Hair loss

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Hair loss

Postby Angie23 » Fri May 08, 2015 8:49 am

Hello everyone,
I'm new in the forum and I'm trying to do the Maximun Weight Loss Program and I would say is going good even tough sometimes I don't know if I'm eating too much or not enough ...
Anyway I have a problem, I've always loss a lot of hair(during shower especially) but lately I've loss A LOT. I'm a vegan since 3 months and it hasn't been that much... I'm a little bit worried, any advice?
Thank you very much and I love this community!!
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Re: Hair loss

Postby xkitten » Fri May 08, 2015 3:38 pm

I'm not sure if this applies to you.. but when I first became vegan, I wasn't eating enough calories. I was pretty much eating salads for every meal with some fruit as a snack. Because I was eating so many veggies and not enough starch (or even fruit, really), my daily calories were very, very low.. On top of that, I would exercise 3-5x a week.. and my hair was falling out by the fist full. It was terrifying.

Since embracing this WOE and increasing starches, my hair loss has slowed significantly.

Again, I'm not sure if this applies to you. Could you write down what you eat in a day so we can see if it could be related to not eating enough?

Hope you figure it out soon!
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Re: Hair loss

Postby Angie23 » Sat May 09, 2015 7:35 am

xkitten wrote:I'm not sure if this applies to you.. but when I first became vegan, I wasn't eating enough calories. I was pretty much eating salads for every meal with some fruit as a snack. Because I was eating so many veggies and not enough starch (or even fruit, really), my daily calories were very, very low.. On top of that, I would exercise 3-5x a week.. and my hair was falling out by the fist full. It was terrifying.

Since embracing this WOE and increasing starches, my hair loss has slowed significantly.

Again, I'm not sure if this applies to you. Could you write down what you eat in a day so we can see if it could be related to not eating enough?

Hope you figure it out soon!


Thank you for your answer!!
I have a crazy schedule but I always find time for exercise(every day)..So you might be right...
Yesterday for example I ate:
-2 cups of rice with blueberries and raspberries.
-2 cups of beans with coleslaw
-3 bananas and a apple
-3 small potatoes with spinach and peppers.

It does seem enough to me... I don't really know.
I hope the reason is that I don't eat enough cause that's easy to change!:)
What do you think?
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Re: Hair loss

Postby WyldMoonWoman » Sun Jun 14, 2015 9:26 am

I was searching this board for information on hair loss and came across this post...my hair is falling out! It's thinned so much this past month that I got my very first sunburn on the top of my head, ever, in my life last week. I'm bumping this to the top just in case someone has any words of wisdom or recommendations for nutritional supplements to prevent me from going bald.
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Re: Hair loss

Postby Angie23 » Sun Jun 14, 2015 10:10 am

I still have the problem ...still losing my hair :(
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Re: Hair loss

Postby Donna R » Thu Jun 18, 2015 8:38 am

sorry about the hair loss! :cry: here are other posts on the forum:
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=48158&p=499386&hilit=hair+loss#p499386

and on the net some info
on Dr. Weil:
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and- ... oss-causes
Other reasons for hair loss include extreme stress; physical trauma like surgery or intense illness; dramatic weight loss over a short period of time; and taking too much Vitamin A, Roberts says. And hair loss can occur a couple of weeks to six months after any of these experiences.
Prevention
http://www.prevention.com/beauty/hair/9 ... nning-hair
lists several possible causes, one is iron deficiency
~ Donna
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Re: Hair loss

Postby Jumpstart » Thu Jun 18, 2015 8:45 am

Try this article by Jack Norris. I found his site valuable in many other areas of vegan health.

http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/hairloss
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Re: Hair loss

Postby Lucrezia » Thu Jun 18, 2015 6:07 pm

It happened to me too, last year. It stopped once I started eating the strongest iron supplements i could find. i also had heart palpitations which comes back if i dont take my supplements. Take iron supplements, i would say..but then it is just a guess of course. I was deficient in iron, zinc and vitamin D. I excersised daily. I ate oats, fruits, vegetables and not much more. no sups. My hair did not grow back entirely.so be quick. Dont wait too long! My hairline moved with 1 cm in just half a week.
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Re: Hair loss

Postby nicoles » Thu Jun 18, 2015 7:14 pm

Another cause for hair loss can be fatty acid deficiency. I saw from your menu that you don't eat many leafy greens. Adding some of those (Kale, collards, spinach and the like) can up the Omega 3's, as can 1 TBSN ground flax.

