I am 29 year old female.  I eat healthy vegiterian food,take centrum
vitamin
and minarals tablet along with calcium tablet.Still have realy bad
hair loss , i loose almost 200-300 hair everyday.Please suggest me
good shampoo and what should i do to prevent my hair loss.

---

Request for Question Clarification by mvguy-ga on 11 Jul 2003 13:26 PDT

Have you consulted a dermatologist? If so, what she s/he tell you is
the cause of hair loss?

Hello umya-ga!

 Since our GA names sound so similar, I though I'd better answer your
question:)

 When I was younger, I was a vegetarian for approximately 8 years. The
two things that came to mind when I read your question were Vitamin
B-12 deficiency and proper combination of foods to make a complete
protein.

 My first search was basic.....vegetarianism AND hair loss. Does the
following question and answer sound familiar? (Hopefully, the
questioner is not you!)

==

"Vegetarian - Hair Loss." Go Ask Alice. (Nov. 1993)
http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/0078.html

Dear Alice, 

I have been a vegetarian for two years. Since last year, I have been
losing quite a bit of hair. I have no pattern of male baldness in
either side of my family. I do take multi-vitamins everyday. My diet
is fairly nutritious. Could there be any correlation between my
vegetarianism and the hair loss? Some books point to folic acid
deficiency so I have made an effort to buy vitamins with 100%-200% RDA
recommended folic acid. Do you have any ideas on what might be causing
this?


Dear Where's my hair? 

You can expect to normally lose between 100-200 strands of hair each
day. If your hair is coming out by the handfuls however, you do have
cause to worry and should see a physician for a complete medical
workup. A large loss of hair can indicate more serious bodily
malfunctions. Stress can also be implicated as a cause of hair loss,
and if things have been extra stressful for you lately, you might want
to see a counselor to help you reduce your stress levels.

If your hair loss is more moderate, you are right that your nutrition
and diet have a lot to do with it. Zinc is an important mineral for
your hair, and a deficiency would probably show up as excessive hair
loss, lack of sheen and difficulty with control. A zinc supplement
might help you here. The RDA suggested minimum is 15mg and maximum
without professional supervision is 25-40mg. Zinc is found naturally
in beans, seeds and nuts, legumes, milk, wheat bran and germ. Also, in
terms of your vegetarianism, you might very well be taking in
insufficient levels of vitamin B-12. This is common among vegetarians,
and the results of a deficiency include dandruff, scaling and hair
loss. Most of the naturally occurring B-12 is in animal products, but
can also be found in nutritional yeast and sometimes in fermented soy
products (i.e. tempeh). As for supplements, the RDA suggested minimum
is 3 mcg and the maximum without professional supervision is 25 mcg.
So, you have the option of either taking supplements or adding
nutritional yeast to your foods. It's not too bad on cereal or in
yogurt shakes and the like. Hope this is helpful!

======

The following article covers an entire host of conditions that can
cause hair loss in women. You should read it thoroughly.

"Conditions that can cause hair loss in women." onlyhairloss.com.
http://www.onlyhairloss.com/women/hairlosscauses.htm 
 
Dietary Causes: 

"Vegetarianism and dieting can result in hair loss if they cause iron
deficiency. Iron and zinc supplements should be taken if the diet does
not produce enough on it's own."

"Too little protein and too little iron in your diet can lead to hair
loss."
  
"If someone is anemic this can cause excessive hair loss. A doctor
should be consulted as a course of iron tablets may be all that's
needed to sort the problem out."


Other causes:

Physical stress
Emotional stress
Thyroid abnormalities. 
Medications: High does of Vitamin A -- Blood pressure medications --
Gout medications.
Hormonal causes
Childbirth - You may lose large amounts of hair within two to three
months after delivery.
Alopecia areata - A condition in which hair loss occurs only in
certain areas, resulting in hair loss patches the size of a coin or
larger.
Thyroid disease - An overactive or under active thyroid can cause hair
loss.
Ringworm - If this fungal infection occurs on your scalp, it can cause
small patches of scaling skin and some hair loss.


