Alopecia World
Where acceptance is all there is!
elimination diet stopped my hair from falling out
Hello all,
I hope that this information will be helpful. I had aa once 14 years ago. I had a couple of small patches on the back of my head, I got the cortisone shots and it went away within a year. 2 months ago I noticed a patch on the side of my head. I went to get the shots but they weren't stopping the hair from falling out. Everyone kept telling me to relax and that stress probably caused this. But I didn't feel stressed out and that just didn't ring true to me. My hair falling out is what was stressing me out. I searched all over the internet for a cure or anything that would help. The more I looked for a cure the more depressed I became because every site said there is nothing to do but to accept it, that aa has a mind of it's own. Every day the hair would continue to fall out. The patch on my head is 3" by 2" some may say that isn't that big but I have a small head! And it wasn't stopping. I started looking at other options and found a naturopath in NYC. He was confident he could help me. He said auto immune disorders are commonly linked to food allergies. He put me on a strict elimination diet and after 7 days on the diet, my hair stopped falling out completely. But not only did it stop falling out, my scalp felt normal again. Since it had started my scalp was always itchy, burning and irriated, I couldn't forget about the aa even if I wanted to. I didn't have any other symptoms (felt great) so I had no idea that it could be a food allergy. I started the diet 2 weeks ago, so I haven't reintroduced any foods yet so I dont know what was causing the problem. If anyone would like to try this diet, here is what I did.
Foods to avoid:
1. glutinous grains: wheat, rye, barley, and oats including flours
2. all dairy
3. eggs
4. corn
5. soy (tofu, tempeh, etc)
6. peanuts (make sure to look on packages of other types of nuts that they weren't packaged on the same belt as peanuts) I found that most nuts are packaged with peanuts, so avoid these as well.
7. citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes)
8. yeast
9. refined sugars
10. highly processed food, chemicals, additives, preservatives, artificial coloring, flavorings
11. caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate and soft drinks) even decaf coffee has some caffeine in it so this should be avoided as well. herbal tea is ok
*You may have white rice, brown rice, quinoa, rice pasta, meat (no cold cuts, hot dogs, nothing processed), chicken, fish, among all of the other vegetables and fruits. To give my food flavor I cook with a lot of salt and pepper and garlic.
It is important to read the labels of any foods you eat during the elimination period. These ingredients are included in many food that you wouldn't necessarily think of. For example, many drinks and snacks are sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, which comes from corn. Likewise, anything containing the following words probably contains wheat flour: stabilizer, starch, malt, flavoring, emulsifier, or hydrolyzed plant protein.
After the elimination diet, you introduce one food at a time. You consume a lot of the that food to test it's reaction. Once you have identified which foods you react to, avoid eating those for six months. After 6 months, you may retest the foods by introducing them.
(cures, treatment, helpful info, optimisim. alopecia, hair)
I hope that this information will be helpful. I had aa once 14 years ago. I had a couple of small patches on the back of my head, I got the cortisone shots and it went away within a year. 2 months ago I noticed a patch on the side of my head. I went to get the shots but they weren't stopping the hair from falling out. Everyone kept telling me to relax and that stress probably caused this. But I didn't feel stressed out and that just didn't ring true to me. My hair falling out is what was stressing me out. I searched all over the internet for a cure or anything that would help. The more I looked for a cure the more depressed I became because every site said there is nothing to do but to accept it, that aa has a mind of it's own. Every day the hair would continue to fall out. The patch on my head is 3" by 2" some may say that isn't that big but I have a small head! And it wasn't stopping. I started looking at other options and found a naturopath in NYC. He was confident he could help me. He said auto immune disorders are commonly linked to food allergies. He put me on a strict elimination diet and after 7 days on the diet, my hair stopped falling out completely. But not only did it stop falling out, my scalp felt normal again. Since it had started my scalp was always itchy, burning and irriated, I couldn't forget about the aa even if I wanted to. I didn't have any other symptoms (felt great) so I had no idea that it could be a food allergy. I started the diet 2 weeks ago, so I haven't reintroduced any foods yet so I dont know what was causing the problem. If anyone would like to try this diet, here is what I did.
Foods to avoid:
1. glutinous grains: wheat, rye, barley, and oats including flours
2. all dairy
3. eggs
4. corn
5. soy (tofu, tempeh, etc)
6. peanuts (make sure to look on packages of other types of nuts that they weren't packaged on the same belt as peanuts) I found that most nuts are packaged with peanuts, so avoid these as well.
7. citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes)
8. yeast
9. refined sugars
10. highly processed food, chemicals, additives, preservatives, artificial coloring, flavorings
11. caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate and soft drinks) even decaf coffee has some caffeine in it so this should be avoided as well. herbal tea is ok
*You may have white rice, brown rice, quinoa, rice pasta, meat (no cold cuts, hot dogs, nothing processed), chicken, fish, among all of the other vegetables and fruits. To give my food flavor I cook with a lot of salt and pepper and garlic.
