Danger of Becoming Bald - Hair Removing

[Riansa]

What food is preferred when you are losing your hair and your scalp is getting visible little bit?

I am 23 boy and losing hair regularly and little upset about it. What food would you prefer for eating or any other suggestions will be greatly accepted.

[Arky]

You may be experiencing male pattern baldness, in which case there's not much one can do to halt it.

However, it is possible that you might, perhaps, have dietary deficiencies leading to hair loss. I don't know you so I have no way of knowing. Iron deficiency can affect hair growth. Iodine deficiency can affect thyroid health, with a knock-on effect upon hair growth. Insufficient specific saturated fats can also sometimes be a factor, as can protein deficiency. There are many other dietary deficiencies that can influence hair growth and hair loss, too.

How long have you been on a rawfood diet?

Are you fruitarian? 80/10/10?

[Vrindavan]

lots of reasons for losing hair.

[Arky]

lots of reasons for losing hair.

Yes, agreed.

If it's not male pattern baldness, there may be other symptoms (not necessarily dietary-related), but Riansa hasn't mentioned any other symptoms. I have noticed quite a few posts here on RFT, over the years (even from women) relating to hair loss but which has resolved after a while. I don't think that's just a coincidence. Search the forum archives and you'll see what I mean.

[michigan roman]

ive a hypothosis alot of problems caused by the scalp pores becoming clogged because of too much cooked fooded in diet

a whole bunch of the heated un nutricious foods have to be evacuated from body through skin or become toxic disease causing
pollution . when this internal pollution builds up to great levels in scalp it cuts off circulation to hair folicles causing them to weaken and fall out . so along with improving diet to higher levels of raw ide use barber shears to shear hair short as possible every week so that i could every day dry brush scalp to remove pore clogging substances from scalp . ide also dip scalp in bucket of warm water with something to open pores in effort to help flush out more pore clogging pollution . alot of things open up pores , but im not knowledgable enough on the hair / scalp issue to suggest what ide use . but thankfully your here arky as ive zero doubt youll have a solid suggestion on what to use

one idea i can throw out there is maybe the herb sage for a scalp soak as from reading herbals over the years ive seen it many a time claimed to help hair growth

[Arky]

ive a hypothosis alot of problems caused by the scalp pores becoming clogged because of too much cooked fooded in diet

a whole bunch of the heated un nutricious foods have to be evacuated from body through skin or become toxic disease causing
pollution . when this internal pollution builds up to great levels in scalp it cuts off circulation to hair folicles causing them to weaken and fall out .


I totally agree with you, Roman. Heated polyunsaturated fats are a good example of this - they promote the synthesis of pro-inflammatory prostaglandins and inflammation, on a longterm basis, is deleterious to many aspects of human physiological functioning, the hair follicles being no exception.

Ironically, excessive polyunsaturated oils can also disrupt thyroid function, and all of us know that thyroid function is linked to hair growth.


The sage soak sounds nice - I read somewhere (might have been in one of Mikhail Tombak's books, but I'm not certain) that thyme may be used similarly. Actually, Tombak is one of many traditional practitioners who also advocates the use of cayenne tincture for the scalp, to stimulate blood flow.

There's a current news article, on a forthcoming lotion for treating baldness, doing the rounds in the world media:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9485807/Baldness-cure-could-be-on-shelves-in-two-years.html

Whilst I am not a fan of synthetic remedies for ailments (minoxidil, for example; one of the biggest-selling mainstream hair remedies in the world, has many undesirable side-effects - e.g.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoxidil ), it is interesting that this new remedy (not the minoxidil) pertains to blocking the activity of a prostaglandin they have termed 'PGD2', a prostaglandin they also note may be involved in asthma.

Without wishing to actually involve it in this discussion, per se, I will just note that, during my research on the heavy metals side of things, I learned of the way that certain toxins can stress the immune system so greatly that instead of a healthy cell-mediated immune response, this may lead to the immune system responding with an altogether less ideal systemic inflammatory response. There is good reason to suspect that conditions such as asthma may relate to certain toxins altering immune response and/or interfering with lipid membranes in the lung alveoli. But I digress... I merely mentioned meant to point out that there are many ways in which systemic inflammation can be undesirably promoted within the human body, and there are many ways in which systemic inflammation can exert negative effects upon the various cells, tissues and organs of the body.

Going back to minoxidil for a second, it's interesting to note that it is an anti-hypertensive vasodilator compound. Well, guess what cayenne is? That's one in the eye for the doubters of naturopathic medicine!

