Myth or Fact: Can Green Juice Prevent or Reverse Gray Hair?

The jury is out on whether green juices can prevent–or reduce the appearance of–gray hair. The accepted theory is that the age when your hair begins to gray is primarily determined by genetics, and a study published in Nature Communications[1] has identified the gene that is responsible for gray tresses.  In a nutshell, the gene regulates melanin, which also determines your hair and eye color: if your body produces less melanin, your hair will gray.

On the flip side, some health foods and juicing proponents believe how fast your hair grays is impacted in part by poor nutrition, and a diet made up of too much salt, fat and sugar will leach minerals and keep essential nutrients from reaching your hair. In other words, your hair starves and turns gray.

Ann Wigmore, a sometimes-controversial holistic health advocate[2] and author of The Hippocrates Diet, is credited for popularizing juices made from wheatgrass and raw green veggies, such as kale, arugula and celery. She also encouraged the premise that green juices can prevent aging, reduce wrinkles, and even reverse graying hair. (According to Wigmore, after she added green smoothies to her diet at age 50 her gray hair returned to brown.)

The Bottom Line?

As the old saying goes, “It can’t hurt.”  Eating your veggies is easier when they are added to a juice or smoothie–and nutrition has come a long way since Wigmore urged us to down shots of wheat grass.  Green juices are packed with beneficial vitamins and are a good choice for people on the go. And adding ginger or sweet fruits can make drinking your greens tasty but be careful of the carbs and sugars, which can add up.

Here are two of our favorite green juice recipes from The Farm at San Benito in the Philippines and COMO Shambhala Estate at Begawan Giri in Bali. Whether you drink them to avoid gray locks, or just to add more veggies to your diet, we think you’ll enjoy these healthy and tasty ways of drinking green.

Green Juice from The Farm at San Benito

Serving Size: 1 glass
100g lettuce
300g cucumber
50g sprouts
½ piece green apple
1 stalk of celery
1 cup buko juice (a coconut milk drink)

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a juicer or blender. Blend until smooth.  Strain using a fine strainer, and transfer to an old fashioned glass.

“Body Armor” from COMO Shambhala Estate

9 oz. carrot
3½ oz. celery
7 oz. spinach
2½ oz. parsley
2½ oz. fennel
2½ oz. broccoli

Directions: Blend with a juicer or extractor and enjoy. A blender also works.

[1] Nature Communications, “A genome-wide association scan in admixed Latin Americans identifies loci influencing facial and scalp hair features,” March 1, 2016.

[2] Ann Wigmore, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Wigmore