Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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My hair falls out in clumps. I can grab a handful of hair with like ten strands on it, every time. I don't know what to do. Shampoo, without shampoo, co-washing, baking soda, nothing is working. There are factors that I suspect may be hurting me, especially involving food, but I don't know if I can do anything about it.

There's too many possible factors:

I moved to a new environment. I come from the cold Midwestern climate, I am now in the West. Hair loss wasn't a problem when I first came here and stayed at a home with full meals though, so I doubt climate is the problem, but might play into it.
I am now self supporting for the first time, constantly worried about many types of issues for finances and security, so there is a lot of stress.
I began eating much less than I used to because I am on a budget, and it doesn't help that I also discovered that I have food intolerances. I felt the hair clumps pretty much immediately after I began eating less. This was a year ago.
Because of my food intolerances (gluten, vegetable oils, casein/whey), I changed my diet dramatically in the last five months, which helped my eczema but may be causing my hair to fall out. I also realized that I have a lot of regrowths. New strands of hair sticking out everywhere.

When my hair falls out, I realize that the roots have stopped growing for weeks before it fell out. I colored my hair so I have roots, but when I measure my lost strands, they have only a little bit of root grown on them. Coloring my hair isn't the problem because I had hair loss problem before doing so.

Don't know what to do. At least I have new hair regrowths, but not sure if they mean anything.

Speaking of diet and budget, what should I take into account when it comes to food?

My diet (I try to stick with paleo idealogy but I can't afford it): Vegetables (mainly carrots and broccoli) Rice, turmeric Goat milk and cow butter Eggs and occasional meat, occasional goat cheese

I think the problem is I don't eat enough though. I don't qualify for food stamps. I used to eat two plates of food, and I used to eat a whole foot of subways before I realized I am gluten intolerant. These days, I half less than half of what I used to eat. ):

flag	asked Jun 6 at 7:20 Paleomofo 1,876●3●18

	I'd say read Danny Roddy or Ray Peat a bit, and use their ideas you like. You probably want to increase your sugar intake (from fruit and honey). Some offal might help too. – Korion Jun 6 at 9:42
	INCREASE my sugar intake? I think I need to increase the amount of food I eat in general, it's just I am so effing poor! I take honey with milk a lot of times as a dessert, so I think my sugar intake is fine. Liver definitely tastes good though! – Paleomofo Jun 6 at 10:14
	Yeah increase, lol, why the caps lock? I don't see a lot wrong with your diet, except the fact you don't eat a lot, don't eat organs and don't eat sugar. Unless you're eating cups of honey. Any cheap sources of ripe fruit near you? – Korion Jun 6 at 20:00
	hows your skin and nails. the condition of hair, skin & nails are generally all connected...do you have a beau's line on any of your finger nails? dermnetnz.org/hair-nails-sweat/… – daz Jun 6 at 23:37
	Bananas are the only fruits I can afford, and I eat lots these days (which helps). My skin and nails are fine, even though I always had problem with acne and that changed once I switched my diet. My acne is coming back though, probably due to stress. – Paleomofo Jun 7 at 8:51

Eugenia · Answer 1 · 2012-06-06 09:33:46Z UTC

I have similar hair problems, but things got better after I went Paleo. My regimen: http://eugenia.queru.com/2011/10/20/how-to-make-free-healthcare-cheap/#update2

http://eugenia.queru.com/2012/03/05/top-10-must-eat-paleo-foods/

My suggestions (although I'm not a doctor):

Since you can do goat milk, I highly suggest you don't drink the milk as is, but you ferment it. Find some kefir grains on amazon, and do your own kefir, it helped me in various ways.
You need to eat more kinds of vegetables. Go to farmer's markets, they have cheaper and better veggies than you can find in most grocery stores.
Since you're on a budget, you definitely need to eat more offal. Offal meat is much cheaper than steaks, and it is much more nutritious!
Eat fish! And shellfish (especially oysters that have lots of zinc). Definitely don't skip seafood!
Supplement with D3 and Mg for starters (especially if you're not out in the sun much). E-tocotrienols, K2 and Q10-ubiquinol help with hair too, but start off with D3 and Mg.
Get off rice. Every time I eat rice, I get eczema on my head (I'm gluten intolerant too btw, but apparently I can't do any grain). If you really want some cheap, starchy food, then ferment lentils. Fermented lentils are much more nutritious (iron, manganese, folate), and safer than rice to eat! With fermentation, the lectins are going away. Info: http://eugenia.queru.com/2012/04/19/fermenting-lentils/ Rice is empty calories! Heck, even potatoes are much more nutritious and safer than rice.

Basically, you need to eat more variety: more veggies, more fish/shellfish, offal (especially liver), fermented foods, and supplement with D3 if you're not out in the sun much.