It is important to read the labels of any foods you eat during the elimination period. These ingredients are included in many food that you wouldn't necessarily think of. For example, many drinks and snacks are sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, which comes from corn. Likewise, anything containing the following words probably contains wheat flour: stabilizer, starch, malt, flavoring, emulsifier, or hydrolyzed plant protein.
After the elimination diet, you introduce one food at a time. You consume a lot of the that food to test it's reaction. Once you have identified which foods you react to, avoid eating those for six months. After 6 months, you may retest the foods by introducing them.
(cures, treatment, helpful info, optimisim. alopecia, hair)
Comment
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Comment by Kevin K on July 18, 2010 at 9:47am
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Tara - i hope you are still reviewing this site. I'm interested in your ideas and results a year later. please drop me a line.
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Comment by MiNAH on July 30, 2009 at 12:44pm
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We are doing our best to support each other....and I bless anyone who's wish comes true.
However...it's just simply facing reality, and undertanding that it's different for every one.
Yet, in the end....it's ultimately an immune condition, which has a common thread, binding us in a very unique and sensitive manner.
So............let us embrace all good will and compassion towards one another.
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That's so right.............Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)
When I have the answers....you'll all be the "FiRST TO KNOW"
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Comment by Dominique Cleopatra on July 30, 2009 at 4:50am
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Tara thanks for sharing your experience and trying to help others with it. I have AA and am considering seeing a naturopath after reading your post. I would give up any food for the chance to have my normal healthy hair again. I am already Vegan and eat a lot less gluten than I used to, and hardly any diet drinks. I don't eat much sugar either. Alopecia is difficult for all of us, but I hope that in spite of our differences in coping we can all support one another and respect however one chooses to handle this illness. Wig, no wig, Smooth shave, patches, an endless hunt for a miracle cure, or a steadfast surrender, everyone has to decide what is best for them. Tara I hope you will continue to update us on your progress. Good Luck!
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Comment by Lee on July 30, 2009 at 3:52am
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Tara... I wasn't trying to be negative, just realistic. I remember when I first developed AU, I tried so many things to treat it. $40 Gogi juice, Biotin, Steroids, creams, THREE MONTHS of PUVA, countless vitamins, ..and absolutly nothing has worked. To be perfectly honest, I wish I hadn't done anything because I wasted a lot of time and money on treatments that did nothing. If my Dr. calls me and says...he finally have a definite cure for AU, then I will try again. Otherwise, I'de rather spend my $ on wigs and eyelashes.
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I'de also like to point out ( and I think most of you agree) Doctors REALLY need to be trained on how to deal with this condition. I had a Dr. tell me " I will make your hair grow back." Hm...I wonder if I could sue him since he did absolutly nothing for me? They really give us false hope, and it's not right! Also, it would have been nice to know about AU when I was AA. I would have been better prepared.
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Comment by JeffreySF on July 29, 2009 at 6:37pm
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If you were a vegetarian you might starve to death on this diet.
I'll take alopecia anyday.
Jeffrey
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Comment by Kayreyn on July 29, 2009 at 5:53pm
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Tara,
I thank you and everyone else for posting what works for them. As you stated, this may not work for everyone, but it's working for you, and for that I am happy. Don't get discouraged in sharing your information, as it may help or uplift someone. That's how we learn. And if someone responds negatively, take it with a grain of salt, because you are definitely doing the right thing in sharing!
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Demm,
I'm aware of the different types of AA. I never said this will specifically help AU or AT. I simply put this out there in case someone who is dealing with what I was wanted to give it a try. I have nothing to gain from putting this online, except for getting some negative feedback apparently. It wasn't 2 weeks, it was exactly 7 days after I started the diet, exactly when the Naturopath said I should notice a difference. Ok, I'm exhausted trying to explain myself. I thought this would be uplifting to some that there are options but apparently not. My work is done. I'm excusing myself now.
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Hey Aimee,
I totally understand, but the diet is temporary. It's a test to see if it's a food allergy. Rather than eliminating one food group at a time, you eliminate all the possible ones at once to determine if that is the problem. It's much quicker that way. Also, it could be more than one food that you are allergic too, so eliminating just one may not do the trick. Food allergies aren't necessarily forever, once you stop having it for 6months to a year you can try it again, and you may not be allergic to it anymore. I'm going to take the ELISA food allergy test to see if anything shows up on there, blood tests aren't totally accurate though. They can provide false negatives if you have a delayed food allergy but the positives (the things it says you are allergic to) are accurate. Believe me Aimee, I am missing hot dogs! And a lot of other things :) but I would miss my hair more. It's a personal choice for sure....
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