The Diet for Thinning Hair
87The Diet for Thinning Hair
If you are experiencing thinning hair or hair loss, some changes in your diet can help. An underactive thyroid may be the cause and that can be rectified. Another cause is the heavy meat consumption in the American diet. Provided that you are not regularly using toxic dyes and chemicals on your hair (see link below) - here are some eating suggestions that have been proven useful.
It is important to look for organic whole foods, locally grown, mercury-free fish, and foods as fresh as possible. While supplements are often recommended they cannot compare or offer the same beneficial results as a diet of real whole food.
The Diet for Thinning Hair:
Sea Vegetables - If you have a thyroid issue sea vegetables are highly recommended for an underactive thyroid. An underactive thyroid can cause thinning of the hair and even the eyebrows. These sea vegetables include kelp, nori, and dulse (see the link below for the amazing health benefits of sea vegetables, also known as seaweed). If you east sushi it is often wrapped with nori. It is also sold in dried forms and can easily be sprinkled over foods. Add them several times per week. They are also sold in supplement form. Sea Vegetables have been determined to be far more beneficial than food grown on land.
I lived in Seoul, S. Korea over a 4 year period. Their diet is rich in sea vegetables. I can truthfully say in a city of 14 million people that I do not remember seeing bald men. Of course the overall Korean diet is superior to the American (US) diet.
Protein - Hair is made up mostly of protein so a protein rich diet is necessary. But not if your main source of protein is a large steak. In fact, eating large quantities of meat as Americans do can be counterproductive. A steak will increase testosterone levels, and this has been linked to hair loss. Eggs are an excellent source of protein (see link below on how to boil the perfect egg). Also add nuts, seeds, beans and fish. Other good choices are soy foods, and hemp foods. I can add too that the Korean diet has little or no meat on a daily basis.
Zinc - It has been shown that a zinc deficiency is common in men experiencing hair loss. While supplements are usually recommened there are food choices. The food richest in zinc is oysters. Other zinc rich foods include crab, lobster, almonds, cashews, chick peas, kidney beans, yogurt, mozzarella, flounder, and oatmeal, etc.
Silica - this mineral, the most abundant on earth, strengthens collagen which is what supports the hair matrix and accelerates hair growth. Silica is high in fibrous foods which include dark green leafy vegetables. Also beneficial are tomatoes, figs, grapes, apples, berries, onions, and flax seeds. Very high on the list is the skin of cucumbers. Unfortunately, we tend to peel cucumbers for fear of the pesticides that may be on them. Bean sprouts, red peppers, and green peppers are also high on the list.
It has been reported that the average American diet is made up of 80 percent processed food. Unfortunately, in processed foods, fiber (and silica) are the first things to go.
For a list of toxins in our shampoo and other personal care products/and healthy eating suggestions see links below:
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CommentsLoading...
I used to have real thick hair, but noticed that it's been thinning quite a bit. I dye my hair and take medication, could these be the reasons as well? Now you get to be my hair expert, hahaha! Good one!
Great hub once again! I always look forward to your hubs.
Hello creativeone59 - I love your clever comments! I think many women are seeing hair loss. We have been talked into so many toxic hair products. But we can cover it up much better than men but we are affected too.
I'm pretty sure IslandVoice that dye has a lot to do with it. I linked a hub to this hub about toxic personal care products and hair dye - it's pretty astounding how toxic it all is. But you still look great in your photo so you're doing something right. A healthy diet I bet.
Thank you Veronica Allen - and the feeling is mutual.
Thanks so much for writing.
Thanks you for your information and good advice.
You're welcome Hello, hello!
Another great hub, really enjoyed reading this one, going to send it to a few friends who are having issues with their hair LOL. BTW thanks for the comments on my hub
Glad you liked the hub edguider!
And thanks for sharing it with your friends. Now that I have written this I am finding out that many of my women friends are having hair loss issues. I thought it was mostly men.
