I am experiencing increasing amoungs of hair loss, itchy skin, and prolonged healing of some skin areas. An internet search revealed that this is a deficency of linoleic acid usually found in red meat, milk and cheese. Since I am not including these in my diet, I am not surprised. Suggestions include taking CLA (conjugated Linoleic Acid 500-1000 mg day), Evening Primrose Oil or a TB of olive oil. Since I don't usually eat salads, I think the olive oil might be hard to incorporate, short of just drinking it which doesn't sound too appealing.

Does anyone have experience with either of the other two supplements?
Any suggestions or recommendations?

Thanks.

on valeries blog (the green smoothie experiment[greensmoothieexperiment.blogspot.com]) she found that the green smoothes were causing her hair to grow back in with new color and thickness .. perhaps you can try this

i was losing alot of hair at one point too and for whatever reason im not sure it just stopped so .. lol i cant really give any idea as to why as i cant really remember what was happening going on ... i do recall reducing my stress alot at the time so that may have had something to do with it

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/24/2007 04:26PM by Jgunn.

I am having a green smoothie every day, 2 bananas, 1 c kale, 1 c spinach, plus 1 TB of super green stuff that I add which is equivalent to 24 servings of veggies. I am not stressed. I have had hair loss in the past but when I started taking a daily vitamen / mineral supplement, it stopped. Now it is back. Since I also have the skin healing problem I think it is a deficiency associated with diet.

I should also mention that I have flax almost every day, either ground over my fruit or in flax seed crackers. Since flax is full of omegas, I thought it would take care of the problem, but it hasn't.

I dont know about lineolic acid, but are you sure you aren't just cleansing? I had that for awhile, but it has stopped now.


People panic about nutrients when they go raw. I've been on this board about 8 months and have read about their problems and thought about my own. It takes awhile to realize that the info on diets are based on an entire world of cooked food eaters and there is no info on raw food diet needs.


Try adding a significant amount of parsley to your diet and see if your hair improves after a week or so.

you could put the oil into your smoothies then no? ..that way you dont have to do salads if you dont want too

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

I have been reading about bee pollen lately. You know with what you are eating I can't see why you are having the hair loss but it is a sighn of some nurtients you need, and you know that. I have been reading so much lately but I think in monarks book had something abuot hair loss. I will have to find the book and scan over it to find out what he said about it. I have been drinking juices lately because I feel there is no way I can eat a pound of carrots a day. The juice helps to get loads of nutrition in your system quickly. and there are many things about hair loss in most juice books. How are your finger nails?
After I look at my books I will get back at you with what I have read
Pam

Thanks Pam. I'd like to hear what your books have to say. Before I was raw, I used to eat a lot of cheese, so that probably took care of it. My nails are a tad on the soft side too. The hair loss REALLY bothers me. I've been noticing it increasing now for about 3 weeks when I would wash my hair and this week has been the worst. I can feel it falling out on my neck and I'll sweep my hand through my hair and have a handful of it. I've been raw just 1 week short of 3 months now. Even though I'm not a big fan of supplements, I feel as though I should address this. I'm leaning toward the evening primrose oil, at least for now, since it seems to more on the natural side of things, but I still want to do more research and try and get some feedback from others.

In David Wolfe's book Eating for beauty he recommends MSM powder for hair and skin. He also says hemp seed is very helpful because it is a high source of gamma-linoleic fatty acids.

my hair is falling out too, very suddenly. I am making sure not to restrict until it stops. I had been eating a balanced variety of veg-s and fruits, but when I started leaning toward mostly fruit, that's when it started coming out. the suggestions on this board are interesting--I think I'll try the CLA. I already take a multi and have been gorging on carrots (not unpleasant, since carrots are top five for me!)

measure twice, cut once.

"In Watermelon Sugar the deeds were done and done again as my life is done in watermelon sugar." ~r.brautigan

I make paintings

Mosaica...I am already taking an MSM supplement for joint pain, so I don't think that is it and on many days I add hemp to my smoothies...but not everyday, so I'll look at increasing the hemp in my diet.

Islandgirl, I did a search on female hair loss and nutrition.

It looks to be a temporary thing, the hair follicles do not die, so I'd be hopeful that this will stop.

Here's a quote I found that might be helpful...

"Non-hereditary hair loss occurs mostly in women and is predominately caused by hormonal disorders (pregnancy, menopause) by uncommonly stressful situations and overtiredness by “crazy” unhealthy diet or malnutrition (low vitamin, protein and trace mineral intake) by mechanical damage (repeated shampooing with “tough” shampoos, blow drying, excessive combing, hair bands) or chemical damage (hair coloring hair perms). Other factors that intensify the condition are the excessive sebum secretion, the intense dehydration of the scalp, UV radiation, pollution and environmental conditions (drought, wind). Finally there are cases of hair loss that are directly related to numerous conditions and the use of specific drugs. These cases are referred to as pathogenic hair loss and need the medical assist of a dermatologist.

Nutrition: Proper hair nourishment and invigoration

Your daily diet affects the healthy form and the quality of your hair. The every day intake of nutrients that are implicated in the appropriate growth of the hair is requirement that must be met through our regular diet.

One of the key factors of hair loss is a diet rich in fat. The combination of a diet low in fat and the intake of food rich in protein (lecithin, wheat germ oil, brewer’s yeast), amino acids that are involved in the formation of hair’s keratin, minerals and trace elements that are involved in the development of hair (silica, zinc)."


There was another study that mentioned an iron deficiency, so you might look into that also.

I drink Udo's choice 3-6-9 and eat alot of RAW sesame seeds. Also look into [www.morroccomethod.com]

This really helped my hair loss.

[www.youtube.com]

Thanks everyone!

OMG that dog is so cute lol !

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Thanks Jodi,

He past away this August 7 but lives on in my heart

[www.youtube.com]

Only two weeks ago.....I'm sorry for you, flex4life, that's a real loss.

Perhaps you aren't taking in enough calories. I know that when I was in college and very stressed and not eating enough my hair was falling out by the handfuls in the shower. Only I have ridiculously thick hair so I never worried about it. Eventually I finished school and had more time to eat and breath...lol. My hair stopped falling out.

Hair loss can also be a sign of protein deficiency. How many grams of protein are you getting (at what % of your intake) each day?

Here's a link for cell salts, aka tissue salts, aka Schlessler salts:


[www.naturalhealthtechniques.com]


Silica, the last one of the 12, is supposed to help hair loss. I know there are endless supplements and remedies out there and you're not likely to try this, but I have to pass on what works for me, just in case someone else benefits too.