Could my hair loss be connected to my diet?

[Iguana]

I think it will be hard to find the reason for my problems...there are so many possibilities it is making my head spin.

Such an approach is rather hopeless. It is parallel to the flawed way we, homo sapiens sapiens, pretend to understand and master the natural world, either external (environnement) or internal (medicine) and which leads to a vicious circle of ever bigger evils. Complexity of nature is overwhelming, “cause and effects are distant in time and space in complex systems, while at the same time there is a tendency to look for causes near the events sought to be explained. Attention is drawn to the symptoms of difficulty rather than the underlying cause. (…) the root cause of the existence of the problem is not addressed (e.g. lack of upfront knowledge and resources, lack of understanding of system interactions and emergent system properties).” *

When left alone after having been disturbed by an external factor, natural systems have a tendency to return to their stable, initial state. That’s called homeostasis. Just leave your body alone in the natural conditions it is best adapted to and it will self heal, or at least tend to self heal, in the best possible way. That means clean air, water and food, outdoors physical activities, favorable psychological atmosphere, absence of all intellectual and ideological interferences in food choices.

That’s a complete change of paradigm, isn’t it?   

* Ronald J. Ziegler, Complexity Reduction in Automotive Design and Development,  University of Michigan, 2005

[Suiren]

I wonder if you can remember what you substituted your calories with when you dropped the carbs?  Really healthy egg yolks, liver,  and other organs like heart,  good back fat,  oily fish,  seaweed for minerals bone marrow,  are good foods for hair.  Excess protein or not enough good fats are not good foods for hair growth.   (again) most who try low carb are eating too much protein.

I added more fat and meat! My protein intake was about 110g a day. Not sure if that is  too much?

[eveheart]

I added more fat and meat! My protein intake was about 110g a day. Not sure if that is  too much?

100 g is the good for breastfeeding mothers. 110 g is in the right range. Your body will process excess protein as if you are eating carbs, which would have a minimal impact in this small amount. I would encourage you to start trusting your own body instead of asking people who can only generalize their answers. You will learn a lot from your body if you let it be your teacher.

[Suiren]

Iguana

I wish I could see it like that! In my experience some things did not self heal when I left them alone. I tried to relax about my symptoms from Oct. to recently, and haven't really stressed about it. But now that things are getting worse instead of better I feel I need to look into this.
I don't even know what diet is good for me...I have problems on everything it seems.

I have a question for everyone regarding starches btw.:
I added sweet potato and carrots to raise my carbs a bit. My energy levels improved and I did not have hair loss for two days, which does not mean it will stop soon I, think. Just that there is some sort of reaction when raising carbs.
But now my problem is that sweet potato and carrot cause me extreme bloating. I look legit 7 months pregnant after eating them and it is painful bloating all the way up to under my chest. I might have had slight bloating from it last year, but nothing like that.
What would be bloat-free carb alternatives. I can only think of fruit but I was hoping here would be something less sweet?

[Suiren]

100 g is the good for breastfeeding mothers. 110 g is in the right range. Your body will process excess protein as if you are eating carbs, which would have a minimal impact in this small amount. I would encourage you to start trusting your own body instead of asking people who can only generalize their answers. You will learn a lot from your body if you let it be your teacher.

My body said that it feels better with a little more carbs for now, but I just ran into another problem of not being able to digest them. I can never win it seems :/

[Iguana]

Iguana

I wish I could see it like that! In my experience some things did not self heal when I left them alone. I tried to relax about my symptoms from Oct. to recently, and haven't really stressed about it. But now that things are getting worse instead of better I feel I need to look into this.
I don't even know what diet is good for me...I have problems on everything it seems.

Have you let your body choose alone the proper raw paleo foods it needs and have you eaten it in the exact amount needed at the moment? Didn’t you disturb it by eating this or that because your thought or you read somewhere that it’s “good for you”? Didn’t you eat some food that we are unlikely to be well adapted to such as dairy, processed or  cooked stuff? 

I have a question for everyone regarding starches btw.:
I added sweet potato and carrots to raise my carbs a bit. My energy levels improved and I did not have hair loss for two days, which does not mean it will stop soon I, think. Just that there is some sort of reaction when raising carbs.
But now my problem is that sweet potato and carrot cause me extreme bloating. I look legit 7 months pregnant after eating them and it is painful bloating all the way up to under my chest. I might have had slight bloating from it last year, but nothing like that.
What would be bloat-free carb alternatives. I can only think of fruit but I was hoping here would be something less sweet?