Hope it proves useful. And I enjoyed your first hub!
Thank u for sharing useful and adoptable food habits, which avoids thinning of hair.
You're very welcome sarovai. So nice to meet you!
Thank you for reading and commenting!
Thanks Bk creative for sharing this info. The list you have given for thinning hair is very informative and should be of great help. Cheers
Thanks jab23. I hope it will be useful. I'm so happy to see people going back to real whole foods instead of a magic pill - which doesn't work.
Thank you for writing!
I just wrote an article on thinning hair for another website and decided to check yours out. Good tips and I definitely second the one on sea vegetables. Seaweed is high in selenium, an essential nutrient for hair growth.
Thanks for sharing.
I'm surprised anginwu - at all the women telling me about their hairloss - it's seems to be approaching epidemic proportions in the US. We have to change our diet and environment - this is yet another health warning that we need to heed.
Nice to meet you by the way - I've become your fan already. I love your hubs and I love Singapore - one of my all time favorite places in the world!
very helpful thank you I do have a problem with my thyroid and I take medication for it but I have lost most of my hair and it's very thin. I worry that one day I won't have any at all.
Glad the info is helpful and maybe adding some of the sea vegetables will help your thyroid.
Thank you Tracy711 for commenting!
Very informative. Thanks.
You're very welcome Philipo.
Thank you for commenting!
Great information. I'm sharing this with others.
Thanks for the compliment steffsings.
I appreciate your sharing it with others. There has to be reasons why Americans more than any other country is having this epidemic of serious hair loss. Diet is a good place to start because it benefits us wholistically.
This is tru as I myself suffer from an underactive thyroid and my hair has been fine for a long time now. I would like to think it will thicken up soon and maybe with a little help from your hub it will.
Hello Helen Cater!
I am learning so much about hair loss as I do this research - it's even much much more common than I had originally thought.
I do hope you will see some changes if you add certain foods to your diet. I'm sure hubbers would love to hear from you and your positive results.
hair loss and thinning appears to be a problem with most of the people these days. Is it really that our food is low quality these days or some other factors like pollution is also responsible?
I enjoyed reading your article. This is good information. My thyroid is normal from what I was told. I lost somewhat a great deal of hair. I love the food source of Zinc,Lobster, Crab, yummy. That would be my daily diet from now on, LOL! Thanks again:)
It's so true mudasir - and I was taken by surprise when I learned the amount of women affected but then we can always wear headwraps and wigs and it is not as noticeable. So why in the US more than other countries? - our low quality foods as you say - and pollution. Then just the other day the news reported that shower heads are filthy and spew dangerous toxins - what if all those years showering with water hitting the scalp is part of the problem? Something else to think about.
Glad you enjoyed the article tim-tim. I'd really like to know if you see change when you add more natural zinc to your diet. Maybe you will write a hub.
Now, I'm concerned too about showerheads and the toxins they rain down on us. Sigh! It just doesn't end. We have been had and in every way.
Thanks again to you!
Best hub About The Diet for Thinning Hair
.
Thanks
Nice to meet you sumon6 - and thanks for the compliment!
Great hub. Another one to bookmark =).
Thanks so much emievil!
Glad you are finding it useful!
BK, not for me actually. For my husband, I think he's going to need to read your hub in a few years. Sssshhhh, don't tell him I told you =).
Ok emievil! - and he'll be lucky to have you there to guide him! I'll try to keep it quiet!
Interesting. I know a lot of women wind up with thinning hair and actually some younger folks I know as well. Thanks for the info.
It seems to be all too common Delores Monet - a lot more women are experiencing thinning hair - much more than I realized.
Thank you for commenting!
I never realized all these foods could actually be good for growing hair. Thank you for the information.
Thanks for posting this. While I don't think that my hair is thinning, there are times where I'll run my fingers thru my hair and several strands will come out; I can repeat it several times and still have hair come out. It's not clumps, but it still worries me.
