Hair Loss Basics

Celiac disease is a digestive condition triggered by consumption of the protein gluten, in foods containing wheat, barley or rye, such as bread, pasta, cookies, pizza crust and many other. Oats may contain gluten as well. When a person with celiac disease eats foods containing gluten, an immune reaction occurs in the small intestine, resulting in damage to the surface of the small intestine and an inability to absorb certain nutrients from food.

Eventually, decreased absorption of nutrients (malabsorption) can cause vitamin deficiencies that deprive your brain, peripheral nervous system, bones, liver and other organs of vital nourishment, which can lead to other illnesses.  No treatment can cure celiac disease. However, the condition can be effectively managed through changing your diet.

There are no typical signs and symptoms of celiac disease. Most people with the disease have general complaints, such as intermittent diarrhea, abdominal pain and bloating. Sometimes people with celiac disease may have no gastrointestinal symptoms at all. Celiac disease symptoms can also mimic those of other conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome, gastric ulcers, Crohn’s disease, parasite infections, anemia, skin disorders or a nervous condition.

Celiac disease may also present itself in less obvious ways, including irritability or depression, anemia, stomach upset, joint pain, muscle cramps, skin rash, mouth sores, dental and bone disorders (such as osteoporosis), and hair loss.  These make sense as celiac disease prevents your body from properly absorbing those nutrients; therefore, if you have celiac, you can have health problems. Following a gluten-free diet can treat the disease.

Source: http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/

Many women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), also called polycystic ovaries, either suffer from hirsutism - excess hair growth - or male pattern baldness.

For most PCOS sufferers, hair in the mustache and beard areas becomes heavier and darker. Masculine hair on the arms and legs is also possible, as well as hair on the abdomen, chest or back, together with extra growth in the pubic area. High levels of male hormones (androgens) cause this condition.

Just as heavier hair growth is possible, so is the type of hair thinning that many men experience (male pattern baldness). The high levels of excess insulin seen with PCOS can stimulate the ovaries to produce large amounts of the male hormone testosterone, preventing the ovaries from releasing an egg each month and causing infertility. Another side effect of high testosterone levels in women is the excessive hair growth or loss outlined above.

Excess insulin is caused by Insulin Resistance. This condition lies at the center of PCOS by preventing the efficient conversion of food into energy because of a vastly reduced number of insulin receptor sites on the surface of each cell. Too few receptor sites cause glucose and insulin levels in the blood stream to become severely unbalanced, leading to an increase in free-floating glucose which is sent to the liver and converted to excess body fat. This can result in weight gain and obesity, which, in turn, may lead not only to PCOS but also to other serious health conditions like Cardiovascular Disease and Type 2 Diabetes.

Source: http://pcos.insulitelabs.com/PCOS-and-Hair-Growth-or-Loss.php

Your hair is a fairly accurate barometer of your health. Hair cells are some of the fastest growing in the body, and when your body is under stress or in crisis, hair cells can shut down in order to redirect energy elsewhere, to places where it is needed. The types of physical situations that can cause hair loss include hormonal changes, nutritional deficiencies, a variety of medications, surgery, and many medical conditions, in particular, thyroid disease.

Hair loss is actually fairly common. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, nearly half of all adults in the U.S. will experience thinning hair by age 40. But thyroid patients in particular may experience hair loss earlier and more quickly than usual.

Normally, hair grows about a half inch a month for about three years, and then it goes into a resting period.

One in ten hairs is in a resting period at any one time, and after about three months a new hair pushes the old one out. When more hairs go into resting period, or the conversion process speeds up, the balance becomes disrupted, and hair loss occurs.

Hormonally induced hair loss takes place when an enzyme starts to convert the hormone testosterone on the scalp to its less useful version, dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. DHT then attacks the hair follicle, and shrinks it, even making it disappear entirely. Hair becomes thinner and finer, and may stop growing entirely. This conversion of testosterone to DHT seems to be sped up in some patients with hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, and may be the cause of hair loss that continues for thyroid patients, despite what is considered sufficient thyroid treatment.

Some people actually complain that rapid hair loss is the worst symptom of their thyroid problem - the thinning hair, large amounts of hair falling out in the shower or sink, often accompanied by changes in the hair’s texture, making it dry, coarse, or easily tangled. Interestingly, some people have actually written to tell me that their thyroid problem was initially “diagnosed” by a hairdresser, who noticed the change in their hair!

While thyroid disease frequently causes general hair loss from the hair on the head, a unique and characteristic symptom of hypothyroidism is loss of the hair on the outer edge of the eyebrows. General loss of body hair from areas other than the head can also be seen in thyroid disease.

If you have a thyroid condition, and are concerned about the amount of hair you are losing, here are some steps to take.

• Getting evaluated by a dermatologist
• Making sure it’s not your thyroid drug (it can be a side effect)
• Making sure you aren’t being undertreated
• Consulting with a doctor to see if you have any nutritional deficiencies that can be correct with supplements
• Considering alternative treatments

Source: http://thyroid.about.com/cs/hairloss/a/hairloss.htm, http://thyroid.about.com/cs/symptomsproblems/a/hairloss.htm

You might not be aware about it but 1 out of 4 American women have female hair loss. Although not as prominent as they are in men, women who have Female Pattern Baldness or FBP experience the same thing men do in terms of hair getting thinner until no hair eventually grows from the scalp.

FBP in women can be caused by:

• Heredity
• High levels of male sex hormones known as androgens
• Age
• Hormones gone awry because of menopause, birth control pills or even pregnancy
• Iron deficiency
• Exposure to toxins (smoking, chemotherapy, certain medicinal compounds)

Some say women are luckier than men when it comes to hair loss. Women do not generally experience total hair loss on all parts of their head as the frontal hairline is usually still intact. Sometimes, not all parts of the scalp experience thinning and instead grow thicker. This just leads to hair that is less dense but with no signs of hair loss.

However, women are unluckier than men when it comes to hair loss. Men do not have to deal with the societal consequences of hair that is not attractively dense and lush. Hair loss in men is usually pretty obvious and occurs early on with telltale signs in the shape of their crowns. Women would normally detect it in their late 20’s to early 40’s.

Stress that causes hair loss and thinning is not FBP. Known as telogen effluvium, it is the body’s way of diverting energy during the resting phase. Hair lost in sleep is easily replaced by new hair and less stress.

Although women do not normally experience total hair loss, it can happen. This would most likely be caused by other factors. Since baldness is caused by the sebaceous glands producing more male hormones that lead to hair thinning and loss, it is advisable for women to have themselves checked in cases of extreme hair loss. Preventing hair loss in women, especially in today’s world cannot be more important.

Treatment for baldness or receding hair is different for men and women. Finasteride (Propecia) is good for men but women and children would find this medication too strong. Minoxidil (Rogaine) can be practical for both men and women but with baldness being rarer in women and with hair loss likely to become more of a symptom rather than the actual disease in women, proper examinations and diagnoses should be made before getting treated.