Do you eat them plain, unseasoned, unmixed, unprocessed and only as long as they are tasty? Do you have a problem with sweet fruits?

[Suiren]

Too much fruit causes me problems (fructose malabsorption)
I ate  the sweet potato cooked and unseasoned.

And yes I have tested out many different things to see what suits me best. Don't we all do that because we either read about it or had a good experience?

I think only very few people started eating RPd because they had a sudden instinct that told them to eat raw meat.
I decided to change my diet after reading about RPD.

And I do eat mostly cooked. While I know humans did not start out eating cooked foods, I grew up eating this way, and any abrupt changes seem to cause me problems.
Way back in time people would have never been faced with this obstacle.

[LePatron7]

I think only very few people started eating RPd because they had a sudden instinct that told them to eat raw meat.

Lol I'm one of those people. I was eating the specific carbohydrate diet, and I thought to my self "how can I make this diet better?" "Animals don't cook, I wonder if I can eat raw meat."

[goodsamaritan]

My body said that it feels better with a little more carbs for now, but I just ran into another problem of not being able to digest them. I can never win it seems :/

you will get it right.  it takes time, trial and error.

It takes longer if no successful raw paleo dieter is there with you 24 hours a day mentoring you.

[Iguana]

Too much fruit causes me problems (fructose malabsorption)
I ate  the sweet potato cooked and unseasoned.

Yes, too much is too much!
Sweet potatoes can be very tasty raw, I often eat some.

And yes I have tested out many different things to see what suits me best. Don't we all do that because we either read about it or had a good experience?

Yes, I agree and it’s normal, but the very good news is: “what I like best at this moment is the best for me now” — as long as the stuff is raw, paleo and unprocessed, of course. So, if we don’t like something, it’s a mistake to eat it because it is said to be “good for the health”.

And I do eat mostly cooked. While I know humans did not start out eating cooked foods, I grew up eating this way, and any abrupt changes seem to cause me problems.
Way back in time people would have never been faced with this obstacle.

I don’t know, but  it seems that for many people it is unfavorable to have a largely raw diet still including cooked food. Thus the body seems to be uncertain what to do, whether to “detox” or not and is placed into a wobbly condition. You can shift progressively if you feel it’ll be better, but it’s probably unwise to linger too long in a half cooked – half raw condition.

[LePatron7]

I don’t know, but  it seems that for many people it is unfavorable to have a largely raw diet still including cooked food. Thus the body seems to be uncertain what to do, whether to “detox” or not and is placed into a wobbly condition. You can shift progressively if you feel it’ll be better, but it’s probably unwise to linger too long in a half cooked – half raw condition.

I eat mainly cooked food, with some raw food. I typically eat one raw meal per day, of 8 oz meat 1 oz suet, and various raw fruits and veggies. While I don't think it's optimal. I haven't noticed any negatives from it. And it's definitely better than an all cooked diet.

[Iguana]

Yes, some people are doing fine that way. Each case is different, each person is unique. How long have you been doing that?

[Suiren]

Sorry I don't have time to reply. My liver enzymes came back high as well as antibodies and my doctor suspects auto-Immune hepatitis since i tested neg. for all other types.
My doctor is quite concerned and might want to hospitalize me if my tests tonight come back high too....not sure what the danger is....

My question is: does anyone know if a liver/ body detox could be causing my levels to be high? I am using milk thistle for the liver and then burdock root, vitex and DIM.
My acne is gone and my skin better than ever, I just had my period and it was almost completely normal! No PMS, weird blood or irregular....so it must be working.

I am not sure if I should tell my doctor about the detox in detail.

[jessica]

yes you should tell your doctor! milk thistle has an amazing cleansing action on the liver, and i would bet thats why your enzymes are high.  mine have come back high in the past, and i have actually really irritated my liver with lots of alcohol and binging on nut butters/olive oils in the past, you can heal your liver, its very very resilient!  do you eat any raw liver? 

