As a health coach who primarily works with women, hair loss tops the list of concerns that come up. Hair loss is something I’ve dealt with myself. It’s listed as a symptom of thyroid disease, but here’s my perspective on illness. Remember, I am not a medical doctor. My views developed from my own journey, as well as the wisdom of others. Disease is an overall imbalance. There’s levels or intensities of disease and illness. You may start out with headaches or stomach aches like I did, and then eventually, you get a bigger siren. In my case, it was hypothyroidism.
The symptoms of hypothyroidism are branches from the trunk of an overall imbalance. You could even call hypothyroidism or any disease a symptom in itself. This notion is something Anthony William (Medical Medium) discusses a lot in his books and articles online. The longer I worked at healing my thyroid, the more I embraced the intelligence of my body. The power of nutrition; secondary foods (foods we eat) and primary foods (areas of our lives that feed us) can’t be blown off (as my own doctors did) when it comes to healing. There are times when we need conventional medical treatment, but these nutrition considerations should always be with the treatment.
Hair Loss: Secondary Foods
There are many things that stuck with me from my health coach training at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Primary and secondary foods are one. Another important concept is this: everything is nutritional. The physical foods that we eat need to be wholesome, powerful, energetic, and full of life. Why? We are living in a new world. Much of our natural resources and environment are depleted and damaged. Many people have woken up to this, and there are amazing efforts in place to restore our soil and water. The return to traditional farming methods, and nurturing our planet is happening.
However, the results of so many years of abuse and neglect to our surroundings are pretty easy to see. Our children today are more sick than ever. Allergies, disease, obesity, and other challenges face them. Adults are very sick as well. Obviously, our physical food is very important. A diet that is rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, healthy fats, and healthy protein are important to our overall health, and to our hair. Just like our thyroids, our skin, teeth, and hair showcases what’s happening internally.
Hair Loss: Primary Foods
In addition to the foods we eat, how we are living our lives feeds us. Our spirituality, career, relationships, and physical activity affect our health. Stress affects our health, and stress affects our hair. Experiencing steady stress, or having chronic stress, leads to many health issues. Hair loss is one sign that your body is experiencing a loss of something or an imbalance.
Tuning into your gut feelings, and following that little voice that speaks up when things seem wrong are extremely important in reducing stress. Many of us take on responsibilities, agree to do too many things, and simply overstretch ourselves. This leads to making poor choices with the secondary foods, as well as feeding stress hormones. Stress hormones steal raw materials (vitamins, minerals, protein, etc.) that could otherwise be used for sex hormones. When our sex hormones are built well, and are in balance, our hair shows that off!
Why Do Women Lose Their Hair?
Pregnancy causes our hair to grow because our bodies are in that “growing” state. This is due to estrogen. After birth, we start shedding a lot of that extra hair that grew as our hormone levels (especially estrogen) come back to where they were before pregnancy. This situation is different for everyone, as it lasts different amounts of time, and starts and stops at different points. Most of these changes are temporary, but if you’re not getting proper nutrition or have steady stress, then you’ll experience more hair loss. This is why postnatal care is so important. Taking a solid multivitamin and other supplements to support your body needs to occur through birth and beyond. Many moms have gaps in their diet because of the rough and tumble of motherhood. Many underestimate that we need to take supplements through these years of our lives.
Hair Loss Prevention and Treatment
Foods and Your Digestion
A diet rich in vegetables, fruits, healthy fat, adequate protein, and healthy hydration will give you the best chance at having healthy hair. Gut health is important too, because you have to be assimilating your food properly. If you think your digestion could be off, then that’s affecting your body’s ability to absorb vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that support you internally, which then affects hair health. One way to promote gut health is to get probiotics through proper foods and supplements. Another way to ensure your gut is healthy is to drink bone broth or incorporate gelatin powder into your diet regularly. This is especially helpful when eating meat because we tend to have an imbalance of amino acids when consuming it. We get too much muscle meat, and not enough of the gelatin from the rest of the carcass. This is another factor in hormone imbalance and overall imbalance in our bodies.
Stress
Stress is a major culprit in losing hair too. If you’re experiencing steady stress, or feeling overwhelmed, then it’s necessary to ask for help and make the necessary changes. Many women feel guilty asking for help, or taking breaks to rest or pamper themselves. In this day and age, these things are necessary. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Taking a nap, going to bed early, drawing a bubble bath, or drinking a cup of tea and watching a movie while kids sleep are all simple things that flip the switch from flight or fight to rest and digest.
Supplements, Essential Oils, and Shampoos for Hair Growth
The supplements that I recommend on this site are helpful in promoting hair growth because they support essential vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that women especially are missing or getting low amounts of. If you’re looking for something more particular in boosting hair growth, a biotin-based supplement like this works very well. It’s important to talk with your doctor about testing for nutritional deficiencies. Iron levels can drop during pregnancy, as well as after birth, which can play a role in hair loss.
Rosemary essential oil is great to massage in the scalp with a natural shampoo that supports hair growth. Just pour a couple drops into a dollop of shampoo in your hand and massage your scalp.
None of us can do this alone. Consider nutrition in all forms. Be gentle with yourself, and speak up for your needs. Your hair will show up for you if you show up for yourself.
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