Depressed...losing hair

[jolie8558]

Hi all,

I'm very sorry to post this on Thanksgiving of all days, but I've kind of reached a breaking point. I have been high raw for several months now and went from vegetarian to vegan. My skin looks great, however my hair has started falling out in a massive amount. I've always had thick curly hair so it's quite startling. In addition to the hair loss or maybe in part because of it my depression has gotten much worse. I don't want to take meds, but at this point I don't really know that I have an option. Does anyone have any advice?? Insight??

[Eatrawordie]

That's weird, everyone says when you go raw you become more positive and your mood changes.

Get a good intake of B12. That helped my mum. If you don't want pills then google what foods contain B12. I'm too lazy to do it for you. I think Bananas and Kale are some of them though. Not sure. Google it.

I'm sorry to hear about your depression. I went through it myself. It got to a point where I realised being depressed and worrying about things isn't getting me anywhere and eventually things will get better so I became extremely carefree whilst being wise at the same time.

Btw I'm British so I don't celebrate Thanksgiving (even though I live in the states). So it doesn't bother me :)

You'll be fine (sending electronic hugs your way)

[timsmolens]

No vegetables contain B12, even foods that have it, like spirulina, do not have the human active form.

[Eatrawordie]

No vegetables contain B12, even foods that have it, like spirulina, do not have the human active form.

I got it mixed up with the other B Vitamins. I forget theirs so many numbers for it.

[Anna2010]

Try eating a good amount of seaweeds (such as raw nori) daily for two weeks. I know someone who stopped her hair loss by eating seaweeds daily.

[Raw Angel Mom]

Only if you know the source, don't wash your greens. B12, first start with a bacteria that generate a chemical and then get absorb by the body which in turn transmute into B12. The body will also store B12 for many years. If you have problem of absortion due to muscus or different problem, you won't be able to absorb the B12. Nano-bcomplex by Gabriel Cousens has been tested and is absorbable by the body.

Take also vitamin D supplement. Many factors or deficiency can leads to hair lost, you can research it easily.

If your moon isn't good, this is a definite sign of low vitamin D.

Doing raw food and especially life food such leafy greens or juicing will restore the balance of your body and even aid to repair your absortion problem if any.

I am not a doctor, please research

[christineg62]

Have you had your thyroid checked? Also you could be low in iodine. As for the depression take Vitamin D, I would get my levels checked to see where they are. I love a product from Standard Process called Min-Chex you can get it at a Health food store. It helps me with my depression. :)

[DawnD]

Vitamine D and B12 can definately be suspect here. I am struggling with mild symptoms of low estrogen so I have been researching how to deal with that naturally (pre-menopausal). Hair loss and depression can be symptoms of that too. You may want to rule that out as a possibility. My hair dresser said that any time you make changes to your diet you may experience hair loss. I have had so much hair in the drain and on the floor that it is maddening.

[January Noir]

Are you anemic? Get your iron levels checked. Low iron can cause massive shedding and thinning. This has happened to a lot of people I know and they were eating "healthy" but had malabsorption issues and didn't know it.

[RoseGreen]

Are you getting enough fat? A LOT of people avoid fat at all costs, even on raw, which they think will help them release weight faster but is actually detrimental in many ways. Hair loss is just one of the most obvious physical signs.

Not getting enough fat in your diet impairs your ability to process and utilise fat-soluble vitamins like D, A, K, and E. You need D in particular to help manage depression and circadian rhythms, as evidenced by populations who live above certain lattitudes and experience higher incidence of S.A.D. and seasonal depression than more southerly populations. They don't get enough natural exposure to sunlight to convert vitamin D on their own. Vitamin D also has myriad other health benefits, and you should take the time to do some research!

But without fats available to process these vitamins, you are somewhat out of luck. There are many newer studies that conclude certain fats (medium-chain triglycerides and MUFAs in particular) are actually beneficial in helping you release body and omental fat. It sort of goes along with the basic chemistry principal of 'like dissolves like'. They also help maintain good blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels; they lower LDL (bad) an raise HDL (good).

Fat also increases satiety and takes longer to digest than carbs, providing longer stores of energy.

Keep in mind: Eat just enough of the beneficial fats and avoid the bad ones. AND:Too much fat is a bad thing, but so is not enough!

[rawmiss]

Crash dieting (of any type not just raw) will cause temporary hair loss. This link has a lot of info on that:

http://www.hairboutique.com/tips/tip943.htm

[DawnD]

Are you anemic? Get your iron levels checked. Low iron can cause massive shedding and thinning. This has happened to a lot of people I know and they were eating "healthy" but had malabsorption issues and didn't know it.

I had my iron checked in April and was low (2.5 points) then. I had it rechecked in Oct and I am still low (.4 points). My Gyno asked me to supplement for 6 weeks and I will retest in mid December. I am taking a whole food iron supplement and Sport suggested that I add citrus to my green smoothies to help absorption.

Great suggestions on this thread.

Jolie I hope all this helps you narrow down your search for answers.

[keke]

Are you losing weight? When we lose weight, our scalps shrink.

[freespirit]

I agree with Rosegreen. hair loss and especially depression can be alleviated from an intake of more fats. you should focus on fruity fats too. avocados, durian, olives. an avocado a day would probably make a significant difference in your mood. Hope this helps:D

[Mikey_H]

Kombucha tea and Nutritional Yeast are good sources of B12!
Try adding gojis, spirulina, maca root, cacao bean, or other nutrient-dense foods from your local natural foods store.
Fatty foods and even adding in some organic/sustainable animal products back into your diet can do wonders, I've seen it in a lot of people. Don't be afraid to add animal or cooked products into your diet if you are losing hair there is definitely something wrong and you are deficient in something your body is having trouble acquiring or absorbing from your current diet. Set your own standards... hope all goes well!

[Moe2Love]

@jolie you can get vitamin D from the sun, and using pills for vitamin B12 is probably best, or you can juice wheatgrass and get your b12 there


@Mak_bots I think improving the pigs diet would help quite a bit. I found the perfect article for ya :) : http://www.bestfriends.org/theanimals/pdfs/pigs/Pig_Diet.pdf