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FOODS THAT FEED OUR FOLLICLES
help prevent, and even reverse, some hair loss. “The same foods that are good for your body and overall health are good for your hair, including foods that are high in protein and low in carbohy- drates, with a reduced fat content,” says Dr. Michael Reed, a dermatologist with New York University’s (NYU) Langone Medical Center, in New York City (
MichaelLorinReed.com).
Key Nutrition Tips Generally, a diet that supports both scalp and hair health is rich in protein; vitamins A, B complex and C; minerals like iron and zinc; and omega-3 fatty acids.
Vitamin A: Found in green leafy veg- etables like Swiss chard and spinach, as well as in carrots, it helps the scalp pro- duce sebum, hair’s natural conditioner.
by Judith Fertig
While common hair loss is not life threatening, it’s a condition that merits our attention, because it may diminish a man’s or a woman’s self-esteem and negatively affect how he or she faces the world.
H
air experts estimate that people normally have a maximum of about 100,000 individual hairs on their head. Approximately 90 percent are usually in a growth phase while the other 10 percent “rest.” After growing for two to three months, the hair will fall out and the growth cycle of the follicle, or hair root, starts again. An average person naturally sheds about 100 hairs a day.
Under certain conditions, how- ever, the normal cycling can be inter- rupted. The resting, or telogen, phase could last longer, with more hair falling out and less new hair growing. Some hair loss may be associated with mind- body response to surgery, new medica- tions, thyroid issues, trauma or a highly
30 Rockland & Orange Counties
restrictive crash diet. Hair loss might be the effect of inherited male pattern baldness or thinning that may accom- pany aging. In other instances, the cause may be poor nutrition, as attested to by American Academy of Dermatol- ogy research.
Start with Nutrition “The first step in diagnosing a probable cause of hair loss is to check nutrition,” says Dr. William Rassman, an award- winning pioneer in hair restoration, founder of the New Hair Institute, in Los Angeles, editor of
BaldingBlog.com and co-author of the book, Hair Loss and Replacement for Dummies. Other experts agree that includ- ing certain key nutrients in our diet can
naturalawakeningsro.com
Vitamin B12 vitamin B12
: “The requirement for is very low,” says vegan
soy or rice milk, and similarly fortified breakfast cereal.
Registered Dietitian Reed Mangels, “but it is needed for cell division and blood formation.” Foods such as organic eggs, cage-free poultry and grass-fed red meat are good sources; vegetarian and vegan sources include nutritional yeast (dried yellow flakes or powder, with a cheese-like flavor), vitamin B12
-fortified
Iron: Samantha Heller, a registered dietitian and nutritionist at the NYU Medical Center, warns women that the potential deficiency of iron that often oc- curs during their reproductive years can lead to anemia, a reduction of red blood cells that is often an undiagnosed cause of hair loss. Foods like broccoli and brewer’s yeast help boost iron levels.
Omega-3 fatty acids: “Omega-3 fatty acids are important for total body and skin health, and that includes your scalp,” says Heller, author of Get Smart: Samantha Heller’s Nutrition Pre- scription for Boosting Brain Power and Optimizing Total Body Health. “Many Americans are not getting enough of these in their diets.” These essential fatty acids are widely found in flaxseed,
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