It is absolutely critical to appreciate that alopecia takes many different forms, with many different underlying causes. Therefore, in order to have any hope of success, one should ideally be at least considering if one has had any toxic exposure which may be undermining basic physiological processes (e.g. leading to a systemic pro-inflammatory immune response), and should also be checking for nutritional deficiencies (a raw vegan diet is not automatically a nutritionally-complete diet, healthy though it may be in many aspects). Going back to the toxic heavy metals for just a second, I mentioned elsewhere on RFT, recently (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?70823-I-still-have-diarrhea-2-months-into-raw-foods...help&p=708027#post708027), that I have experienced insensitivity to tyramine, brought on by metal toxicity disabling the necessary detoxification enzyme pathway within the liver. An interesting thing about tyramine (and a major reason why tyramine-sensitivity is implicated in many migraine headache sufferers) is that is has a vaso-constrictive effect. I wonder if there may be a statistically-significant relationship between tyramine and hair loss (not in all people experiencing hair loss, but in a statistically-significant proportion of those who've experienced hair loss. Remember, certain toxins can disable detoxification enzyme pathways in the liver, and this can lead to tyramine sensitivity, but those same kinds of toxins can alsolead to the very kinds of systemic inflammatory response I've been describing. Therefore, I'm only using heavy metals as one example of many possible toxin types that can disrupt healthy function of the immune system and of the body as a whole. Remember, hair loss is just a symptom of one or more underlying physiological processes. In approaching hair loss with a view to treating it, therefore, one need to be logical about it, and follow a step-by-step process of elimination of possible causes.

So, that would include (but not be limited to) checking:

* The diet (and the body itself!) for nutritional deficiencies (insufficient protein, incomplete profile of fats, iron, iodine, minerals, B-vitamins etc.)

* Endocrine function

* Possible systemic or localised infections (dental infections can lead to systemic effects, via the bloodstream, causing systemic inflammation and damage to the vascular system, for example)

* Possible Toxic exposure

* Blood markers for systemic inflammation

* Consider any other symptoms, both current and for the preceding few years (don't underestimate how vital this is - it can provide huge clues about possible underlying physiological processes which may link-up with the hair loss)

* Gut dysbiosis or gut parasites - either/both of these can lead to an otherwise-nutritious diet not fully nourishing the patient's body, because parasites can consume nutrients before the patient has the chance, and gut dysbiosis means that health-promoting microbes which normally would be synthesizing many beneficial compounds for the patient (e.g. B-vitamins) are not going to be able to do this effectively. Gut dysbiosis can also lead to gut inflammation, which can itself reduce the absorptive capability of the gut lining, again contributing to nutritional deficiencies, and longterm gut inflammation can also lead to the inflammatory response affecting the immune system as a whole and there you have it again - systemic inflammation. Furthermore, keep in mind that gut inflammation can occur not only due to dysbiosis but also due to food sensitivities - such food sensitivities may arise if one or more detoxification enzyme pathways in the liver have been incapacitated, and such incapacitation can, as I discussed earlier, arise from exposure to toxins such as PCBs, heavy metals etc. etc. (see how various symptoms can actually have common links, even though they may seem unconnected to the casual observer including oneself?)

* Genetic factors - does hair loss run in the family? (making sure to account for similarities in diet for eahc of the family members who've experienced hair loss, since similar diet can be a confounding variable and is all too often ignored in genetic studies).

In parallel with the above investigations, there seems good reason to consider the use of natural vasodilators on a topical basis, but also, perhaps, and provided one is tolerant of them, internally (e.g. eating chilli peppers and other natural vasodilatory compounds). Furthermore, one may logically consider perhaps consuming plenty of natural anti-inflammatory compounds, and thankfully, this is one area of a raw vegan diet which is generally automatically taken care of - e.g. lots of leafy greens. Turmeric and ginger, along with many culinary herbs, are others, of course.

Anyway, I need to go shopping, so I'll leave it at that. Food for thought... ;-)

And if all else fails, read this and rejoice!:


http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/bald-men-manly-dominant-seen-as-shaved-head.html

[Mary Kay]

ZINC!!! Eat foods high in zinc. Soaked and sprouted pumpkin seeds.....and look up more.

Also try taking ionic minerals including zinc.

Mary Kay

[Riansa]

thanks to all you guys! So, what I understand is to eat more fruits and Iron products.

which are the products that have Iron ?? and others?