But rapid weight loss can do it too. :)
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Re: Hair loss

Postby Drew_ab » Thu Jun 18, 2015 8:02 pm

I'm posting in this thread primarily so that I can follow along, as I'm quite curious about your situation. I don't have any words of advice as it's unfamiliar territory for me (quite frankly, I wish my hair would just fall out so I could sport the bald look).

I wish you luck in resolving this - let us know how/if it works out for your.
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Re: Hair loss

Postby zoe125 » Tue Jun 23, 2015 9:26 pm

You might want your thyroid tested. Ask your doctor to test everything, not just your TSH. Antibodies, especially, will tell you if you are hypothyroid. I had TSH in the normal areas for 40 years, but I went to an endocrinologist who tested everything. The result of abnormally high antibodies (Hashimoto's) is hair loss.
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Re: Hair loss

Postby Tatterhood » Mon Jul 27, 2015 7:13 am

Hi there,

Not sure about your age...so hormones might be a factor. If you're nowhere near perimenopause or menopause, this might not be an issue, but if you are, it might.

When I switched from vegetarian to vegan diet and quit eating eggs, losing the omega 3/6 thing, I noticed a significant uptick in my hair loss within a month. So, I started taking (and I know this is a no-no for heart patients, but it helps with the hair loss) flax oil with evening primrose. It turned the whole problem around. Ground flax on salads is an option, too, but adds calories (1 tbsp adds about 100) whereas the three gel caps I take per day add 20. I don't have heart issues, so I take the oils.

I'm also perimenopausal, so I use the flax/evening primrose to help with hormonal imbalances. While there is still some hair loss in the shower (and btw, washing hair fewer times per week if you can manage it..like only 2 or 3 helps as well) it's far less.

Jeff N, and Dr. McD say the only sups you might need are B12 and D3 and I take B12 year round and D3 in winter. But I've also seen the physical results from the flax oil.
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Re: Hair loss

Postby fiberdrunk » Thu Aug 06, 2015 6:27 pm

I had posted about this last year, too: https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=46535 I had switched to a WFPB diet beginning July 2014 and lost about 40 pounds in 5 months. I was dismayed to discover I was losing a lot of hair by that time as well. I'm 48, so peri-menopause has probably contributed to this. But I've also read that rapid weight loss can trigger hormonal changes that cause hairloss (the same thing happened after each of my pregnancies, too). I'm happy to report I have a lot of new growth this year, so hopefully you will experience the same thing, given some time. I only fear because I still have around 30 more pounds to go (I've hit a plateau since about February), that if I lose more weight, it could again trigger more hair loss. My hair is so horribly fine and thin already, even with the new growth coming in.

I have some herbal books by Susan Weed. Her menopause one says to drink daily herbal infusions of stinging nettle for hormonal hair loss (yes, it's safe to eat and drink once dried or cooked... I grow the stuff and eat it, too.) Nettle is really good for both the hair and nails. Also, she recommends burdock seed oil on the scalp... rub it on and let it sit for an hour before washing out. Do this a couple times a week.

Good luck!
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Re: Hair loss

Postby MINNIE » Thu Aug 13, 2015 7:23 am

You might want to consult a dermatologist. They have expertise in problems with hair and scalp, and there are many possible reasons for hair loss which they may be able to help you rule in or out.

I did this and found it very helpful when I experienced an episode of thinning hair.

I learned from previous experience that it's not always helpful, or even safe, for me to self- medicate with supplements, especially before I knew what the problem actually was.

For hair loss I was tested for several things, including thyroid and vitamin deficiencies. Also the dermatologist looked for signs of scalp diseases and hormone imbalance. Everything was normal, except for moderately low iron levels. The doctor suggested temporary use of an iron supplement, with re-testing within a few months. She did not promise that this would do anything for my hair, but advised it could be beneficial for my general health. Because I had a history or childhood anemia, that made sense to me, and I did take the supplements as advised. Did it help my hair? I don't know.

In my case, the hair eventually grew back, and I never did get an exact explanation of why it was falling out. Sometimes there just isn't one:).

Of course it's human nature to seek an explanation, even when there isn't enough real data to prove anything. So I came up with my own totally unscientific (post hoc ergo propter hoc http://skepdic.com/posthoc.html) reason.

It happened after I had gallbladder surgery, although that doesn't prove anything , as lots of people have surgery and don't lose hair. But I also had a nervous hair-pulling habit. I was completely unaware of this until other people pointed it out! At least I learned to be aware and stop doing it, which helped. But there could have been other factors, which I may never know about.

However it appears that alopecia areata, which can cause female pattern baldness or thinning hair , is statistically pretty common as women age. The reasons for it are not understood as yet. Not that that's much comfort when it's happening to us...

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency ... 001450.htm
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