Thomy · Answer 2 · 2012-06-06 09:40:25Z UTC

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Check your thyroid. (Any other symptoms, such as flaky skin, cold hands, lethargy?) Also I would recommend the paleo autoimmune protocol for a few weeks, just to make sure, you're not allergic/sensitive to anything in your diet. (especially cross reactivity is often overlooked, e.g. along with my gluten-sensitivity I can't eat ANY kind of seed/kernel/nut, because the storage proteins are quite similar)

answered Jun 6 at 9:40

Thomy
3,124●2●5●18

I've been recommended "check your thyroid" since I was really young, but only if I can afford it! I stopped having flaky skin, tons of acne, cold hands, and fatigue after I cut gluten and cow dairy out of my diet. What's the paleo autoimmune protocol? – Paleomofo Jun 6 at 10:11

Basically you avoid any type of seed/kernel/nut (due to cross reactivity), egg whites and all nightshades. ..No potatoes, rice, nuts, sunflower seeds, tomatos, etc. ..but egg yolk is usually fine. Quite restrictive but very effective. – Thomy Jun 6 at 11:00

paleohacks.com/questions/90853/… – Thomy Jun 6 at 11:10

Avoid egg whites even though it's fully cooked? – Paleomofo Jun 6 at 20:19

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I see, thank you for the advice. – Paleomofo Jun 7 at 9:21

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Karen · Answer 3 · 2012-06-06 12:02:29Z UTC

Hair falls out all the time. Hair follicles stop production of hair for a period before the hair drops out, and then don't start production for a few weeks after. Shedding rate varies seasonally or due to other factors. It's also not unusual to have pretty sudden loss of more than the usual number of hairs during stressful times. So long as you are getting good regrowth ie. as many replacement hairs coming in as hairs lost, it's fine and not to worry about.

Diane · Answer 4 · 2012-06-06 17:09:41Z UTC

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You have suffered telogen effluvium which is acute hair loss. It's caused by stress, among other things. Since you have new growth you don't have a problem.

answered Jun 6 at 17:09

Diane
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BoneBrothFast · Answer 5 · 2012-06-09 03:31:13Z UTC

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Avoid the dairy.

Dairy directly impacts DHT levels which directly impact hair loss and skin/prostate issues.

answered Jun 9 at 3:31

BoneBrothFast
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	Where do you get this from? If everything would be that easy :D! – Korion Jun 9 at 8:59
	ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2715202 – BoneBrothFast Jun 9 at 16:21

Blitherakt · Answer 6 · 2012-07-07 06:43:51Z UTC

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When I started losing my hair, I decided to shave it all off.

Bald is sexy. And cheaper!

answered Jul 7 at 6:43

Blitherakt
1,689●2●10

jakie · Answer 7 · 2013-03-17 07:03:48Z UTC

I have the same problem. I am also losing hair at 19 and i'm intolerant to many foods. I cant have dairy, gluten, or sugar. I also have to avoid caffeine, spicy, white flour, and greasy foods because my adrenals are bad as well. My thyroid is also jacked up. I am taking herbal medication my doctor prescribed but its so expensive :( My hair has been falling out for eight months. And I'm getting tired of not eating.

sarah · Answer 8 · 2013-03-17 08:42:54Z UTC

I would say the parts that are falling out are actually breaking off and probably did have more re-growth on them.

What speed is you hair re-growth coming through? If it is 1+inches per month I think this is pretty normal and healthy for hair.

If you already have thin, fine hair it is going to always be more likely to fall out/break than coarse thick hair.

Stress is a major cause of hair loss, this could be contributing as-well as your diet. If you are not getting the right nutrients then your hair will stop growing as fast as it should.

PCOS/ other hormone issues can cause male balding patterns also.

Dying your hair is a BIG cause of breakage, especially if you are dying your hair blonde or bleeching. This is usually most noticable around the hair line where the hair is finer. Using heated stylers/blowdrying will cause your hair to dry and snap aswell.

Trust me I know all about this stuff, coming from a t1 diabetic that had no control of my blood sugars and was severely anemic, and had un-diagnosed celiacs disease (gluten intolerance) and also bleeched my hair. Those things combined caused my hair to grow slowly and thin out, but it wasn't noticeable to anyone but myself. Now I have noticed it growing faster and thicker since my health improved, but you have to be patient.. its taken 18months.

So unless your hair is really falling out to the point you are getting bald patches and is really noticeable to other people, I would just stop stressing over it and try to be as healthy as you can, then your hair will grown as healthy as it can. Remember though, if you hair is naturally fine and thin there is no way that its going to grow thick and voluminous, no matter how healthy you are.

Alex · Answer 9 · 2013-04-22 11:50:32Z UTC

It seems like as time goes on, more and more young people are discovering that they are getting bald earlier. What's the cause of it?Is it their diet? Lack of exercise due to all of the many gadgets and games available?. However excessive hair loss causes considerable distress since it is depressing image. Baldness also brings a sense of insecurity in an individual especially in public places. However, keeping its negative effects in mind, one should try and get rid of such severe problems.

Take action now and learn how using natural remedies will really help you out. You can do this all through the use by taking free initial consultation from good doctors at Forhair.com, foundhair.com and many more. They reveals many tips all young people should apply to keep their hair and regrow more.

Excessive hair loss at 19

9 Answers