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Raw foods and vegetariansm caused my hair loss
Hello,
I wanted to share this post because I wanted people to know that Raw Foods, especially combined with a Vegan or Vegetarian diet can be dangerous for some people.
I am very conscientious healthy eater and usually a fit, healthy and active person. I go on hikes, swim, run half marathons and about 6 months ago, had eaten a predominately vegetarian diet. I had been a vegetarian for over 7 years, with some parts being Vegan and on occasions, ate fish. My diet had consisted mainly of blended raw greens (spinach, kale, wheatgrass, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, linseeds, apple, ginger and carrots). I would have this most mornings and for lunch, I often had raw salads, crunchy vegetables with hummus and ate a lot of raw vegetables and fruit. I had this diet for 6 months before I started noticing that I was feeling weak, faint, dizzy and suffered other side effects. I thought this was just my body getting used to the diet but things did not improve. My body was actually craving protein and alongside that, my digestion had been weakened trying to digest the enormous amounts of raw foods I was eating.
So, I decided to eat cooked foods in the evening and only raw in the mornings. Several months later, my hair started thinning and easily falling out in clumps in the shower. I knew there was something not right. After my last half marathon, I also felt incredibly ill afterwards which was unusual for me.
I went to the GP and they diagnosed me with Alcopecia and suggested some treatment which I refused as I am not keen on western medicine. So I went to the see the Chinese Dr to see what they had to say.
The consultation made sense; eating raw foods weakened my digestion and thus my body was unable to absorb any of the nutrients from my food for many months. As a result, my body was malnutritioned and being vegetarian meant I had to be extra careful with my protein intake. However, due to my over-active lifestyle, I wasn't eating enough to fuel my fitness regime. This all meant that I had a condition called Blood Deficiency with Spleen Qi Deficiency.
So now I am on a strict cooked foods diet, with only easily digestible foods allowed. I am also encouraged to eat small amounts of meat regularly and generally increase my protein intake (without Soy products as this is mainly toxic for my body - I'm allergic as it gives me heart palpitations).
Other foods that promote blood I had to increase, such as Beetroot and Kidney beans.
It's only been 1 month since I started the herbal medicine, but alongside my careful diet and regular yoga, already I am seeing less hair falling onto my floor and slightly less in the shower. My hair is still falling out but it seems to be less. I know it takes 2-3 months before new hair is grown from a follicle that has shed hair, so I won't know the real results until at least 3 months in.
So, beware of raw foods, cold drinks, cold food as it can cause a healthy person to have this condition. I have always avoided processed foods and ate a wholegrain and wholesome diet. So I will just stick with that and once my hair has come back, I will go back to being a vegetarian but be mindful of the protein I eat and have a 60% cooked diet (before it was about 60% raw).
Another factor was my irregular eating patterns. Often I would skip lunch and be starving by dinner. This was also weakening my spleen and causing all sorts of stomach issues. So I'm making an effort to make sure I have something substantial for lunch.
I will update my progress as I go along. :)
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Comment by beautybountiful on March 18, 2014 at 1:23pm
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Hello Aimee,
Yes, the gut absorbs nutrients for general health, and our hair is closely connected to our kidney, liver and blood health. If we don't nourish these organs, our hair will 'dry out' and die. Our head needs blood circulation in order to grow...like water for plants to grow...
Our liver cleans blood and builds blood, our kidneys filter toxins from our body and our spleen is our immune system which also regulates the quality of blood. The spleen sits on our gut so if our stomach is not happy, our immune system is low and we become allergic or more sensitive to outside bacteria/germs/types of hard to digest foods etc. Once the stomach becomes weakened, it cannot assimilate the nutrients it needs to nourish the kidney and liver so we cannot make good blood...for our hair in particular. I have found that my skin was also flaky, dry, rough and I had a pale complexion - this all linked to the lack of high quality blood in my body. Now that I am taking the medicine and eating correctly for my body constitution (it's different for everyone), my skin is no longer dry (I never use body lotion and it was the first time in my life that I had used it when my hair started falling out because my skin was also very dry...) but I'm still quite pale.
No, I didn't use Acupuncture (though I could have) as it's not a long-term measure. It's good for treating illnesses quickly but you must also have the right diet and medicine to keep your body in repair. Acupuncture aids as a catalyst for your body to help repair itself...but if you keep doing things to your body that it doesn't like, then all that work can be reversed.
NOT ALL Chinese Dr's are good though - I was lucky to have found a good one and I had also been studying it myself so I knew and understood a lot of what was going on. I actually self-diagnosed myself first before confirming with the Chinese Dr what I had and got some advice on the herbs to use. You don't have to purchase the herbs from the Dr as you can source these (carefully) online if you need a lot of it (for at least 6 months). For short-term, it's cheaper to purchase small quantities from the Dr.
I know Acupuncture can be amazing, but you need all the other parts to be done right in order for it to be effective. It could help hair regrow as well as stop the hair loss if you do everything in tune with each other. But diet alone is 80% of the effort. Chinese Medicine is like food only in super mode, especially if the food you buy isn't always organic or fresh.
Today I didn't have to vacuum my room as I normally would every week! There's not as much hair on the ground...so something positive is changing!