Thanks again!
You're welcome Stuart Barnes. I'm glad you found the information useful!
Hello TheSablirab. I've read that we do lose a certain amount of hair daily - shedding maybe. You're probably okay. When I wash my hair it seems like a ton comes out but then I don't feel like I have any less. Nice to meet you by the way.
Thanks for writing!
I am guessing this boat has sailed for me...
Good diet article on hair loss and thinning. Try Henna it thickens the hair, and adds body!
Hi Lee Boolean - I see you have made the most of your 'do!
Thanks nan.mynatt@comcast.net for the tip - true about henna, a safe alternative to most of the hair dye products - it can color or just nourish.
Thanks for writing!
You bet BkC, after all, there are only that many perfect heads, the rest must be covered (just kidding)...
Note to the men reading this hub in a desperate attempt to keep what's left.. If you can keep it good for you, but if not, have some dignity about it, there are much worse things in life than going topless.
That makes me feel better. Even when I'm in the shower, strands still come out when I wash my hair, its crazy. I still want to try what you recommended, I like my hair.
It doesnt matter about your hair guys. It's your personality. It's how you treat a lady, like making her feel safe by first meeting her in a coffee shop around people, caring how she feels, taking her to lunch and not just saying come home with me or arriving with a bottle or putting dirty pictures on the internet with great looking bodies and HAIR
Speaking of hair Lee Boolean - my son shaved his head at 19 (much to my horror) and now 21 years later he still shaves it. He made this choice because he knows he looks great this way - he kind of grew into the bald head look. Men can do the bald thing - but I think it should be total - not a comb over or that horseshoe - for women it has been a different issue.
As I commented earlier Sablirab - I seem to lose a ton of hair when I wash it - I have a lot of hair but still I'm surprised with how much comes out - but I read it's supposed to. By the way - the shower - have you heard that shower heads are toxic? So much gunk remains and then showers on us. I wonder now if this is a cause of hairloss for men getting that horseshoe shape - I mean it just fits - the way the water rains down on that part of your head.
Yes, lela, men need to recognize that there are 10 million more things that are more important - and if you're going bald, just shave it - don't cling to it, maybe wear a nice turtle neck - that looks good.
Thanks for writing!
lela is quite right, in my experience ladies don't really care unless they are absolutely fixated on hair in their partner, this is ok, no use going into a relationship when you are not attracted to your partner.
BkC, glad you said that, nothing worse than the combover really, everyone knows it and it becomes less likely that a lady will find a man attractive if he is not comfortable with himself.
As for the shower head.. an interesting theory, but then in some parts of the world where showering is optional the horseshoe takes shape anyway... would be grand if man's greatest vanity fear were that easy to solve though.
A nice turtle neck with a bald head can make you look like man's 'other' great vanity fear though, so stay away from beige (or brown) turtlenecks guys }:->
Yikes - so true about the color of the turtleneck!!!!!! I never would have thought of that. That is so hilarious! Now I have this vision that won't go away. I mean like never - it will never go away! Thanks for checking back - this is vital information - and funny too! Vital funny information.
see Bk, you were just impressed for life by a bald man...
have a great weekend!
Great Info..
Thank you cutedoll! Nice to meet you!
very good info. indeed
Thanks lovofnight - glad you found the information useful!
Really very useful hub for all people.I will bookmark this hub.Thank you.
Thank you meteoboy! Glad you found the information so useful! I learn so much as I do this research.
Supplements are also a great addition to help treat hair loss. It is very difficult to get the adequate amount of vitamins and minerals from diet alone.
So true, unfortunately. Our food supply is not only seriously lacking in nutrition, it can be toxic.
But a warning - Just know that supplements are not regulated by any agency - not even the FDA so you have no idea what you are getting. Anything can be in the supplement - it is only after a problem that the FDA steps in.
It's always best to go with whole foods, locally grown, organic and in season. Know your whole food source for best health options.
