My wife has been struggling with hair falling out. Her hair is everywhere. Neither of us are all raw, but moving in the raw foods direction. But do any of you have experience with hair falling out and what to do about it?

has she had her blood work done and if so what was her thyroid panel like.

Hypo and hyperthyroidism is one of hte main causes of hair loss.

Any other symptoms other than the hair.

Change in diet sometimes causes hair loss but it's temporary.

Otherwise, probably stress, lack of sleep?

dns Wrote:
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> My wife has been struggling with hair falling out.
> Her hair is everywhere.
Has she been on a High Fruit diet? Fermenting sugar creates
an acid condition in the body. If so, balance the pH with more Greens....WY

im still dont believe this acid/akaline, all disease is caused by acidic theory.

your body keeps a narrow PH and this was the case 90% of the populations eat very little akaline foods and would be suffering from acidosis. Acidiosis is pretty rare.

i see people taking weird "alkalizing" concoctions with hydroxides mainly magnesium or calcium. Alkalizing your intestinal tract in this manner, sets you up for malabsortion of proteins and various other vits and minerals. Along with allowing candida to mutate from its yeast form to its overgrowth fungal form which is usually kept in check by the acids your good bacteria secrete.

This can be a detox symptom when first going raw. There have been posts by people who lost some hair when transitioning, but over time, their hair grew back thicker and healthier than before the hair loss. I didn't notice a lot of hair loss myself during my transition, but my hair was getting thin 10 years before I went raw. Now my hair is very healthy.

Stress can cause hair loss.

Fat Hair or Tight Jeans - Crash Dieting & Telogen Effluvium

It is a proven scientific fact that a diet that weighs in at less than 1,200 calories a day can trigger sudden hair loss known as "Telogen effluvium".
[www.hairboutique.com]

Thanks for all the help. She is waivering in her diet and does experience more stress than I do. I do know that she is not getting the greens she needs. Thanks.

if stress is a problem let her know about adapotgen herbs which increase the bodys resistance to stress whether physical(blood pressure, infection etc) or mental stress.

ashwagandha would be a good idea as it intesifys GABA to give an anti-anxiety/stress reducing effect but also supports thyroid function. They all balance hormones also.

zinc. every time my hair falls out it's zinc. I really need to keep an eye on my intake otherwise it slips to negligible levels. ask her to keep track on fitday for a week or so and then cross reference the deficiencies with hair loss and you should come up with something. other than that, my hair sometimes falls out when I have a bad allergic reaction (shampoo, conditioner, food etc).

Badawie, I am just curious to know what form of zinc you take. I heard that ionic zinc (liquid) is the most absorbable. They say that the vast majority of men don't get enough of this mineral in their diet. I guess women are also affected but somewhat less.

the best for zinc is Zinc gluconate, zinc picolinate or zinc citrate.

Just found this. let us know how your wife is doing. [www.veganhealth.org] The author of the article is Jack Norris, RD of veganhealth.org

"Hair Loss
Hair loss among women is not an unusual problem. In one study, 34% of women from Japan, the USA, and the UK reported increased hair loss compared to 5 years earlier. The reasons for hair loss are complicated and can vary from person to person. Thus, it is important to see a doctor who can diagnose the specific problem.

In some cases, hair loss can be diet-related. Hair loss sometimes occurs in rapid weight loss. In one study, hair grew back within a few months after weight loss. In other cases, there are less obvious nutritional reasons for hair loss.

In researching this question, I found a comprehensive review article by hair loss expert, Dr. D. H. Rushton of the University of Portsmouth in the UK (Clinical and Experimental Dermatology 2002;27:396-404). A summary of the article is as follows.

Hair loss can be divided into two categories: Hair loss with skin shedding (also called "scaling" and hair loss without skin shedding. Hair loss with skin shedding is likely related to a skin disorder. In some cases, supplementation with the vitamin biotin (1 - 2 mg for 2 months) has helped. Essential fatty acids (omega 3s and/or omega 6s) might also help in hair loss caused by skin conditions.

There is a lack of objective data about hair loss without skin shedding. At one time, there was a widespread belief that zinc deficiency is a common cause. However, zinc supplementation has not been shown to improve hair loss, even when a deficiency is suspected. One area that seems clear is that iron deficiency (a low serum ferritin without anemia) is linked to hair loss in women. In one study, 72% of women with low iron stores (a serum ferritin less than 40 mcg/l) had reduced hair density.

The amino acid L-lysine plays a part in the absorption of iron and zinc. Among plant foods, L-lysine is only found in high amounts in legumes, and a vegan who doesn't eat many legumes could find themselves falling short on lysine. In some women, iron supplementation does not lead to an increase in iron stores. But in one study, adding L-lysine (at 1.5 - 2 g/day for 6 months) to iron supplementation in such women did increase iron stores and decreased hair loss by one half.

Dr. Rushton noted the following odds and ends:

In a multivitamin, if the level of zinc is equal to the level of iron, then iron uptake is significantly decreased. A ratio of 3 to 1, iron to zinc, is desirable to prevent competitive interference.
Excessive vitamin E supplementation (for example, 600 IU per day for 1 month) can adversely affect hair growth. In patients with hair loss who show high levels of folic acid (also known as folate), excessive folic acid supplementation should probably be discontinued.
Reducing the frequency of shampooing does not help preserve hair and can increase the fear of hair loss because a higher amount of hair will be lost all at once when it is washed."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/2010 02:40PM by pborst.