[Arky]

ive a hypothosis alot of problems caused by the scalp pores becoming clogged because of too much cooked fooded in diet

a whole bunch of the heated un nutricious foods have to be evacuated from body through skin or become toxic disease causing
pollution . when this internal pollution builds up to great levels in scalp it cuts off circulation to hair folicles causing them to weaken and fall out .


I totally agree with you, Roman. Heated polyunsaturated fats are a good example of this - they promote the synthesis of pro-inflammatory prostaglandins and inflammation, on a longterm basis, is deleterious to many aspects of human physiological functioning, the hair follicles being no exception.

Ironically, excessive polyunsaturated oils can also disrupt thyroid function, and all of us know that thyroid function is linked to hair growth.


The sage soak sounds nice - I read somewhere (might have been in one of Mikhail Tombak's books, but I'm not certain) that thyme may be used similarly. Actually, Tombak is one of many traditional practitioners who also advocates the use of cayenne tincture for the scalp, to stimulate blood flow.

There's a current news article, on a forthcoming lotion for treating baldness, doing the rounds in the world media:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9485807/Baldness-cure-could-be-on-shelves-in-two-years.html

Whilst I am not a fan of synthetic remedies for ailments (minoxidil, for example; one of the biggest-selling mainstream hair remedies in the world, has many undesirable side-effects - e.g.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoxidil ), it is interesting that this new remedy (not the minoxidil) pertains to blocking the activity of a prostaglandin they have termed 'PGD2', a prostaglandin they also note may be involved in asthma.

Without wishing to actually involve it in this discussion, per se, I will just note that, during my research on the heavy metals side of things, I learned of the way that certain toxins can stress the immune system so greatly that instead of a healthy cell-mediated immune response, this may lead to the immune system responding with an altogether less ideal systemic inflammatory response. There is good reason to suspect that conditions such as asthma may relate to certain toxins altering immune response and/or interfering with lipid membranes in the lung alveoli. But I digress... I merely mentioned meant to point out that there are many ways in which systemic inflammation can be undesirably promoted within the human body, and there are many ways in which systemic inflammation can exert negative effects upon the various cells, tissues and organs of the body.

Going back to minoxidil for a second, it's interesting to note that it is an anti-hypertensive vasodilator compound. Well, guess what cayenne is? That's one in the eye for the doubters of naturopathic medicine!

It is absolutely critical to appreciate that alopecia takes many different forms, with many different underlying causes. Therefore, in order to have any hope of success, one should ideally be at least considering if one has had any toxic exposure which may be undermining basic physiological processes (e.g. leading to a systemic pro-inflammatory immune response), and should also be checking for nutritional deficiencies (a raw vegan diet is not automatically a nutritionally-complete diet, healthy though it may be in many aspects). Going back to the toxic heavy metals for just a second, I mentioned elsewhere on RFT, recently (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?70823-I-still-have-diarrhea-2-months-into-raw-foods...help&p=708027#post708027), that I have experienced insensitivity to tyramine, brought on by metal toxicity disabling the necessary detoxification enzyme pathway within the liver. An interesting thing about tyramine (and a major reason why tyramine-sensitivity is implicated in many migraine headache sufferers) is that is has a vaso-constrictive effect. I wonder if there may be a statistically-significant relationship between tyramine and hair loss (not in all people experiencing hair loss, but in a statistically-significant proportion of those who've experienced hair loss. Remember, certain toxins can disable detoxification enzyme pathways in the liver, and this can lead to tyramine sensitivity, but those same kinds of toxins can alsolead to the very kinds of systemic inflammatory response I've been describing. Therefore, I'm only using heavy metals as one example of many possible toxin types that can disrupt healthy function of the immune system and of the body as a whole. Remember, hair loss is just a symptom of one or more underlying physiological processes. In approaching hair loss with a view to treating it, therefore, one need to be logical about it, and follow a step-by-step process of elimination of possible causes.

[Arky]

So, that would include (but not be limited to) checking:

* The diet (and the body itself!) for nutritional deficiencies (insufficient protein, incomplete profile of fats, iron, iodine, minerals, B-vitamins etc.)