[Suiren]

yes you should tell your doctor! milk thistle has an amazing cleansing action on the liver, and i would bet thats why your enzymes are high.  mine have come back high in the past, and i have actually really irritated my liver with lots of alcohol and binging on nut butters/olive oils in the past, you can heal your liver, its very very resilient!  do you eat any raw liver?

I haven't eaten any yet, but we found a good source.
My doctor said to keep taking milk thistle, he was fine with it.
What can olive oil do? I used to supplement with olive oil.

My levels a week ago:
P ANCA 1:60
X ANCA 1:60
Gamma GT 355+
GOT ASAT 338 ++
GPT ALAT 361 ++

Someone said that is late stage of liver failure??? Wouldn't I be sick then? I also read of levels as high as 900, so I am sure they were wrong.

Today my levels were much better. So no hospital for now We will test again in teo weeks.

[Adora]

What is DIM? I'm using the other herbs you mentioned, and hoping to see improvement in my cyclic regularity.
I would ask your MD what he wants to do to you in the hospital, that you can't do at home. You may not be as excited about his "life saving" treatments as he is. Also, you may be able to do much of the same stuff at home. Rest, increase fluids, mostly water or water down whatever else you're drinking.  NO ALCOHOL!  Low sugar,  and don't force fat, eat more bitter greens , and the liver would be great. Not forever just 7-10 days, or until your sick of it, to let your body rest. Try to avoid preservatives.  I would substitute the lunch meat with the liver while you rest. I had liver sausage, it was great raw and lightly cooked. I like having mostly raw with a little cooked. I have had nasty detoxes, but my body has found a balance and it is easier socially. I want to look up recipes, it was pastured pork liver with pork fat, ground it up with salt, onion, and think sage. I added frozen greens and made a broth, that I liked lots, and my daughter and her boyfriend ate it too, but didn't have seconds  .  Liver is also good with butter and lemon. I just warm the butter enough to soften and dip the marinated small slices of liver into the butter. I think dandelion and parsley are healing and building for liver, maybe nettles too. Please check though, I'm not sure.
     I'm glad your  enzymes are lower, not sure why, did you change anything between tests, or did they just peak on their own? It is reassuring to be in the "normal" range.

[Suiren]

Well my numbers are still higher than normal, but much lower.
The difference was that I increased my carb intake.
I read a few articles where it said that low carb can affect the liver in some. I was suspecting that my liver has trouble detoxing because of a few symptoms like bad breath, dark undereye circles, bad skin, hormonal problems.

I stopped eating the lunch meat a little bit ago, and I ordered liver from a good source. I think my doctor wanted to make sure my liver doesn't fail? He said something about liver failure too.

DIM is a supplement made of cruciferous (? Sp. ?) vegetables which removes bad estrogens from the body. Another supplement for hormone regulation is calcium D glucarate. There was a testimoniql on robbwolf.com where this woman got PCOS, PMS and severe hair loss under control with the help of both supplements.

I am still losing hair, but my other problems have really bettered.

[Adora]

How much did you increase carbs? Are you eating healthy carbs? Do you feel a change? better/worse. Maybe you should just keep doing what improved your labs for a week or 2 then cut back and see what happens.

[Suoaei]

I just read this entire thread for the first time, start to finish, and there was some great advice given in it.
I noticed a couple of things (and please correct me if I am wrong):
1. You seem to waver a lot between being sure and being very unsure of what is "right" for you to eat.
2. You doubt your own ability to recognize healthy foods and you are asking other people to tell you what is healthy
3. When the doctor says your tests are abnormal, you become very afraid.

If these observations are correct, I have some advice that I hope is helpful for you: Take a deep breath, let it out, and smile! It's all going to be ok.

You are in charge of your own health and healing process!

Research is good, but with all those conflicting studies out there, it can get confusing. Instead of reading a bunch of websites trying to solve a particular problem, I would recommend finding and reading the RAF books that are most popular here. Then you can have a deeper, more focused understanding of what a raw diet really means and how to be a successful raw food eater. When you find your healthy diet, proper weight, energy, and normal test results will follow.

Don't let your doctor's fears scare you. You always have a choice about going to the hospital, taking medications, even scheduling appointments. You don't have to if you don't want to. A common opinion among raw foodies is that the hospital/meds should always be your absolute last resort, because they will make your situation worse in the long run.