=====


From VRG-NEWS: The Vegetarian Resource Group Newsletter. Editor: John
L. Cunningham. Volume 6, Issue 1 (January 2002)
http://www.vrg.org/vrgnews/2002jan.htm

"Question of the Month: Hair Loss?" 

"Some people lose a substantial amount of weight when they switch to a
vegetarian diet, particularly if they were overweight in the
beginning. Other times, a person may lose weight simply because he/she
isn't eating enough. It's the "iceberg lettuce salad" syndrome: when
some people decide to make the switch to a vegetarian diet, they know
what they don't want to eat, but they haven't quite determined what
they can eat. They haven't mastered the skill of vegetarian meal
planning. Consequently, they exist on iceberg lettuce salads and not
much else. No wonder they lose weight!"

"If you are getting enough calories to meet your energy needs, and you
are eating a reasonable variety of foods on your vegetarian diet, it's
not likely that this is an issue contributing to hair loss. However,
if you are a "junk food" vegetarian or are simply not getting enough
food, then deficiencies of zinc, protein, biotin, and essential fatty
acids might be the cause of hair loss or sparsely-growing hair."

"If you are eating reasonably well, it's likely that your problem is
due to a genetically-determined pattern of thinning, stress, or a
medical issue, rather than the vegetarian diet per se. You should
check with your health care practitioner to rule out these possible
causes."


==


 Just to be sure you are combining your proteins correctly and getting
the correct nutrients, you might want to refer to the Vegetarian
Nutrition part of their website at http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/

Some articles contained there:

"Vitamin B12 in the Vegan Diet,"by Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D.
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/b12.htm

"Iron in the Vegan Diet," by Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D.
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.htm

"Protein in the Vegan Diet," by Reed Mangels, Ph.D. R.D.
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.htm


===


Also read "Vegetarianism from a Medical Point of View," by Dr. Homeira
McDonald. Women's Life (1999)
http://www.womanslifeins.com/mag/1999_summer/sum99askdr.pdf

 The above article stresses that not all people can easily tolerate a
vegetarian diet. Anemia is a big culprit in causing problems.

"...if you're thinking about becoming a vegetarian, you should consult
with your physician to see if you can tolerate this diet. Your doctor
should help develop a diet specifically for you that contains adequate
protein, iron, minerals and vitamins. Subsequently, your serum
protein, iron and red blood cell counts should be checked periodically
to ensure that your diet is indeed correct. If you are on a vegetarian
diet and you develop any symptoms such as headache, shortness of
breath, fatigue, depression, loss of appetite, loss of hair, brittle
fingernails or change of skin color, see your physician as soon as
possible.


====


 At this point, I would forget trying to find a shampoo to alleviate
hair loss and focus on any problems from within. Though a medical
condition is not out of the question, it would be very valid to start
with a thorough nutritional investigation. When I became a vegetarian,
I did not have a menstrual period for over 2 years, even though I was
taking vitamins and thought I was eating well. I also became very
anemic and often felt faint and light-headed.

 In those days, the books "Diet for a Small Planet" and "Recipes for a
Small Planet" by Francis Moore Lappe  were very popular (since
vegetarianism was a frequent companion to the "hippie lifestyle.")

 I bought the books, followed the recipes for several weeks, and my
menstrual period started immediately. My anemia also disappeared.

 It just so happens, however, that I could not stay away from meat. My
body craves meat protein and I do far better with meat in my diet than
combining grains and beans. It didn't help that I was living in Alaska
where salmon, moose and caribou were plentiful! Therefore, my
vegetarian life came to an end!