* Endocrine function

* Possible systemic or localised infections (dental infections can lead to systemic effects, via the bloodstream, causing systemic inflammation and damage to the vascular system, for example)

* Possible Toxic exposure

* Blood markers for systemic inflammation

* Consider any other symptoms, both current and for the preceding few years (don't underestimate how vital this is - it can provide huge clues about possible underlying physiological processes which may link-up with the hair loss)

* Gut dysbiosis or gut parasites - either/both of these can lead to an otherwise-nutritious diet not fully nourishing the patient's body, because parasites can consume nutrients before the patient has the chance, and gut dysbiosis means that health-promoting microbes which normally would be synthesizing many beneficial compounds for the patient (e.g. B-vitamins) are not going to be able to do this effectively. Gut dysbiosis can also lead to gut inflammation, which can itself reduce the absorptive capability of the gut lining, again contributing to nutritional deficiencies, and longterm gut inflammation can also lead to the inflammatory response affecting the immune system as a whole and there you have it again - systemic inflammation. Furthermore, keep in mind that gut inflammation can occur not only due to dysbiosis but also due to food sensitivities - such food sensitivities may arise if one or more detoxification enzyme pathways in the liver have been incapacitated, and such incapacitation can, as I discussed earlier, arise from exposure to toxins such as PCBs, heavy metals etc. etc. (see how various symptoms can actually have common links, even though they may seem unconnected to the casual observer including oneself?)

* Genetic factors - does hair loss run in the family? (making sure to account for similarities in diet for each of the family members who've experienced hair loss, since similar diet can be a confounding variable and is all too often ignored in genetic studies).

In parallel with the above investigations, there seems good reason to consider the use of natural vasodilators on a topical basis, but also, perhaps, and provided one is tolerant of them, internally (e.g. eating chilli peppers and other natural vasodilatory compounds). Furthermore, one may logically consider perhaps consuming plenty of natural anti-inflammatory compounds, and thankfully, this is one area of a raw vegan diet which is generally automatically taken care of - e.g. lots of leafy greens. Turmeric and ginger, along with many culinary herbs, are others, of course.

Also, consider maca, as a way to support the endocrine system (of which the thyroid is a component):

Another thread that partly discusses issues about hair growth is here:
http://tinyurl.com/8mevcsz

(please ignore the unfortunate thread title - if you read the thread, you'll soon see it isn't rude at all)


Anyway, I need to go shopping, so I'll leave it at that. Food for thought... ;-)

And if all else fails, read this and rejoice!:


http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/bald-men-manly-dominant-seen-as-shaved-head.html

[Arky]

thanks to all you guys! So, what I understand is to eat more fruits and Iron products.

which are the products that have Iron ?? and others?





Where did you get the idea that we're recommending you eat more fruit..? Not much protein, sulphur or iron in fruits (broadly-speaking).

Dark leafy greens are far more nutritious.

And remember, until you've done a little more research on other possible symptoms you may also be experiencing, you're not necessarily going to know what the underlying cause for your hairloss actually is, so nutrition is only one possible approach, which may not be the most relevant issue if there's some other health reason causing the hairloss.

[Riansa]

Well, I am really thankfull for your kind information man!

I think I have no physical problem apparently and no problem in the past. So, I think that consuming better food can help me a lot. Greenish items are good suggestions I think.

What included in Dark leafy greens?? I think spinach types?? and name the others

[MysticTree]

Anything with dark green leaves that you can eat counts as dark green and leafy. Kale is a good one but there are lots of others.

[Arky]

Well, I am really thankfull for your kind information man!

I think I have no physical problem apparently and no problem in the past. So, I think that consuming better food can help me a lot. Greenish items are good suggestions I think.

What included in Dark leafy greens?? I think spinach types?? and name the others

A tasty way to get greens into your diet is to make home-made sauerkraut (let me know if you need details on how to make it, but it's very simple).

The thing about sauerkraut is that it promotes healthy microbial ecology in the bowel and this benefits health in many ways, but of particular interest to you would be the fact that, in a bowel with healthy microbial ecology, many of the microbes synthesize (produce) valuable organic acids and B-vitamins. As you may know, B-vitamins are important for good hair growth. Furthermore, healthy microbes aid in the digestion of food and can thus make certain nutrients in your diet more available for absorption through the duodenum and bowel walls. If you add a little seaweed (e.g. Dulse) to the fermenting sauerkraut, then you will further supercharge it's hair-nutritive value because it'll add vital trace minerals and some iodine to support thyroid function.

Sauerkraut is, of course, rich in silicon and sulphur, both of which are very valuable nutrients for hair growth.

Actually, a useful way of visualising this is to imagine the hair as grass, and the bowel as a pot within which the hair grows. The pot requires nutritious 'soil' (food) and healthy microbial ecology (just like real soil requires healthy microbial ecology) in order to nourish the grass (hair) effectively.