It sounds like you already keep a food diary, which is great. It also sounds like you are paying close attention to how you feel after eating different types of food--also great.

If you are going to ask for really specific advice on the forum, I think it would be helpful if you give a very clear description of what you eat. You might even post some of your recent food diary entries. That way nobody will give advice based on false assumptions about what you do or don't eat.

One more thing to watch out for: nobody can say what your exact needs are except you. And, your dietary needs can change very rapidly--you can have different needs in the morning than at night, in the summer compared to winter, on your menstrual cycle compared to the rest of the month, etc. This is why it's so important for you to get a book--or several books--devoted to teaching people how to listen properly to their bodies. ie, a RAF book.
If reading isn't your thing, maybe you can find a RAF health practitioner who you can work with one on one!

[Iguana]

Great post, Suoaei! You wrote it  better than I could have myself.   

[Suiren]

Suoaei

I appreciate your advice, but I think you really did misunderstand what I wrote. Let me explain:

1. You seem to waver a lot between being sure and being very unsure of what is "right" for you to eat.

being fairly new to this diet still (1 yr), I simply experience trial and error. I test different things out and then decide if they are for me. Sometimes I simply not sure if they are or are not for me.

2. You doubt your own ability to recognize healthy foods and you are asking other people to tell you what is healthy

Of course, if I would leave it up to my senses, I would still be eating bread and pasta. Only through learning from "others", did I find out the science behind certain foods. I don't have all the studies and info available. And it is easier asking a specific question here.

3. When the doctor says your tests are abnormal, you become very afraid.

I seemed very afraid? This is what I wrote:

My doctor is quite concerned and might want to hospitalize me if my tests tonight come back high too....not sure what the danger is....
My question is: does anyone know if a liver/ body detox could be causing my levels to be high?

Someone said that is late stage of liver failure??? Wouldn't I be sick then? I also read of levels as high as 900, so I am sure they were wrong.

I doubted the danger and instead suspected my levels are high because of the detox. I also stated I don't feel sick and that I think they are wrong to say I am experiencing liver failure.
My mother actually got upset at me when I told her that because she thinks I am not cautious or afraid enough...

If these observations are correct, I have some advice that I hope is helpful for you: Take a deep breath, let it out, and smile! It's all going to be ok.
Research is good, but with all those conflicting studies out there, it can get confusing. Instead of reading a bunch of websites trying to solve a particular problem, I would recommend finding and reading the RAF books that are most popular here. Then you can have a deeper, more focused understanding of what a raw diet really means and how to be a successful raw food eater. When you find your healthy diet, proper weight, energy, and normal test results will follow.

Since I was experiencing a lot of symptoms, and diet and kicking back wasn't helping, I took action to find the root of the problem.
This way I have already greatly improved MOST of my problems...by researching "like crazy".
I find researching specific things more efficient than reading through book after book. Since I was trying to solve problems right now, I was not interested in other things for the moment.
Had I not researched I would probably still be eating low carb, which does not seem to be good for me at the moment, because when I stopped...my heart palpitations stopped, my chest pain got better, my fatigue lifted, my carpal tunnel and joint pains bettered and a little bit after that my thyroid and liver came back better.
Thanks to the herbs my PMS is almost gone...I went from extreme pains to an almost normal period with red blood instead of black goo, my acne, that was pretty severe for a little is also gone, and my hair loss at least lessened.

I would be in a horrible state right now, if I would not have figured some things out  . Doctors can be of help, but they did not figure this out for me.

I actually think it is good I did all this, because now I get to relax and feel good about what I have achieved through intense research and question asking.

You always have a choice about going to the hospital, taking medications, even scheduling appointments. You don't have to if you don't want to. A common opinion among raw foodies is that the hospital/meds should always be your absolute last resort, because they will make your situation worse in the long run.

Well, you don't know this, but before coming to this forum I quit my meds because I wanted to see how much I can heal naturally. I am not on medication right now. It was suggested to me numerous times (since 2.'12), and for various reasons I declined.
I also breastfeed a toddler. Another reason I have been avoiding medication. I personally would only go back on thyroid meds, if there was a risk of me causing more harm to my thyroid because I am not taking medication (I have the kind where my body attacks my thyroid).

It sounds like you already keep a food diary, which is great. It also sounds like you are paying close attention to how you feel after eating different types of food--also great.

