Hair loss can be caused by a number of things including stress and anxiety, but the most likely dietary cause is a lack of iron. If you are on a high-protein diet make sure you are getting enough Vitamin C, which helps the body absorb iron. Foods like tomatoes, oranges or other fruits are rich in vitamin C.

Check out this list of foods that promote healthy hair:

Salmon – Loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, this high-quality protein source is also filled with vitamin B-12 and iron.A deficiency can result in a dry scalp and thus hair, giving it a dull look.

Dark Green Vegetables – Spinach, like broccoli and Swiss chard, is an excellent source of vitamins A and C, which your body needs to produce sebum. The oily substance, secreted by your hair follicles, is the body’s natural hair conditioner. Dark green vegetables also provide iron and calcium.

Beans – Legumes like kidney beans and lentils should be an important part of your hair-care diet. Not only do they provide plentiful protein to promote hair growth, but ample iron, zinc, and biotin. While rare, biotin deficiencies can result in brittle hair.

Whole Grains – Hearty whole grains, including whole-wheat bread and fortified whole-grain breakfast cereals, offer a hair-healthy dose of zinc, iron, and B vitamins.

Oysters – The key to their hair-boosting abilities is zinc, a powerful antioxidant. In addition to getting it from whole grains and nuts, you can also get zinc from beef and lamb.

No matter what your diet is, it’s important that it is balanced and nutritional. Dr. Gabel and his team encourage their patients to live a healthy lifestyle. You and your hair will reap the benefits!

A new technology, trichoscopy, offers a method of identifying androgenic alopecia in its early development. Trichoscopy uses video to visualize hair shafts at high magnification. This means that dermatologists can measure things like hair shaft thickness without the need of invasive procedures. It also allows for the visualization of living hair follicles.

While many have commented on the usefulness of trichscopy, there is currently no standardized method for using it to diagnose androgenic alopecia. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Warsaw looks to develop such a method for FAGA.

The researchers propose an algorithm for identifying FAGA based on a number of criteria. These criteria can be confirmed by trichscopy. They include things like the appearance of yellow dots at high magnification, the ratio of hair thickness in the frontal area of the scalp compared to the back, and the number of thin hairs in the frontal area.

Using these criteria doctors can confirm the presence of FAGA early on. This lets them begin treatment before it reaches an advanced stage. Importantly, the use of trichoscopy is not just restricted to female cases of androgenic alopecia; although female cases are all this study developed a method for, in the future a similar method might be applied to men.

For further information on hair loss, visit the Gabel Center, professionals of hair replacement in Oregon.

SOURCE:
Rakowska A, Slowinska M, Kowalska-Oledzka E, Olszewska M, Rudnicka L., Dermoscopy in female androgenic alopecia: method standardization and diagnostic criteria. Department of Dermatology, CSK MSWiA, Woloska 137, Poland. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20927234/

Dr. Gabel, of hair transplant bellevue, shares that Androgenetic Alopecia is caused by a combination of genetics and hormones. It occurs when hair on the top and front of the head is genetically programmed to thin and die when exposed to the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a breakdown of the naturally occurring hormone testosterone.

Both an enlarged prostate and male pattern baldness are believed to result  in an overproduction of DHT. The same compounds in pumpkin seed oil that reduces DHT’s effect on the prostate cells, may also help prevent the thinning of hair follicles.

How to block DHT

• Reducing the production of DHT.
• Keeping DHT from attaching to the receptors in the hair follicles
• Reducing the substances that can produce the enzyme 5 alpha reductase like cholesterol.
• Inhibiting the production of the enzyme 5 alpha reductase which converts testosterone into DHT.

Pumpkin seed oil is a dark green oil, sometimes seen as dark red in thicker concentrations, with a rich nutty flavor. Pumpkin seed oil can be used as a vegetable oil substitute, salad dressing, and in soups. So load up on all things pumpkin this season before the patch is empty.

According to epidemiological studies, toxins in smoke that can harm hair follicles and damage hormones. A report in the journal BMJ looked at more than 600 men and women, half of them smokers and found a significant link between smoking and early graying.

Another team studied a group of 740 men in Taiwan, aged 40 to 91 years, notable because Asian men generally have low rates of hereditary baldness. Again, researchers found a greater rate of hair loss among the smokers, a risk that grew with more smoking.

Dr. Steven Gabel of the Gabel Restoration Center, shares that general poor health is another cause of hair loss. These health concerns include:

• Crash diets
• Poor nourishment
• Eating disorders
• Inadequate protein or iron

Smoking puts you at a higher risk for hair loss, among many other illnesses. In order to keep the locks you have, quitting smoking may be the first step. If your scalp has already experienced significant hair loss it may be time to meet with the Gabel Center team for hair restoration in Bellevue.

In a study published in 2007, for example, researchers looked at 250 men ages 35 to 65. After controlling factors such as age, high cholesterol, and smoking they concluded that hypertension was ”strongly associated” with male pattern baldness. The men with a blood pressure reading above 120 over 80 had twice the risk of the others.

Baldness has also been linked to heart disease. In a study from The Archives of Internal Medicine, for example, researchers analyzed the health of 22,000 male doctors over 11 years. Men with mild balding had a 23 percent higher risk for heart disease, and those who were completely balding had a 36 percent greater risk.

But scientists insist that the relationship is only a correlation. Researchers suspect hair loss could be among many symptoms of high blood pressure. Whether you live in Hollywood or Hillsboro Oregon, hair loss may be a problem you encounter. The Gabel Center takes great pride in the artistry to create a natural result and to achieve the desires and goals of his patients.

