Hair-raising dilemma

SIR – I regularly read your features pages and try to adopt the advice offered. However, Monday’s section presented me with a dilemma.

If I want to live longer, as they do in the Italian village of Pioppi, a weekly 24-hour fast is recommended. If I want healthier hair, however, I read that “the energy available to your hair drops four hours after you eat, so … fasting is terrible for it.”

The choice between a long life and a glossy mane? It’s enough to make you tear your hair out. Elizabeth Jones Ashford, Kent