Your queries about natural health answered

Your queries about natural health answered by Jacquie Lane for The College of Naturopathic Medicine

My hair has thinned so much that my scalp can be seen. I’m a 45 year old woman unaware of any health problems.
CL.

Assuming that your hair loss is all over and not in patches (such as would be caused by Alopecia), the first thing to rule out would be a low functioning thyroid as this can lead to thinning of the hair on the scalp and the outer section of the eyebrow. Your doctor can run a Thyroid test, so can your nutritional practitioner.

If no thyroid problems show up, the next intervention is looking for any nutritional deficiencies. A well-balanced diet which is plentiful in vitamins and minerals is essential for abundant hair.

There are 4.8 million women in the UK who are said to suffer from a condition called CTE, Chronic Telogen Effluvium, which causes constant and persistent hair shedding. Usually between the ages of 18-50 years old, 95 per cent of all hair loss in women can be attributed to genetic loss (20 per cent) and CTE (80 per cent).

The major cause of CTE is low serum ferritin. Ferritin relates to the amount of stored iron we have in our body. When this falls below a certain point hair shedding is the consequence. The reduction in eating red meat is thought to be one of the reasons for these deficiencies, the other is heavy menstrual loss.

Having a healthy and varied diet is the start to dealing with this condition, as is taking the right levels of these nutrients in the correct supplement form.

Once you have corrected the issue, continuing with a diet high in good quality proteins and vegetables will help prevent it reoccurring: foods such as lentils, beans, organic naturally fermented soy, spinach, tuna, lean beef, dark meat turkey etc.

Don’t drink black tea at meal times as tannins in it bind to the minerals and impair absorption of iron. Eat vitamin C rich foods with iron rich foods for better absorption of the iron, e.g broccoli and peppers with the tuna or red meat.

A nutritional therapist can help you put together a plan that works for you.

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www.naturopathy-uk.com
01342 410505.