by Lawrence Wilson, MD

HAIR LOSS

Hair loss affects at least one fourth of the population, and probably more like half. It is a very annoying and disfiguring, especially for women, who often suffer from it beginning around age 30 or so. Nutritional balancing may often help this condition.

The imbalances listed below are associated with hair loss. As they are corrected, many clients report that their hair loss has stopped or at least slowed significantly. In most cases, the hair grows back in if the problem has begun in the past year or two.

NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES

Hair is called a soft tissue, and is also considered a connective tissue of the body. It is similar in composition to skin, fingernails, toenails and other connective tissue. These tissues require many nutrients, particularly B-complex vitamins, vitamins C and E, sulfur, calcium, magnesium, zinc, bioavailable copper and others.

Those with hair loss should first make sure they are well-nourished. This is best accomplished by taking a multi-vitamin-mineral product and by eating animal protein daily such as meats, eggs, and preferably raw or organic dairy products. The other important food group is plenty of cooked vegetables each day. Eat at least two large servings of cooked vegetables.

Raw vegetables. Sadly, these do not provide as many minerals, in our experience, because most people cannot thoroughly digest raw food. The minerals are locked in the fibrous vegetable matter and it passes through one undigested. Also, raw food of all types is too yin. Read more about this situation in the article entitled Raw Food.

A YIN CONDITION OF THE BODY

An observation is that most women and some men with hair loss are in a very yin condition of the body chemistry. Yin means cold and expanded in Chinese medical terminology and in macrobiotics. If, for example, the hair shaft is slightly loose in the follicle, the hair may fall out much easier than if the follicle were more yang.

A yang rising condition is definitely associated with hair loss. A variant of a yin condition of the body is called in acupuncture terms yang rising. It occurs when the body is very yin, usually with a low thyroid condition, and then it reacts by trying to become more yang, but in a half-hearted or inadequate manner.

This pattern is revealed easily on a properly performed hair mineral analysis. We call it a four highs pattern. It occurs when four macrominerals – calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium – are all above their ideal levels. This interesting mineral pattern and acupuncture tendency is discussed more in an article on this website entitled Four Highs Pattern.

How to make the body more yang. To do this, one needs to eat more cooked vegetables, with some cooked meats, and soft cooked eggs. These are more yang foods.

Also, it is necessary to avoid yin foods, such as all sweets, all sugars, and most if not all raw food. One must avoid most fruit and all fruit juices and other yin beverages such as alcohol, soda pop and sweetened tea.

We find, for example, that many women with hair loss eat a lot of fruit and salads, both of which are very yin in macrobiotic terms. Many have been or still are leaning toward vegetarian diets as well. This can contribute to hair loss in some cases.

To make the body more yang one should also be careful not to take too many vitamins and mineral supplements as all are yin to some degree. Even herbs or homeopathic remedies are quite yin and should be minimized as well. Most are even more yin than raw food, for example.

Sauna therapy and coffee enemas. To improve the yin/yang balance of the body much faster, add the use of a near infrared sauna daily and do one or two coffee enemas daily. Coffee enemas are better than colonic irrigation to make the body more yang. We do not recommend drinking coffee, although one cup of regular coffee is okay.

COPPER AND THYROID IMBALANCES

Most women and men who are losing their hair have a copper imbalance. Copper is absolutely required for connective tissue integrity, which includes the proper structure and function of the hair. Often those with hair loss have symptoms of copper imbalance such as varicose veins, migraines or other headaches, PMS, mood swings or others. Vegetarian diets are also known to worsen copper imbalances.

Copper and the thyroid. Medical science knows well that a low thyroid causes dry, brittle and usually falling hair. Copper is just one factor that can cause a low thyroid. Most with hair loss have a low thyroid condition, even though the T3, T4 and TSH levels may appear normal in the blood serum.

On hair mineral analyses, a low thyroid is revealed by a slow oxidation rate, and more specifically by an elevated calcium/potassium ratio. This indicates a low thyroid effect, even if the levels of thyroid hormones are normal. In other words, one may have plenty of thyroid hormones, but they are not acting at a cellular level in the proper way. For some reason, the hormones are less effective. This very confusing topic is discussed in detail in an article on this website entitled Thyroid Imbalances.

Other reasons for thyroid imbalance include low iodine, high mercury, other toxic metals in the body, or high levels of the iodine antagonists – bromine, fluorine and chlorine.

DEHYDRATION

Some with hair loss simply are dehydrated. This is quite common. Adults usually need 3 quarts of drinking water every day or sometimes more in warm or dry climates, or if one is physically active.

Some people drink the wrong kind of water – usually reverse osmosis water, also called drinking water or purified water. Most often, this does not hydrate the body well enough, and this can contribute to hair loss.

Other people drink enough spring water or carbon-filtered tap water, but they drink coffee, caffeinated tea, soda pop, other caffeinated foods or beverages, sweet juices or alcohol. All of these dehydrate the body badly. These do not count as part of the three quarts daily of pure water that everyone needs. In fact, they should be minimized since they can cause dehydration.

IMPAIRED CIRCULATION INVOLVING THE SCALP

A more unusual cause of hair loss is impaired circulation to the scalp. One might have arteriosclerosis of the arteries leading to the head or scalp, for example. Perhaps more of the blood reaching the head is needed inside the brain, so less may go to the hair follicles, which then may suffer malnutrition and toxin buildup as a result.

Tension in the fascia or even the muscles of the neck might also contribute to hair loss by interfering a little with circulation to the scalp. Massaging the scalp might help in these cases, and is a good idea anyway when one is taking a shower, for instance.

Often a nutritional balancing program will help with generalized tension in the neck and back, and will slowly reverse arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis if that has set in.

CALCIUM OR OTHER TOXIC DEPOSITS IN THE HAIR FOLLICLES

Another imbalance seen on a few hair mineral analyses is a buildup of what is called metastatic or biounavailable calcium in the soft tissues of the body, which includes the skin and hair follicles. This could also cause dysfunction of the hair follicles and hair loss.

At times, other toxins will affect the scalp. These might be due to a skin care product such as a shampoo, hair dye or other product that is somewhat toxic. Other causes are iron, manganese or other chemicals in the water used for bathing and drinking. This cause for hair loss requires stopping the use of the toxic product, and perhaps filtering the bathing water if it is toxic, which is not common.

SCALP INFECTIONS

These can also cause or contribute to hair loss. Most are fungal in origin. Simple infections of the scalp include dandruff and a childhood disease called cradle cap. Both are usually easy to correct and disappear as the body becomes balanced. Very rarely, a scalp infection is more serious, but this is not common.

A COMPLETE NUTRITIONAL BALANCING PROGRAM IS BEST

While you can try making the changes above, the best procedure is usually to begin a complete nutritional balancing program. The reason for this is that many causes for hair loss, including hidden copper toxicity, are quite deep. They will not be revealed on any medical or holistic test, and must be slowly uncovered or unwound over a period of months or longer.

In order to do this, we recommend a nutritional balancing program based upon a properly performed and correctly interpreted hair mineral analysis. This is the only way I know of to correctly monitor progress and make sure that you are moving in the right direction.

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