BkCreative, thank you for this hub. I used to have natural curly hair, but my highschool classmates used to tease me about it. My aunt used to own a beauty salon and she straightened my hair two times. The result, thinning hair but the curly locks is still here. Now, I appreciate what my parents gave me (that's genetic).
Enjoy your curly hair travel_man1971! I bet your classmates were hoping they had your curly hair!
We've all done so much to our hair - it had to be the opposite of what we had. I'm surprised more of us aren't bald!
Always good to hear from you!
Thank you for this, it has been most helpful, your newest fan, Kimberly
Thank you, very helpful.
You're welcome lyricsingray!
And Big Brother. I'm glad it's helpful!
I've read this hub a few times now. I've been using zinc for about the last year or so, but only in supplements, and seen perhaps a little difference. I want to get a hold of some proper foods which contain it though.
I'm glad you wrote Anti-Valentine!
Foods are always better - as supplements are not regulated by any agency so you don't know what you are ingesting. If you are seeing a difference then it sounds like you have a good product. But whole foods always offer extra benefits.
Nice to meet you too!
Great HUB - a lot of useful information. I would like to add that the herb "horsetail" is high in silicon (silica) and is great for hair, skin and fingernail health. Thanks for the info.
Thanks for the extra information Edith!
I don't know much but i have read it somewhere that if you add some nuts like walnut, peanuts, pistachios etc than you can solve the problem............
You can't go wrong adding those nuts and the peanuts - nutrition can only be beneficial overall. Thanks Tomma Busse!
these might be another reason for hair loss....
There are always other reasons. Share some of your thoughts. Sounds like another hub!
I will try your suggestion BkCreative.
I'd love to know how it works for you Bbudoyono! Thanks for writing!
Thank you for this great hub cheers
You're very welcome Cleanclover - thanks for commenting!
great tips BkCreative... good hub!
Thank you harrisdy - glad you like the hub!
BK Creative, Nice informative hub! Great tips as always! My hair is long and I notice it is getting a little finer so I will try your suggestions! Thank you for sharing,
Blessings!
I'm glad you found the hub informative Deborrah K. Ogans. Always great to hear from you!
hey BK< I was looking for this article as you always write informative ones, am happy to read and drop by always, I learned a lot stuffs which are useful too, My mother used to tell us to eat seafoods as it is good for the thyroid glands too,
I will look for your other article about dancing too, Thank you for this one, Maita
Isn't it great to have mothers to tell us these things - from experience. We don't always listen - but we hear them!
Glad you found the dancing article. We can eat food from the sea and dance!
This is a very interesting article.
Thanks for commenting deestew - glad you found the hub interesting!
Thanks for posting this. Wish it really was only diet because I would still have a head of hair. ;)
Ah, there is so much Liquid HCG Diet! I've read that shower heads are filled with toxic gunk - what if this is a cause? And certainly stress and genetics. And our food is so bad. Then we use toxic shampoo and on and on. Sigh!
Yes, I believe as well that when we are exposed to toxins in our environment, we are most likely to be affected by it. One of the symptoms are; hair loss, ensomnia, and fatigue among others. Thank you for this very useful tips. More power to you BkCreative.
Thank you too Teresa Laurent - if our health inside and out is being affected there must be a reason. We have tons of toxins - they can't be beneficial. Thanks for commenting!
MY 3 older brothers all are losing there hair.I am next.My hair is thinning slowly.I use to have really thick hair.I was told my mothers father was bald so its hereditary?My father had a full head of hair.I will try the sea vegtables and lay off the meats.I will let you know?
Please do let me know. So far I am doing pretty good but I am surprised at my many women friends who are losing their hair - I had no idea. And this isn't happening everywhere in the world - so why here. We have to find the reasons and solutions.
Wonderful hub! I'm glad you mentioned how foolish people are that look to steak and other meats for protein. Foolish choices!
