Hair Loss?
#65459 - 04/27/04 10:49 PM
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Vicam
Reged: 02/24/04
Posts: 1955
Loc: Ontario, Canada
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This may be a weird question, but does anyone know if hair loss is a symptom of any of the digestive disorders? I could have sworn that I read once that it was, but now I can't remember what it was linked to. My hair has been coming out in clumps lately, and it could just be related to my poor diet, but the doctor's don't think it's very relevant.
Thanks,
Kelly
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I know a ton of things can cause hair loss. Poor diet is definitely one and so is stress. It sounds like you have been through a lot of stress lately! I hope everything gets better soon for you. My hair was coming out in HUGE clumps after I had surgery last year. My hair dresser freaked out. She told me to have my thyroid checked because that can cause hair loss too. I did and it was normal. After all the stress from my surgery my body freaked out. That might be what's going on with you. Just a guess though. Good luck with everything. Feel better very soon!
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Hair Loss
#65473 - 04/28/04 05:22 AM
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jenX
Reged: 08/11/03
Posts: 3252
Loc: Richmond, VA
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MY hair has been falling out, too!
in fact, that's one of the reasons i cut it all off.... (no, i don't have bald spots!) i thought because i have always colored my hair that it was actually breaking off, but it's short now and i've realized it's FALLING OUT. i'm kinda POd 'cause i'm vain about my hair. 
i'm curious to see what people have to say about this...
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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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good theory and i bet it's true for some, but i've been eating low fat for about 4 years and the hair loss just started within the last 12 months....
argh. i'm going to have to go with "stress" i guess... my body sure doesn't tolerate stress well. i think i'm moving to the beach...
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In addition to cutting out as much as you can of bad fats and ensuring you get an adequate intake of EFAs,
I suppose IBS-D especially could result in a low level of nutrients, as the food you eat gets flushed right through you too quickly. So a good all-round supplement might help if you can tolerate it. The other thing is adequate protein, which your hair needs, too.
I only wish I knew more about this, it's not funny when you're in college at 17 and the boys start making jokes about you being baldy!!! I've had time to live with it now, but if it ever got any worse than this I'd be devastated. I'm lucky I had masses of hair to start with!
Shells 
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I'm in the same boat... my husband says I shed.  Not really the look I'm going for. I used to have really thick hair -- now it's downright thin. I am starting to get nervous about it. I thought it was my diet as well. I have cut out all those bad fats -- and I added a supplement as I am IBS-D -- but it didn't help any. Mine doesn't come out in chunks or patche s-- it's all over as well. Perhaps it is stress.
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I've been losing my hair too! I used to have really thick hair, and lots of it, but now it is definitely thinning. My doctor checked my thyroid, but according to the test it is functioning normally. I've talked to friends and people at work, and the general consensus is that it's stress. But I still panic every morning when I'm in the shower and I see all the hair I'm losing! 
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Yeah, I imagine that will be the case for a lot of folks on the boards, as long as they're getting sufficient EFAs in their diets.
My doc told me that hair's non-essential, so it's the last thing to get fed and the first to go if anything's even slightly wrong/unbalanced. 
I have to admit, my natural state is nervy and anxious, always has been, although I don't necessarily show it often. Hmmm, maybe some of just produce way too much nervous energy and have to blast it out with intensive exercise or it eats away at our health?!? If I ever muster up the motivation to train hard again, I'll let you know if it helps much!!
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I have IBS-C....and I have really, really thick hair like a horse. Do all the thinning haired people have IBS-D or C? I wonder if it's a D thing.??
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