with the oxygen and hydrogen isotope ratios in water varying according to geography. It's aThe new study was based on hair from 684 people. The sample size, Ehleringer said, was sufficient to suggest that there is a pattern and more in-depth studies are warranted.
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