Hair loss & vitamin deficiency

In this day and age it is rare for anyone to suffer a severe vitamin deficiency but there is a school of opinion that the soil in which our fruits and vegetables are grown, has become gradually depleted of vitamins and minerals from generations of intensive farming. Couple this with the fact that many people, although they know they should, do not eat adequate daily amounts of fruit and vegetables. In fact there is a gradual shift in our diets away from natural foods towards manufactured foods, often to the detriment of their vitamin content.

Hair loss and vitamin deficiency are linked. Vitamin deficiency though, even when it does occur, is unlikely of itself, to cause loss of hair, but it could be a significant factor in making matters worse if you are all ready suffering from hair loss, say due to male pattern baldness, the most common form. This condition is basically hormonal in origin and caused by a build up of a male hormone that adversely affects some hair follicles, making them shrink and gradually become non-productive. A deficiency of some vitamins can render the hair follicles less able to cope with the hormonal insult and so cause a speeding up of hair loss.

It is important then for everyone to have an adequate daily vitamin consumption.. If you think your diet is not able to supply this then it may be worth taking a multi-vitamin supplement as long as you keep within the guidelines and don’t overdose.

Important vitamins and nutrients are as follows:

* Vitamin A
* All B vitamins, but particularly B6, B12, folic acid, and biotin
* Vitamin C
* Vitamin E
* Copper, iron, zinc, iodine, silica
* Protein
* Adequate daily water , at least four glasses

Some minerals and vitamins can influence the activity of another vitamin or mineral. For example, intake of lysine, vitamin B12 and vitamin C help in absorption of other factors like iron. The complexity of the body means that there are many potential interactions for even the simplest of nutrients.

Biotin is a B complex vitamin that seems to be particularly important in hair growth, and fortunately can be absorbed from different kinds of foods, typically green peas, nuts, some vegetables, and some wheat foods. It is estimated that adults require about 30 micrograms of biotin per day, and children between 6 and 12ncg per day. Biotin deficiency is a possibility in modern society and can be diagnosed by its tendency to cause brittle fingernails that tend to break easily, and predisposes to bad skin that’s prone to acne or psoriasis.

Certain environmental factors can deplete the available amounts of vitamins for the body to use. Major factors are: smoking, drinking alcohol, exercise and excessive sunlight exposure. Smoking is particularly bad for hair and skin. It depletes vitamin C, and the heat can break down collagen causing wrinkles to form, especially around the mouth. Heavy smoking is often associated with dry grey hair and loss of the hair’s natural color.

Vitamins and minerals are essential for proper health of the hair and therefore careful consideration needs to be given to ensuring that you are getting sufficient amounts, often a multivitamin can be beneficial. This is part of hair care and is necessary to preserve your valuable asset to your appearance – your head of hair.