If you are going to ask for really specific advice on the forum, I think it would be helpful if you give a very clear description of what you eat. You might even post some of your recent food diary entries. That way nobody will give advice based on false assumptions about what you do or don't eat.

I did on another thread and have made changes accordingly! (I cut out (organic) lunch meat f. ex.)

One more thing to watch out for: nobody can say what your exact needs are except you. And, your dietary needs can change very rapidly--you can have different needs in the morning than at night, in the summer compared to winter, on your menstrual cycle compared to the rest of the month, etc. This is why it's so important for you to get a book--or several books--devoted to teaching people how to listen properly to their bodies. ie, a RAF book.
If reading isn't your thing, maybe you can find a RAF health practitioner who you can work with one on one!

Doing so much research which requires reading, I guess you could say reading is my thing . Sadly I think it will be hard to find such a health practitioner here...

[Suiren]

How much did you increase carbs? Are you eating healthy carbs? Do you feel a change? better/worse. Maybe you should just keep doing what improved your labs for a week or 2 then cut back and see what happens.

I went from about 40-60 to about 90-110. I am not eating rice or potatoes, just carbs from fruit, carrots, tubers, zucchini etc.
I noticed tremendous improvements:

Had I not researched I would probably still be eating low carb, which does not seem to be good for me at the moment, because when I stopped...my heart palpitations stopped, my chest pain got better, my fatigue lifted, my carpal tunnel and joint pains bettered and a little bit after that my thyroid and liver came back better.
Thanks to the herbs my PMS is almost gone...I went from extreme pains to an almost normal period with red blood instead of black goo, my acne, that was pretty severe for a little is also gone, and my hair loss at least lessened.

I would be in a horrible state right now, if I would not have figured some things out  . Doctors can be of help, but they did not figure this out for me.

This is why i won't go back on low carb for now. I don't know if it is for me, and if it is I will have to transition very slowly next time I suppose. I will learn more about it. I read that low carb can affect the thyroid and liver in people who already have an underlying problem. So testing things out be too risky atm.

[LePatron7]

This is why i won't go back on low carb for now. I don't know if it is for me, and if it is I will have to transition very slowly next time I suppose. I will learn more about it. I read that low carb can affect the thyroid and liver in people who already have an underlying problem. So testing things out be too risky atm.

Good choice. I personally feel LC/ZC is over hyped on this forum (as well as others). Nothing wrong with eating some carbs if you can tolerate it.

[PaleoPhil]

Well my numbers are still higher than normal, but much lower.
The difference was that I increased my carb intake.

Quite a few people reported hair loss, hypothyroid, cold extremities, skin rashes, dry eyes, constipation and/or other issues on Very LC, which resolved with adding some carbs back to their diets. Underlying thyroid problems is a common issue that LC can reveal or exacerbate, so it's not surprising that it was a problem for you given your Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.

I argued in the past that the "Zero Carb"  label should be discarded from the forum subsection title as worse than useless, and your experience is yet another testament for doing so.

There are apparently very divergent views on what to do re: Hashimoto's, I don't know who's right, and I don't have Hashimoto's myself and thus haven't tested anything, but these were interesting blog articles on the topic:

http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2011/05/iodine-and-hashimotos-thyroiditis-part-i/
http://chriskresser.com/selenium-the-missing-link-for-treating-hypothyroidism

YMMV, so I would proceed cautiously and do your own research.

[Suiren]

Da Boss88, Paleo Phil

Yes, there is so much contradicting information on carbs out there. And even more people that experience problems on a low carb diet, very often hair loss as well. These problems can't be ignored.

When I eat the way I want (but still Paleo) I will consume too many carbs to be low carb, because if available I will consume lots of fruits, a good amount of veggies and tubers. And probably less fat and meat. So maybe it is not natural for me. At least at the moment, considering I was still eating rice and potatoes a little over a year ago.

Interestingly, some people claim they eat a paleo diet, but feel better with potatoes, white rice and some raw dairy...I haven't looked into it much though.

On a side note, very weirdly I do not react to SAD foods anymore. I used to get severe reactions to most of the foods I avoided. But this weekend I ate some cake at my grandmothers birthday party and also had coffee and I had no problems whatsoever. This seems really weird to me...
Not that I want to eat this way now, I just find it weird.