The Beauty Diet (26 page)
Authors: Lisa Drayer
Hair loss ranges from extensive and permanent (going bald) to mild and temporary (hair thinning). Genes have a great deal to do with hair loss, as do hormonal shifts. For example, while you are pregnant, the percentage of hair on your head that is in the growing phase goes up dramatically. After childbirth, more follicles than usual enter the hair's resting phase all at once. When hair cycles all at once, it all falls out at the same time. This can be alarming, but it is completely normal. Fortunately you still have the same number of functioning hair follicles, and the hairs rebalance their phases in a few months at most. While your hair is growing in, it will be thinner than usual, but this is temporary. A similar syndrome can occur after you stop taking birth control pills or switch types of birth control pills.
Iron's Role in Beauty | |
Recommended Dietary Allowance | |
WOMEN | MEN |
18 mg (ages 19 to 50) | 8 mg (ages 19 and above) |
8 mg (ages 51 and above) | |
As you probably know by now, iron is a key beauty nutrient. The mineral plays important roles in the health of your hair and nails. There are two types of dietary iron: | |
Five Good Whole-Food Sources of Heme (Better-Absorbed) Iron | |
1. Chicken liver, cooked, 3½ oz. | 12.8 mg |
2. Oysters, 6 cooked | 4.5 mg |
3. Beef, chuck, lean, braised, 3 oz. | 3.2 mg |
4. Clams, cooked, ¾ cup | 3.0 mg |
5. Turkey, light meat, roasted, 3½ oz. | 1.6 mg |
Five Good Whole-Food Sources of Nonheme (Harder-to-Absorb) Iron | |
1. Soybeans, boiled, 1 cup | 8.8 mg |
2. Lentils, boiled, 1 cup | 6.6 mg |
3. Blackstrap molasses, 1 tablespoon | 3.5 mg |
4. Spinach, fresh, boiled, drained, ½ cup | 3.2 mg |
5. Raisins, ½ cup | 1.5 mg |
In addition to age and hormone shifts, causes of thinning hair include:
Too much styling, straightening, curling, coloring, or blow-drying. Hair loss due to overly tight hairstyles is called
traction alopecia
.
Physical damage to the follicles, such as burning or scarring
Illness (such as anemia or thyroid disease) or infection (including fungal infections)
Disorders that interfere with the body's ability to digest food and absorb vital nutrients
Dropping pounds quickly and being undernourished
Some medications (including chemotherapy)
An autoimmune reaction called
alopecia areata
, in which the body attacks the hair follicles and hair falls out. Total hair loss is called
alopecia areata totalis
, while the loss of all the hair on the body is called
alopecia universalis
.
Stress, either physical or emotional
Most causes of hair thinning are temporary, so with proper treatment hair will grow in again. Massaging the scalp can help stimulate blood flow to the scalp and may help hair grow in more rapidly.
According to Dr. David Kingsley, author of
The Hair-Loss Cure: A Self-Help Guide
, and a hair and scalp specialist in New York City, certain nutrients can help the cosmetic appearance of your hair when used in a shampoo or conditioner. Some products, however, just add "natural" ingredients that do little, if anything, for your hair except increase the price of the product! Here is a list of some beneficial ingredients, according to Kingsley:
Collagen
is used as a conditioning agent.
Castor oil
is used as a moisturizer in hair conditioners.