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Comment by michelle on March 18, 2014 at 11:27pm
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So interesting! I am trying to follow your line of thinking. The more and more I read the more I believe that the gut is somehow related. I do wish there was some solid research on this. You mentioned that our immune is slow. In fact its the opposite. With Alopecia your immune system is over active. I would be interested in looking into a Chinese doctor. I don't know anyone in my area. (Toronto)
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Comment by Dee on March 21, 2014 at 2:04am
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Hello I just read your post and found everything quite interesting and it makes so much sense. I never thought about my hair loss could be due to my diet. I also eat a veg diet very little meat but my meals are 60% cooked as well still having the hair loss especially in the shower as you do. I hate to be so forward about this but I have to ask if persistent diarrhea was associated with this? I am having this problem. Yesterday I finally got accepted into the best hospital with the best Physicians in the south and had labs done so I am currently waiting for those results. But I will say this I did a 24 hour urine catch this week and found out my body is producing to much cortisol which has to do with the pitituary gland and Thyroid somehow. Now they set me up with hematologist, Dermatologist , and their OBGYN there as well. I do not know what will be found but I was not expecting to be diagnoised with Cushing Syndrome which does not have anything to with the hair loss but it does with the energy levels, and dry skin. So now I am finding out there are other problems there that I was not aware of. God only knows what will show up next and yes I am very concerned like everyone else is on here. But after reading your post it makes me wonder if I should see a gastro physician because who knows maybe that could be why my hair is falling out because my TSH keeps showing normal yet I have all the symptoms. I must try to come to a resolution quickly the hair loss is awful. As for the Chinese Doc where would you even start to find a physician like that? ( Atlanta, Georgia) Thanks for your post it was very informative and helpful.
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Hi Dee,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I hope they find out what's going on and be able to find treatment for you. There are so many types of Alcopecia and for each type, a person's body disposition is different so they may different symptoms as it can be from different causes. However, they all relate to the gut, liver and kidney. Complicated or more severe Alcopecia affect other organs in our body when these organs are not nourished for a long time (usually, without noticeable symptoms or symptoms we overlook as being 'relatively normal' such as headaches, diarrhoea and bloatedness). I don't suffer from diarrhea but my stools are sometimes 'sticky' which indicates I have some 'dampness' in my body which could be from eating too many high fats in excess such as peanuts, pork, lots of olive oil, avocados, peanut butter, butter, seeds, and all dairy. But it's mostly fine for me in that department as I've been aware of how much fat I consume in a day - I used to love dousing my bread with olive oil and would eat a lot of peanut butter with Rye bread (Rye is good for loose stools). The cause for you might be different. But daily loose stools is never a good sign because this means your body is rejecting the food (it can also be caused from overeating) as it's unable to digest it. Thus, leading to malnutrition of your liver and kidneys for its ability to assimilate nutrients and nourish your body, including your skin and hair. The stomach and intestines are so important - without these working properly, we can't 'feed' ourselves nutrients we need for healthy body function. Imagine watering a plant in a pot; when the soil is so deprived of nutrients, it dries up and water just filters through to the bottom of the pot, taking away whatever is left from the soil (this is the loose stools) with it because our body is unable to 'hold' it (stomach and intestine). The more the soil is damaged, the less it's able to take in nutrients and use them to nourish the plant. So it would make sense to sort out our gut first before taking any healthy food or treatment.
Your cushing symdrome is related to Kidney Yang Deficiency at it's most basic form (I asked my Chinese Dr for you) which means your Qi is damaged or depleted. My condition is related to my liver and kidneys which has developed further into a blood deficiency after a damaged Spleen Qi. You may have a more complicated form of Kidney Yang Deficiency, especially if you've had this for a long time...as time goes on, the damage spreads to other organs in the body as organs rely and depend on each other to function well. Very typical symptoms of Kidney Yang Deficiency are (you may have all or some of these):
Sore a/or weak back/knees, cold feet and hands, and general coldness of the body, weak lower limbs, lassitude, clear copious urine, extreme fatigue, poor appetite, loose stools/diarrhea, edema (which can be severe), hair loss, dry skin and hair, pale complexion, sleeping more than usual, overweight, may have dark circles under eyes, weak voice, pale or watery menstrual blood
- Tongue: Pale, swollen, wet possibly a white coat with strong water signs
- Pulse: Deep, weak possibly slow with strong water signs
Food and drinks that are 'Cold' in nature as well as raw fruits and vegetables, detoxifying herbs like wheatgrass or seaweed. juices, and iced beverages can further damage your condition.
There is some more info about Kidney Yang here if you're interested: http://www.eastmountain.ca/4kidneyyang.pdf
Please note, I'm not a qualified doctor and you should always seek professional help with diagnosis. This is just for information purposes only to help you get closer to what you may have.
As for finding a Chinese Dr, that's dependent on reputation. If you don't know anyone who's had successful treatment from a Chinese Dr then you could look them up on the internet. Look out for Dr's who have been treating patients for a long time (over 15 years) and especially those who have experience in your kind of condition, Usually they will have an About Me page for their clinic or you can ring them to ask some questions. But it is really pot luck. It would really help to read up on the subject first before consulting a Chinese Dr so that you know what they're talking about and also, verify if they actually know what they're saying is relatively correct to information found in textbooks. I went to the library to study all of this and went through a dozen large textbooks (usually for Chinese Dr's training to become qualified) so that's why I know an awful lot now and it's definitely helped in locating a good Dr.
I hope this has given you some useful info to start your investigations. Keep us updated!
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Really interested to read your posts.A close friend of mine who is an experienced Chinese Dr has always said that hair loss is closely linked to the kidneys which also is closely linked to the health of bones nails and teeth.He has always suggested that I need hot cooked,warming food to nourish the yang. I have had AU for many years. I would recommend a wonderful book by Paul Pitchford called Healing with Wholefoods which has so much helpful advice about foods and also about the Chinese approach to health and healing .
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Thanks Jane! I will add that book to my collection. :) Have you tried to stick to your friend's advice? What were the results?
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Thank you for all your information it has been very helpful and I will be addressing all this starting next week.
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