 Because I am not a doctor, I cannot begin to diagnose your problem.
However,  I do encourage you to thoroughly examine the possible causes
of hair loss as associated with diet. If dietary changes to ensure
adequate protein and nutrients do not begin to alleviate the problem,
I would suggest a thorough check-up with your physician to ensure that
everything else is well.

 Good luck to you, and don't worry! I'm sure you will get to the root
(or should I say the follicle) of the problem!

 umiat-ga

Google search strategy
Vegetarianism AND hair loss

Nice research and speedy response. Thanks.

For a good answer, you may want to increase the price of your question
considerably. Google Researchers who assist with medical questions are
more likely to be interested in your question if the fee will
compensate them for more than a few minutes of their time.

I've seen this question intermittently on vegetarian lists, and a
number of issues have come to light.

I also answer a fair number of questions for free, so here are a few
BRIEF comments (other issues have already been touched upon):

1) If you're practicing vegetarianism, you may wish to network with
others who are also practicing vegetarianism.  Please check out NAVS's
list of local vegetarian group affiliates AND local contacts.  These
groups will encourage HEALTH-supporting vegetarian practices, share
with you the latest science RELEVANT to your practice, and help you
visually observe OTHERS who are practicing vegetarian diet (or saying
they do) so that YOU can develop your OWN observations and draw your
conclusions on whether and how well folks walk the talk and what
results come of that.  www.NAVS-Online.org

2) There seems to be some unresolved thinking (from vegetarian/vegan
RDs, MDs, et al) that dramatically shifting one's diet from a really
bad diet to a health-supporting vegetarian diet may have some
unforeseen results on the body.  YOu may wish to be in a vegetarian
community with some attending vegetarian RDs and MDs.  Good groups
with bright vegetarians who care about themselves and one another will
attract good health professionals.

3) My understanding is that Centrum is NOT a vegetarian vitamin, and
some supplements, particularly the widely-distributed SYNTHETIC
supplements, may actually put a toxic load on the body.

4) But again, clinical support from vegetarian health professionals in
your community make be really helpful.

5) The Vegetarian Resource Center (VRC@IVU.org) answers questions
related to vegetarian practice, largely by pointing you towards
(referring you to) one or more volunteer members of their health
professional consulting network (never a charge for this service).

6) You may wish to consult any or all of the following vegetarian
websites:

www.VeganMD.org
www.PCRM.org
www.All-Creatures.org
www.GoVeg.com
www.Vegan.com
www.ANHS.org
www.NAVS-Online.org
www.IVU.org

Sincerely,
Maynard S. Clark

http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/0078.html

VEGETARIAN--HAIR LOSS? 
Dear Alice, 

I have been a vegetarian for two years. Since last year, I have been
losing quite a bit of hair. I have no pattern of male baldness in
either side of my family. I do take multi-vitamins everyday. My diet
is fairly nutritious. Could there be any correla tion between my
vegetarianism and the hair loss? Some books point to folic acid
deficiency so I have made an effort to buy vitamins with 100%-200% RDA
recommended folic acid. Do you have any ideas on what might be causing
this?

--Where's my hair? 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dear Where's my hair? 

You can expect to normally lose between 100-200 strands of hair each
day. If your hair is coming out by the handfuls however, you do have
cause to worry and should see a physician for a complete medical
workup. A large loss of hair can indicate more se rious bodily
malfunctions. Stress can also be implicated as a cause of hair loss,
and if things have been extra stressful for you lately, you might want
to see a counselor to help you reduce your stress levels.