I have to wonder GreenThumbLady, if in S. Korea they eat from the sea but almost no meat and all the men have tons of hair into old age - but then in the US massive amounts of meat (of poor quality) are consumed and men are overwhelmingly bald - hmmmm, what does it mean. Ahh, but what can you say - bald men are offered magic bullets so don't want to hear about meat.
Thanks for commenting!
Zinc is good advice. Good hub. Thums up!
Thank you so much arizonataylor!
im 29 from Australia and have been told i have inherited baldness im still in denial and very upset about it. strange enough all my aunties and mum included have lots of hair and my grandmother thats 95 still has hair... im going to try the sea vegetables...i cant be the only female in my family that has thinning and will go lose my hair.. thanks for the info and would love to hear if it has worked,
I'd love to hear from you again Mariana. I know friends with the same issue. Their mothers, aunts everyone has abundant hair but they are losing theirs. The vegetables help but then here in the US so many women are using some pretty toxic hair straightening and coloring products - and then the stress.
I hope this works for you. I read that in Australia there was a lot of seaweed that was being destroyed - but that same seaweed is harvested in S. Korea and regularly eaten (I enjoyed it in soups when I lived there) - and the people in S. Korea do not have the balding problems like here in the US. They have a diet very high in kelp and seaweed and sea vegetables.
BKCreative,you have provided nice information and how to cure thinning of hair with vegetables.
The most common cause in female is iron deficiency anemia due to which hair start shedding.
-There are various reasons for anemia in female like heavy menses,pregnancy,lactation so good vegetables which contain iron rich ingadients are helpfull to control shedding of hair
Thanks for that information Hair Transplant in Pakistan. It makes so much sense. I keep reading about how inferior our quality of food is here in the US and it is devoid of sufficient iron. There was even a time we cooked with cast iron frying pans - which provided iron - but no more - it is toxic nonstick pans.
Being aware of the deficiency is a good place to start and then eating accordingly. I appreciate your input. Thanks again.
My my you have done your research.. I wish I could have read your hub 20 years ago.. I think its a little too late now!
Seems we get so much information waaay after the fact, doesn't it Weight Loss Tipster? But wouldn't it be great if someone could read this hub 20 years from now - and say 'hey, I read it back then and it worked!'- Thanks for taking the time to comment. And thanks for the compliment!
Nice post! That makes sense with silica. In most countries it is natural-like china- and you really dont see bald people in china. I also heard silica is the most abundant thing found on earth- do you know if thats true??
Thanks Ryan Wescott - what I just read is that silica is the name given to a group of minerals composed of oxygen and silicon - the two most abundant elements found in the earth's crust. And silicon is found in beer, I think particularly the pale ales (I need to add that to the list - especially since I just wrote a hub about beer).
So true about China, when I was there I saw no bald men - same thing in S. Korea - where I worked over a 4 year period. Then throughout Africa - I don't remember baldness. So why here? We know diet and environment affects our health. I read too that high blood pressure can cause hair loss, eating too much red meats - both part of our western lifestyle as well as the industrialized non-fresh GMO foods. Then I read horror stories about filth gushing from shower heads - something that is never cleaned. I just refuse to believe everything wrong with us is suddenly genetic.
Thanks for commenting!
Great informative hub, easy to read and follow!
Sea vegetables are not so easy to find so I eat a lot of regular vegetables blended in a regular blender with a bit of sea salt and coconut oil. I eat eggs and fresh fruits and massage my scalp with a magnetic roller.
My hair was falling out in clumps a couple of years ago. I was able to reverse it all within 5 months by changing my diet and by stimulating my scalp.
Thanks for passing along your tips Craan. There is nothing like a personal experience shared. That magnetic roller I am not familiar with but it sounds intriguing.
Thanks for commenting!
I have had hair loss and I'm going to try some of your suggestions. Thanks. Linda
Hope it works for you. I am surprised at how many of my female friends are losing their hair. It's frightening.
