Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

This is a strange answer and I'm not sure about the science behind it, but perhaps it's worth a try.
I have suffered from hair loss since I was 17 which, by no coincidence was when I really started to suffer from IBS. Up until about 14/15 I was EXTREMELY fit and active but because I exercised so hard, and was soooo thin, my mum would feed me up on high carbs but also a bit too much high fat food. Stopping exercising and continuing to eat the same diet has really (I now believe) been the main factor in ALL of my health problems since then.

I was tested by my doctor for everything that could possibly cause my health problems - incl hair loss. When every test was clear, my doctor suggested stress and diet.

But I recently read an article blaming the bad fats (saturated and trans-fats) for hair loss!!! I have to admit that since substantially reducing the fat levels in my diet my hair is looking (very slowly and gradually) healthier and a bit thicker than it has in years! I only hope this continues - I'll be delighted.

The theory is: bad fats interfere with your ability to benefit from the Essential Fatty Acids you really need. When you eat a lot of fat, the sebaceous glands that oil the hair root become over active and swollen. Then the hair root becomes weak. In the old days when men went to war and didn't want to have to shave, they rubbed lard or sheep fat into their faces to destroy the hair roots. The same can be seen today in certain cultures who often eat a lot of fat: male Chinese tend to have very little hair on their faces.
So, completely cutting out animal fats, cheeses, rich curries and any food floating in grease, would be good. But it is, of course, important to keep up the intake of beneficial Essential Fatty Acids which come from oily fish (mackerel, herring, salmon, trout, sardines, pilchards etc) and from whole grains, nuts and seeds, also avocados and soaked almonds.

My hair loss was/is diffuse thinning over the top of my head. I did think stress was more linked to patchy loss, but maybe fat in the diet may be a factor in any hair loss?

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