If your hair loss is more moderate, you are right that your nutrition
and diet have a lot to do with it. Zinc is an important mineral for
your hair, and a deficiency would probably show up as excessive hair
loss, lack of sheen and difficulty with contr ol. A zinc supplement
might help you here. The RDA suggested minimum is 15mg and maximum
without professional supervision is 25-40mg. Zinc is found naturally
in beans, seeds and nuts, legumes, milk, wheat bran and germ. Also, in
terms of your vegetarianis m, you might very well be taking in
insufficient levels of vitamin B-12. This is common among vegetarians,
and the results of a deficiency include dandruff, scaling and hair
loss. Most of the naturally occurring B-12 is in animal products, but
can also be found in nutritional yeast and sometimes in fermented soy
products (i.e. tempeh). As for supplements, the RDA suggested minimum
is 3 mcg and the maximum without professional supervision is 25 mcg.
So, you have the option of either taking supplements or a dding
nutritional yeast to your foods. It's not too bad on cereal or in
yogurt shakes and the like. Hope this is helpful!

Alice 
November, 1993

http://www.vegan.com/issues/1999/oct99/messina.htm

I have recently become a vegetarian. I am having problems with getting
protein in my diet. I have noticed a great deal of hair falling out in
the shower; however, this is not apparent on my head. I was wondering
if you would provide some recommendations.
 

First, I doubt that you are losing hair due to a protein
deficiency--or any specific nutrient deficiency. Protein deficiency
can indeed cause hair loss but this would be likely to occur only if
your diet is very seriously inadequate in protein--and that is
extremely unlikely on a vegetarian diet that is providing adequate
calories. More common reasons for hair loss in otherwise healthy
people are stress, skin disease, or weight loss. If you have lost a
significant amount of weight since you became vegetarian, that might
be part of the explanation.

It's possible, too, that you are not really losing any more hair than
is normal. Everybody loses some hair and we're most likely to see this
in a hairbrush or in the shower. You noted that there is no appearance
of hair loss on your head, so it is possible that this is not a
problem. Sometimes, if people are worried that their diet is
inadequate or are concerned about other health problems, perfectly
normal things--like hair in the tub, skin breakouts, or fatigue--take
on a perceived meaning beyond their real importance. If you are
convinced that you aren't getting enough protein, you may be looking
for some confirmations of that and noticing the hair loss for the
first time.

At any rate, if you are concerned that your hair loss is beyond what
is usual for you, I would suggest a visit to a dermatologist to rule
out any scalp problems. If the hair loss worsens to the point where
you do notice actual thinning of hair on your head, then a check-up
with your physician can help to rule out other problems since there
are disease states that cause hair loss. But if it continues to be
usual hair loss, you have no scalp problems, and your hair is not
thinning, it probably is not a problem. Of course, a well-balanced
diet is still crucial for you. Make sure, first of all, that you are
eating enough food to maintain an ideal weight. If you need to lose
weight, it should be a slow weight loss. If you are a teen and you
need to lose weight, you should do it with the guidance of a nutrition
professional. If you don't need to lose weight, make sure you are
eating enough to prevent weight loss. Do include good sources of
healthy fat in your diet: nuts, seeds, avocado, full-fat soy products,
and small amounts of vegetable oils. Finally, make sure that there is
variety in your diet--grains, beans, vegetables, fruits, and nuts
every day. Eating enough calories and including different types of
foods in your diet are key to meeting protein needs. If you are
worried about meeting protein needs, then including a source of
soyfoods in your diet every day should help. In addition, make sure
you eat other kinds of beans and some nuts or seeds. That's really all
it takes to get enough protein.

http://www.livejournal.com/community/vegetarian/1051908.html

been vegetarian for about four months now. 
My hair is randomly falling out, not so much that i'm going bald or
anything, but enough that it doesn't seem normal. i was wondering if
that can be caused by not eating enough protein?
Brittany Caroline

I noticed on this site that one factor that had been mentioned by only
one person, but which may be widely existent in this phenomenon, is
birth control pills, drugs (legal and illicit), and other behaviors
and inputs which are not mentioned in the question.  All this is
evidence that we often need professional CLINICAL input in searching
for answers for our questions.

An Internet venue is NOT the BEST venue for getting one's
highly-customized personal health issues resolved.  The basics we can
address; the specifics may involve genetics, unmentioned behaviors,
family history and conditions, and conditional stress factors.