Tag: tyrosine

Why Redheads are Naturally Hyperactive

On By redfire67In Health, History, red hair1 Comment
erikthered
Eric the Red, the fierce red-haired Viking who discovered Greenland about AD 982. NB: Scan of small illustration.

When redheads are described, usually words of energy come to mind, like fiery, hot-tempered and flaming. Picture Vikings raiding seacoast villages and establishing trade routes throughout Europe. Even the country name, Russia, where Vikings sailed on the Volga River, means ‘to row.’ The Vikings traveled far and wide, from North America to the Mediterranean. Ancient redheads are known to have traveled worldwide, evidenced in the discovery of red-haired mummies found everywhere, including South America and China.

Studies have shown that redheads have a propensity for hyperactivity. An Israeli psychiatrist, Dr Michael Bar, reported that redheaded children are three to four times more likely than others to develop hyperactivity. He said, “it’s possible that the assumed national characteristics of certain ethnic groups, like the adventurousness of the Vikings and the temperament of the Irish, are connected to the high frequency of redheads among them.” Another doctor, a pediatrician who specializes in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, Lendon Smith from Portland, Oregon, theorizes that an amino acid, tyrosine, that regulates pigmentation, is related to this hyperactive behavior. Smith also noted that these children are usually deficient in calcium and magnesium.

marsAstrologers claim there is a connection between the red planet Mars and the fiery nature of people with red hair. Redheads are notorious for their well-known hot-tempered, high strung and sensitive natures. In astrology, if the planet Mars is in your charts, it has the affect of placing fiery, competitive and almost explosive tendencies into your behavior. Research astrologers Judith Hill and Jacalyn Thompson made a discovery in their study of 500 redheads that makes a connection to Mars and redheads.

So if you are a redhead with many interests, ie ‘too many irons in the fire,’ don’t worry, it’s a redhead thing. I, myself, have moved over 30 times from Minnesota to Montana to California.

Sources:

The Redhead Book by Al Sacharov

Edward Snow Astrology News Service “The Volatile Connection Between Redheads and Mars”

The Redhead Book by Al Sacharov

On By redfire67In Culture, Health, red hairLeave a comment

Every redhead should read this book.

“In virtually every culture throughout history,” says Al Sacharov, author of a new manifesto for the scarlet-tressed, “redheads have been recognized as special people.”

“Red hair was associated with adventuresomeness and aggressiveness as far back as 100 B.C. Current studies have linked red hair with everything from hyperactivity and creative genius to alcoholism and depression. As long as there has been human wonder, there has been the suspicion that red hair might be part of the bridge to the supernatural and divine.”

“The soul of redheadedness,” says Sacharov, “is energy. Consider the adjectives commonly linked with hair colors — benevolent gray, tawny brown, sexy blonde. The one word always associated with red is flaming. Nine times out of 10 there’s going to be an electricity and dynamism associated with a mane of blazing red hair.”

“The connection between red hair and a fiery temperament may be more than just an old wives’ tale. An Israeli psychiatrist reported that redheaded children are three to four times more likely than others to develop hyperactivity. He theorized that the assumed national characteristics of certain ethnic groups, like the adventurous Vikings or temperamental Irish, are connected to the high frequency of redheads among them.

“A Portland, Ore., pediatrician, Lendon Smith, is advancing the theory that one cause for hyperactive, high-strung behavior relates to tyrosine–a genetically regulated amino acid that controls pigmentation. In 20 years of practice, Dr. Smith has noticed that nearly 75 percent of the nearly 8,000 children referred to him for hyperactive behavior were fair-complected, with either blond or red hair.”

 

Source: Washington Post interview with Al Sacharov in the 1980’s