Hair loss—especially when it's sudden or at a young age—can be a sign of certain medical conditions or nutrient deficiencies.
Is your hair falling out? Nutrient deficiencies may be to blame. Reversing it starts with finding the cause.
Nutrition Diva is hosted by Monica Reinagel. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
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This is Monica Reinagel and you’re listening to the Nutrition Diva podcast. Welcome! Today we’re talking about nutrition and hair loss.
But first, a question from Erin, who saw an ad for a dietary supplement containing—and this might be a little gross—“beef organ complex”—freeze-dried, powdered beef liver, kidney, and heart. The ad talked about the high levels of certain nutrients found in organ meats—nutrients that you miss out on if you’re only eating the muscle meat. The ad also included testimonials, of course. One customer reported an immediate increase in energy when he began taking the organ complex.
Erin was intrigued but appropriately skeptical. “Is this supplement just a solution in search of a problem?” she wanted to know.
Excellent question!
And here’s how I would go about evaluating a supplement like this:
First: What would this supplement provide that you are lacking? (Or, as my friend Brock likes to say: What problem are you trying to solve?)
Then, we can assess whether this is the most effective way to supply that need, or to solve that problem.
Say, for example, the problem you were trying to solve is a lack of energy. That’s one of the things this supplement claims to help with. But it really depends on what's causing the lack of energy, doesn't it?
If you're tired because you're only sleeping 4 hours a night, all the powdered beef liver in the world won't help as much as getting some extra shut-eye.
But low iron levels can also cause low energy. In that case, increasing your iron stores could potentially be a solution to that problem. And this supplement is an excellent source of iron. But I suspect you could solve that problem more simply and inexpensively with a regular old iron supplement, or by adding more iron-rich foods to your diet. (We’ll be talking about iron more in the next segment.)
But, I'll be honest: I doubt this product is the most appropriate, effective, or cost-effective solution to ANY problem that one might actually have. But it never hurts to walk through the logic. And you can apply that same logic to any supplement or solution you are considering.
And now, let’s talk about hair loss—and what iron might have to do with that.
A small amount of hair collecting in the shower drain or hairbrush is not necessarily cause for concern. According to the Academy of Dermatology, it's perfectly normal to lose 100 or so hairs from your head every day.
Gradually thinning hair as you age is also normal, and largely hereditary. But hair loss—especially when it's sudden or at a young age—can also be a sign of certain medical conditions or nutrient deficiencies.
In these cases, identifying and correcting the problem can often reverse your hair loss. But the sudden onset of thinning hair is not the time for self-diagnosis or treatment. Guessing wrong and treating a problem that doesn't exist not only won't help; it may actually make the problem worse!
Two of the most common non-hereditary causes of hair loss are low thyroid function and iron deficiency. Both are relatively common, especially in women. And although they are two completely different conditions, they share some of the same symptoms. In addition to hair loss, fatigue and cold hands and feet can be signs of both low thyroid and iron deficiency. Each of these conditions is readily diagnosed with a simple blood test. They can be easily corrected, either with replacement thyroid hormones or iron supplements. But obviously, it’s important to match the solution to the problem.
If you suspect you might be low in iron, ask your doctor to confirm your suspicions before taking any iron supplements. Taking an over-the-counter iron supplement if you don't have an iron deficiency is potentially harmful.
If it turns out you're not low in iron, it's time to connect with your doctor and keep looking for other possible explanations for your symptoms.
If you are iron deficient, your doctor will likely want to recheck your levels after a few weeks of supplementation. If the iron supplements don't seem to be helping, work with your doctor to explore and rule out less common causes of iron deficiency.
Although it's not a good idea to take iron supplements unless you know you need them, it is a good idea to make sure your diet contains enough iron to meet your needs. Here are the recommended daily allowances for various groups:
Adolescent girls: 15 mg per day
Adolescent boys: 11 mg per day
Adult men and post-menopausal women: 8 mg per day
Menstruating women: 18 mg per day
Pregnant women: 27 mg per day
The three groups that are most likely to fall short are adolescent girls and premenopausal or pregnant women.
But you don’t necessarily need to get supplements to get more iron—you can get plenty of iron from your diet.
All meat, poultry, and seafood provide the more absorbable heme form of iron. Beef, chicken livers, clams, and oysters are particularly good sources.
Although there's plenty of iron to be found in plants—especially dried beans and lentils, spinach, quinoa, and pumpkin seeds—the nonheme iron in plants isn't as well absorbed. Strict vegans are advised to get 50% more iron than the recommended daily allowance (RDA) to compensate for the lower absorption from plant foods. Eating foods high in vitamin C can help you absorb more iron from plant sources.
Vegans are not actually any more likely to suffer from iron deficiency than meat-eaters. But if you are a strict vegan, you may wish to avoid drinking black tea with your meals. Tea contains tannins that also interfere with the absorption of iron from plant foods. (Herbal tea is not a problem.)
High doses of calcium, especially calcium carbonate, the form found in most supplements, can also block the absorption of iron. You don't need to worry about food sources of iron and calcium. But if you're at risk of iron deficiency and you take a calcium supplement, take the calcium before bed to minimize the interference with iron from your meals. If you're also taking an iron supplement, take it at a different time of day.
And finally, I just want to point out that while iron deficiency can lead to anemia, anemia is not always caused by iron deficiency. This is why we need to be clear on what problem we’re trying to solve before we start piling on the solutions.
Low folate or B12 levels can also result in anemia. Taking vitamin supplements may seem like a harmless way to bolster your health. But taking nutrients when you don't need them is not just a waste of money; it can actually cause problems. They include adverse reactions and interactions, liver and kidney toxicity, and the delay of proper diagnosis and treatment.
For example, if you’re worried about your hair, you may have wondered whether biotin supplements could help. Biotin is supposed to be good for your hair, skin, and nails. But again, we need to know what problem we’re actually trying to solve!
Biotin deficiency can cause your hair to fall out. So if you are diagnosed with a biotin deficiency, a biotin supplement might be just the thing. But biotin deficiency is pretty rare. And so far there's no solid evidence showing that taking extra biotin can prevent or treat hair loss or make your hair grow thicker or more quickly.
Aside from documented nutrient deficiencies and specific therapeutic applications, supplements are really not the best way to deliver nutrients to your body. For that, you just can't beat a balanced diet of nutrient-dense foods. And good food is also a cheaper and far more enjoyable way to get your nutrients than a belly full of pills.
So here’s the bottom line on hair loss and iron:
A good diet, including iron-rich foods, can help keep both you and your hair nice and healthy. And excessive hair loss can signal a nutrient deficiency or other conditions. But if you feel like you are losing too much hair, check with your doctor before self-diagnosing or treating yourself with any vitamin supplements, especially iron.
If you have a question you'd like me to answer, you can email me at nutrition@quickanddirtytips.com You can also leave me a message at 443-961-6206
I’d also like to invite you to check out my other podcast. It’s called the Change Academy, where Brock Armstrong and I squabble about the art and science of behavior change. You can find it on all the major podcast platforms, so whatever app you’re using right now to listen to me, just head to the search bar and type in “Change Academy.”
Nutrition Diva is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast. It's audio-engineered by Nathan Semmes with script editing by Adam Cecil. Thanks also to Morgan Christianson, Holly Hutchings, Davina Tomlin, and Kamryn Lacy.
That's all for this episode. Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week.