In a recent paper published in Medical Hypotheses, V.K. Soni claims that androgenetic theory fails to explain important questions about hair loss. Why does hair loss only happens in certain areas of the scalp? Why doesn’t hair grow back when testosterone levels decrease? To understand AGA, these questions need to be answered.

Soni shares that there are not just too many androgen receptors, but that their presence causes a cycle of malfunction in the scalp. He writes that “androgenic alopecia is a counter productive out come [sic] of the anabolic effect of androgens.”  This is something that happens in a few steps:

1. Androgens in the scalp deposit protein and reduce fat in the scalp’s tissue.
2. The scalp, which is already dense and firm, becomes rugged and tough.
3. The rugged and dense tissue beneath the scalp’s skin causes compression in the scalp.
4. Because of the compressed pressure, the follicles in the scalp don’t get the supplies they need.
5. Due to a lack of supplies, the follicles miniaturize.
6. The miniaturization of follicles leads to further scalp compression, which causes a cycle leading back to step (2).
7. After the cycle occurs multiple times, the follicles are miniaturized permanently.

As one can see, Soni answers questions that current androgenetic theory does not. AGA causes hair loss in only the scalp because the scalp tissue is already dense and firm. Hair loss is permanent because the follicles atrophy; that is, the hair follicles miniaturize so much that they can never grow again.

With this more refined understanding of hair loss, Soni believes that treatments can be bettered. To look into treatments for hair loss, contact the Gabel Center, your provider of hair restoration in Idaho.

Source: V.K. Soni, Androgenic alopecia: A counterproductive outcome of the anabolic effect of androgens, Medical Hypotheses, Volume 73, Issue 3, September 2009, Pages 420-426, ISSN 0306-9877, 10.1016/j.mehy.2009.03.032.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987709002266)

Rossi et al, in a study published in Dermatologic Therapy, reviewed 1mg of daily Finasteride use in 118 men between 20 and 61 years old. They used pictures and statistical analysis, as well as patient reports, to judge the effectiveness and side effects of the treatment over 10 years.

Important observations from the study include:

• The effectiveness of Finasteride is not reduced over time
• The daily intake of 1mg of Finasteride “produced significant and durable increases in hair growth in men with AGA”
• Subjects over 30-years of age showed better hair growth in the long-term than younger subjects
• Over 10 years, 14% of patients had decreased rates of hair growth, while 86% had increased or stable rates of hair growth
• 5.9% of patients reported side effects; many of these patients still continued taking Finasteride because of its benefits

The researchers conclude their study as follows:

“[F]inasteride is a safe and effective treatment for controlling male pattern baldness with long-term daily use even in men over the age of 40 years. The satisfactory clinical results, the few side effects observed, and the lack of alternative medications, led us to consider finasteride an effective treatment especially if taken in the early stages of AGA.”

It is important to consider the scientific assessment of a medicine’s efficacy and safety. The Gabel Center, a hair transplant clinic in Oregon, offers hair restoration services that may include a recommended dosage of Finasteride.

Source: ROSSI, A., CANTISANI, C., SCARNò, M., TRUCCHIA, A., FORTUNA, M. C. and CALVIERI, S. (2011), Finasteride, 1 mg daily administration on male androgenetic alopecia in different age groups: 10-year follow-up. Dermatologic Therapy, 24: 455–461. doi: 10.1111/j.1529-8019.2011.01441.x

The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 14 different papers that focused on the psychological effects of androgenic alopecia (male pattern baldness). This netted the following results:

• Both men and women view balding men as less physically attractive than non-balding men.
• Men affected by androgenic alopecia “consider it a serious condition with damaging effects, such as feelings of reduced attractiveness, teasing, anxieties about others’ perceptions of them, and self-conscious preoccupation with current and future alopecia.”
• Balding women not only experience higher levels of dissatisfaction with their hair, but with their body image overall when compared to non-balding women.
• Androgenic alopecia prompts increased social isolation: balding individuals avoid locations and environments that they feel highlight their condition.
• Alopecia may affect physical and mental functioning in degrees similar to that of psoriasis, a skin condition.

These are all risk-factors that put hair loss in line with serious psychosocial and psychiatric illnesses.

The researchers also collected a number of physical results associated with androgenic alopecia:

• The presence of angrogenic alopecia is correlated with that of cardiovascular disease; the researchers recommend including hair loss as a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease.
• People with androgenic alopecia have an increased chance of metabolic syndrome.
• Treatments of androgenic alopecia may reduce the risk of negative cardiac events.

This means that hair loss is not just a cosmetic affliction. These studies show a deep and complex link between hair loss and serious psychological and physical illness. For more information, contact the Gabel Center, a provider of hair transplants in Portland.

The study by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center has shown that, for the first time, Wnt signaling, already known to control many biological processes, can dictate hair color. The study, led by Mayumi Ito, PhD, assistant professor in the Ronald O. Pereleman Department of Dermatology at NYU Langone, was published in the June 11, 2011 issue of the journal Cell.

Researchers knew that hair follicle stem cells and pigment-producing melanocycte cells collaborate to produce colored hair, but the underlying reasons have not always been understood. The study suggests that the use of Wnt signaling may be a strategy for targeting pigmentation such as graying hair.

“The human body has many types of stem cells that have the potential to regenerate other organs,” said Dr. Ito. “The methods behind communication between stem cells of hair and color during hair replacement may give us important clues to regenerate complex organs containing many different types of cells.”