Modify your food to get healthier hair

One of the big reasons many patients come to health care services is because they’re experiencing hair thinning and balding and are seeking hair replacement. Indianapolis men and women are certainly no exception to hair loss and thinning! Although both problems are primarily genetic, there are a few lifestyle choices that you can make to improve the quality of your hair and potentially delay some of the thinning and balding.

Recently The Doctors released a segment with Jon Lovitz, the comic, on the topic of solutions for thinning hair. They offered following lifestyle changes to boost hair retention and quality:

1. Eat More Protein: As your bones, your hair is primarily made up of  protein. Chicken, eggs and beef are excellent sources for protein. Non-meat foods such as beans, grains, nuts, seeds, quinoa, broccoli and spinach too has protein.
2. Get enough Iron and Zinc, which are imperative for hair follicles to regenerate hair. Red meat and green leafy vegetables are high in iron and zinc, as are avocadoes and most berries. To aid in iron absorption, eat foods rich in vitamin C when you eat foods containing iron, take any iron supplements and vitamin E at different times of the day, as iron supplements can neutralize vitamin E. Odd fact: The tannin in non-herbal tea can hinder absorption of iron. So, better not to take tea immediately after meals.
3. Silica is a mineral that aids the digestion of nutrients needed to get great hair. It’s in foods such as bean sprouts, cabbage, onions, bell peppers and rice, which is one reason that people of Asian descent have the healthiest, strongest hair—those foods are often eaten in an Asian diet. Others are cucumbers, asparagus, lettuce, potatoes, oatmeal, sunflower seeds and strawberries.
4. Take Another Lap, Jog Another Block because exercise stimulates circulation and blood flow, which ultimately may stimulate hair growth.

Although Doctors recommends Propecia and Rogaine to combat hair loss, in practice, these result in minimal hair growth, if any. There are new technologies that are far better than the old, visible hair plugs, and certainly better than extensions, wigs and toupees, which require expensive maintenance and almost never look natural. For the same or less investment, you can enjoy your own hair and never worry about the wind blowing or being in the pool or at the beach. Did you know that the average hairpiece requires replacement every few years as well as regular maintenance? Consequently, over a lifetime, wearing wigs or toupees can cost somewhere between $20,000 and $40,000!

The most important aspect of successful Hair Replacement Surgery is properly planning the hairline. This requires an artistic flair as well as the surgical knowledge to properly execute the procedure. Hair Replacement Surgery in the 21st century requires an experienced team.

HairDX Genetic Test for female antrogen sensitivity.

HairDX Genetic Test

Genetic research and development firm, DermaGenoma, Inc. announced at the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery’s 18th Annual Scientific Meeting in Boston a new test to determine if there is a genetic basis behind hair loss in adult women.

The announced HairDX Genetic Test for Female Androgen Sensitivity, examines genetic variations in a woman’s androgen receptor gene to assess her androgen sensitivity. This can determine if her female hair loss has a hormonal cause. Hair loss has been linked to differences in androgen sensitivity due to genetic variations in the AR gene.

If a woman’s doctor know her androgen sensitivity, her doctor can easily determine if her hair loss has an androgenic basis. Patients with high androgen sensitivity could benefit from anti-androgen therapies.

Dr. Kenneth Washenik, Medical Director of Bosley and the Executive Vice President of Scientific and Medical Development of the Aderans Research Institute, said “This test addresses a long standing clinical need in the treatment of women with hair loss; the ability to identify those patients who will benefit from a specific type of hormonal therapy,”. “This test adds much needed specificity to our ability to evaluate androgenetic alopecia in women suffering from hair loss.”

Is hair loss linked with iron deficiency?

Hair loss in a female

Earlier researches have suggested that women with iron deficiency are more likely to suffer from female pattern hair loss (often abbreviated as FPHL). However, a recent study at Duke University Medical Center shows that this may not be so.

A study performed by Dr. Elise Olsen and colleagues assessed 381 women with female pattern hair loss, along with 76 women without FPHL,  to see what, if any, role iron deficiency plays. It was published in the December issue of The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

The researchers used two different definitions of iron deficiency. A ferritin level less than or equal to 15 µg/L, and the second, less than or equal to 40 µg/L. They found no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of iron deficiency among premenopausal or postmenopausal women with FPHL and the control subjects (those women without hair loss).

“Clearly, although we have shown no difference in the prevalence of iron deficiency between women with or without hair loss, there remains the need for more definitive studies that evaluate whether correction of iron deficiency in women with hair loss actually affects hair growth; and for that, a carefully controlled, placebo-, age-, and menstrual status-matched study of sufficient numbers using a standardized definition of iron deficiency needs to be performed,” the authors wrote.

Reasons for hair loss in women

Female hair thinning (loss)

If you are in this circumstance right now, you may be stuck to some questions as to why this is happening to you or you are not yet expecting it to happen just yet. Well, you are not alone. This is because the patterns are not really recognizable unlike that with men.Women should not really be scared when they notice their hair thinning because it may be because of some illness or pregnancy that they experience hair thinning.

If you judge the pattern like with men, you should remember that a man’s hair begins to thin earlier than a woman. Women start hair loss at around 50, or even later. But if you are really the kind of woman who fears that the hair loss you are experiencing is not normal, you should probably see a specialist to have an early diagnosis. It is recommended to see a specialist rather than doing a self exam because often times, self diagnosis is not accurate.

As discussed earlier, women do not shed hair like men, which have an obvious thinning of hair as they have a different hair loss pattern.There are different patterns that may consider as signs of “Androgenetic Alopecia”. If you see your hair thinning by the back and front of the scalp, it may suggest that you have Androgenetic Alopecia. Also, when the entire scalp seems to be thinning, well it is an obvious sign of the Androgenetic Alopecia.Though it has been discussed that female pattern starts at 50, it may also be that it starts on the late teen years to the early 20s of women. That is why you have to see a specialist to diagnose the thinning.

There are also a few causes of hair loss in women that is not associated with the hair loss pattern. These include Trichotillomania, which is caused by hair pulling. Alopecia areata which may be a disorder that autoimmune. Triangular alopecia which is only a temporary loss. Scarring Alopecia, which involves the scarring of the area of the scalp. And lastly, Telogen effluvium, which is a hormonal or drug/stress associated cause.

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