Dhurandhar star Akshaye Khanna doesn't eat breakfast: Shares diet plan, hair loss concerns

As 'Dhurandhar: The Revenge' is smashing all box office records, the audience is in awe of Akshaye Khanna, who played the villain in the movie’s prequel. Durandhar marked the fabulous return of Akshaye, who was once one of the most bankable stars in Bollywood, to the silver screen. Meanwhile, in most interviews, people were curious about the actor's diet secrets, who still looked young and handsome. 

“I don’t eat breakfast. For lunch, I mostly eat rice and dal with a vegetable, fish, chicken or any other non-vegetarian dish. At night, I usually eat roti with one vegetable and a chicken dish. I don’t eat anything at all between lunch and dinner. I might have a sandwich sometimes, and in the evening I just have a cup of tea. On some days, I might drink two cups of tea, but I don’t drink coffee. I don’t change this diet even on shooting days. Moreover, I make sure to sleep for at least ten hours,” Akshaye says. Lychee and bhindi are his favourite fruit and vegetable. Meanwhile, Akshaye prefers having his vegetables cooked rather than munching on salads. He, however, admits that he likes desserts and sweets. 

In a candid chat, Akshaye also opened up about his premature hair loss. He started losing hair when he was only 19 years old. The actor compared the condition to a pianist who loses his fingers. He admitted that he felt mentally upset and lacked confidence when he started losing hair, as physical appearance and beauty play a pivotal role in an actor’s career. 

However, Akshaye was also willing to act in movies like Dil Chahta Hai without wearing a wig. Although there are modern treatments and prosthetic methods to achieve a full head of hair, Akshaye stayed away from them. He added that trying those methods was more a matter of personal preference, and it was alright to have artificial hair. He, meanwhile, appeared as Rehman Dakait in Durandhar wearing a wig. 

Androgenic alopecia
The condition of losing hair before your thirties is called the early onset of androgenic alopecia, or AGA. According to the Cleveland Clinic, in some people, like in Akshaye's case, there will be signs as early as their late teens. In men, it appears as thinning of hair around the temple/vertex and in women, in the centre of the head. Androgenic alopecia is the most common cause of hair loss among men. Generally, this condition begins to appear in the late twenties or early thirties. In those who have it, hair follicles gradually shrink, producing thinner or shorter hairs until hair growth stops completely. 

Is it possible to prevent it?
It is possible to prevent this condition to some extent if you take good care of your scalp and hair as you start to notice hair thinning. Keeping the scalp clean is the most important step. Make sure to wash your scalp and hair after long trips or a busy day out in dust and pollution. Do not hesitate to consult a doctor if you notice thick patches of dandruff with itching and redness. It is better not to try random products you see advertised for your hair or scalp. 

Following a clean diet is also key to maintaining hair health. Hair fall is a common symptom when you are generally unhealthy. There is no need to get stressed about hair fall. Taking a counsellor’s help if you are mentally stressed would be helpful. 

Treatment
Baldness is caused by dihydrotestosterone, a potent androgen, making treatment difficult. In addition to medicines, various modern treatment methods and procedures are available to address this condition. Finasteride is the most commonly prescribed medication for hair loss. This medicine fights dihydrotestosterone and prevents hair loss. However, you may notice only a slight improvement if you take this medicine continuously for at least 3 months. But, gynecomastia or enlargement of breast tissue in men is the most common side effect of prolonged usage of this medicine. Besides, you might also experience loss of sexual desire and depression. 

Minoxidil is a medicine applied topically to the scalp. Usually, two to ten per cent of minoxidil is used for the treatment of hair loss. Minoxidil stimulates hair follicles, reduces hair loss, and boosts hair growth. However, it might also cause side effects like headaches and allergies. Meanwhile, saw palmetto, an herbal medicine extracted from American swamp pine trees, can effectively fight dihydrotestosterone and reduce hair loss. Besides, medicines that contain biotin, cystine, amino acids, green tea extracts, green apple extract, grape seed extract and multivitamins are also used to treat hair loss and baldness. 

Hair transplantation
Hair transplantation is a modern surgical procedure used to treat androgenic alopecia and other types of hair loss by moving hair follicles from one part of your body to areas where hair is thinning. One to four hair follicles are used together for transplantation. In most cases, hair follicles from the back of the head, where hair grows thickly, are removed and then transplanted to areas where hair is thinning. Meanwhile, in skin grafting, a part of the scalp with hair follicles is moved from the donor area to the bald area. It must be noted that both hair transplantation and skin grafting are expensive procedures.