Thanks for writing!
I never heard of the Shielo brand. However, on a tip from someone else.....I tried it....and it's AWESOME! Specifically their Volume line. It makes your hair VERY thick the very first time you use it. It only contains natural ingredients too! Great product! If you want to thicken your hair for a GREAT price for a quality shampoo then you might want to try this product! I was shocked, but this shampoo is the best thickening shampoo that I have ever used (and I've used a many). Great Product!
Thanks Eddie. I'm sure readers will appreciate your recommendation. I'm going to research it now.
Yes! I so completely agree with you that diet is important for hair health and health generally and I want to share my story to back up what you've said. Although I'm a little bit surprised at the suggestion of the Korean diet being an optimal diet and the assertion of Korean men having almost no balding. For one thing Korea has the highest rate of stomach cancer in the world, which is linked to the saltiness of its traditional fare, and while I lived in Korea for about 3 and a half years, I was quite frankly shocked at how many Korean men I saw with thinning hair, receding hairlines, and outright baldness. Going on the subway, into restaurants, etc, hair loss is evidently very widespread there nowadays.
In terms of my own situation, before I went to Korea, I ate mostly vegetarian food, consumed not much salty food or alcohol, and had no problem with hair loss. However, on arriving in Korea, it was so hard to fit in because, along with the high consumption of strong liquor (soju) and traditional salty foods, meat-eating is actually so central a part of Korean social life. So I bit the bullet and reverted to regularly eating meat and taking on other bad habits with my Korean friends and coworkers, and before a year had passed, to my dismay my hair began to thin and shed rapidly. After a while I tried ordering pills and remedies online, purchasing the local brands of hair loss shampoo, but nothing seemed to work and I became increasingly despondent. Then I got desperate and while continuing to take a purely herbal supplement for hair health, I changed to a 95% plant based diet, forgoing a regular social life in Korea, preparing all my own meals, and became much more physically active, doing hiking, light aerobics, and other lively activities on a daily basis. After about a month,... well, well,well! I was no longer experiencing the anguish of finding strands of shedded hair in my palms during hairwashing or seeing them fall to the ground each time I combed my hair, and now people remark that my hair appears thicker and fuller. Even my partner thinks so. While I'm realistic and don't expect my hair to be completely restored to how it was in my younger days, I now know from experience that diet (and, I would add, an active lifestyle) is indeed an important factor in slowing, stopping, and perhaps at least partially reversing hair loss!
Thanks for sharing your personal experience here. During my years in Seoul, I did not see the balding you did. But black hair dye use was becoming extremely popular with older men and that has a devastating effect on hair and health. Where I lived there were more hair salons for men than for women. This type of hair care and all the chemicals that go with it are damaging. But diet is a whole separate issue.
I know about Korean BBQ but as a rule the Korean cuisine is made up of minimal amounts of meats, meat being mostly used for seasoning. But of course there is choice. I'm not a meat eater (or chicken) but adhering to the traditional Korean cuisine with American junk food here and there my cholesterol went down 40% in 3 months and there was never a weight problem.
Sounds like your lifestyle changes are what did it for you.
Thanks for the guidelines shared on your blog. One more thing I would like to convey is that weight loss is not information on going on a celebrity diet and trying to lose as much weight as possible in a few months. The most effective way to burn fat is by having it bit by bit and following some basic tips which can enable you to make the most through your attempt to lose fat. You may realize and already be following most of these tips, however reinforcing information never affects.
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Thanks for the information Nicholas Sellers. I'll look into it.
you should go with hair loss preventing treatment.One of the best tablet for this is bFinpecia. Male hair issues are completely solved with the intake of this medication. In simple words we can Finpecia as the generic Propecia that has the same active constituent like the branded counterpart and shows
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creativeone59 Level 4 Commenter 2 years ago
Did you do this hub just for me, I have had hair loss problems for a while. thank you a well needed hub. godspeed. creativeone59