Hey, I'm new here, just started lurking last night. Well, I'm 16 and became a vegetarian about a year ago. About a few months after I began, I noticed that my hair was falling out. It used to be VERY thick, but it seems that now atleast half has fallen out. I thought it was because of lack of protein or something, but increasing my intake didn't seem to do anything, does anyone know what it could be? This is really scaring me.
My Hair is Falling Out
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It could be that your body is going through a normal adjustment period. I think that people's bodies continually go through changes at various times through their lives, especially now at your age. Plus, stress can do some weird things to your hair (and nail's, too) so make sure to decompress somehow (read a book, relax just layin' around, etc.).<br><br><br><br>
I was freaky about watching my hair when I first because vegetarian about 6 months ago. People had said that my hair was going to fall out and I didn't want that to happen. I studied up a little on nutrition and know that I need a certain amout of protein each day. So, I drink soymilk each day and have it in my cereal as well. I eat it at dinner also in the form of a veggie-burger or whatnot sometimes. I also take a multi-vitaman for women and I haven't had a problem. I have thick hair, too.<br><br><br><br>
Make sure you are getting enough nutritionally rich foods (watch junk). I don't know how bad it's falling out, but if it your hair loss gets worse and starts to be way out of the norm, like big clumps, you may want to get to a doctor or tell your parents. Sometimes extreme physical changes are an indicator of something else going on with the body that may need to be tended to.
I was freaky about watching my hair when I first because vegetarian about 6 months ago. People had said that my hair was going to fall out and I didn't want that to happen. I studied up a little on nutrition and know that I need a certain amout of protein each day. So, I drink soymilk each day and have it in my cereal as well. I eat it at dinner also in the form of a veggie-burger or whatnot sometimes. I also take a multi-vitaman for women and I haven't had a problem. I have thick hair, too.<br><br><br><br>
Make sure you are getting enough nutritionally rich foods (watch junk). I don't know how bad it's falling out, but if it your hair loss gets worse and starts to be way out of the norm, like big clumps, you may want to get to a doctor or tell your parents. Sometimes extreme physical changes are an indicator of something else going on with the body that may need to be tended to.
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A quick search on Google turned up several results. Here are a few that may be useful...<br><br><br><br><a href="http://www.curafas.com/baldness/vegetarian.htm" target="_blank">http://www.curafas.com/baldness/vegetarian.htm</a><br><br><a href="http://www.vegan.com/issues/1999/oct99/messina.htm" target="_blank">http://www.vegan.com/issues/1999/oct99/messina.htm</a><br><br><a href="http://www.malehealth.co.uk/keyinfo/baldness.htm" target="_blank">http://www.malehealth.co.uk/keyinfo/baldness.htm</a> - "Include sufficient protein in your diet, especially if you are vegan or vegetarian (hair loss sometimes starts when people give up meat). Ensure that you do not become anaemic by eating plenty of iron-rich foods like liver, eggs and green vegetables."<br><br><br><br>
Most seem to indicate that it could be due to an iron deficiency. You may want to try a supplement or eating iron-rich foods.<br><br><br><br>
I think Jade is a woman's name, assuming that's correct this site says women should get 18mg of iron per day. There is also a chart that lists some iron-rich foods...<br><br><br><br><a href="http://www.sandiegobloodbank.org/education/iron_rich_foods.php" target="_blank">http://www.sandiegobloodbank.org/edu...rich_foods.php</a><br><br><br><br>
I hope this helps. Welcome to VB! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="
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Most seem to indicate that it could be due to an iron deficiency. You may want to try a supplement or eating iron-rich foods.<br><br><br><br>
I think Jade is a woman's name, assuming that's correct this site says women should get 18mg of iron per day. There is also a chart that lists some iron-rich foods...<br><br><br><br><a href="http://www.sandiegobloodbank.org/education/iron_rich_foods.php" target="_blank">http://www.sandiegobloodbank.org/edu...rich_foods.php</a><br><br><br><br>
I hope this helps. Welcome to VB! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="
">Thank you very much. I hardly plan my diet, so it's highly probable that I'm not getting enough iron or zinc. So, I guess I'll have to get supplements. I love this board already, you are very helpful and informative. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">
">
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I think she was talking to me. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/grin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=""><br><br><br><br>
I don't know if the supplements will work. It makes sense that they would. But this is a very common problem and I've always wondered if it's a way of pawning the problem off to something else. Please let us know how it works.
"><br><br><br><br>I don't know if the supplements will work. It makes sense that they would. But this is a very common problem and I've always wondered if it's a way of pawning the problem off to something else. Please let us know how it works.
Ut Ho Michael <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/notworthy.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":wayne:"> So sorry...I'll get off of your toes now <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/grin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">
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Its normal to lose about 100 hairs a day. But you said that you used to have thick hair then half of it fell out? Well i would go ask a docter to find out whats wrong because it could be anything. Also if you dye your hair then that might be the reason why. I lose alot of my hair whenever i brush it though.
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"It could be that your body is going through a normal adjustment period. "<br><br><br><br>
I doubt it. This is not normal for a 16 year old of either sex. Even males who begin losing hair to the normal process of male-pattern baldness, at a relatively young age, do not have "at least half" of their hair fall out within a period of a year. I think this is a definite indication of a disorder, malnutrition, or some kind of toxicity, poisoning.<br><br><br><br>
I am not an expert however on nutritional causes of hair loss. Do you have a reasonably balanced diet, AliasSpy? Do you eat any kind of unusual food (or drug), something that most people just don't eat?
I doubt it. This is not normal for a 16 year old of either sex. Even males who begin losing hair to the normal process of male-pattern baldness, at a relatively young age, do not have "at least half" of their hair fall out within a period of a year. I think this is a definite indication of a disorder, malnutrition, or some kind of toxicity, poisoning.<br><br><br><br>
I am not an expert however on nutritional causes of hair loss. Do you have a reasonably balanced diet, AliasSpy? Do you eat any kind of unusual food (or drug), something that most people just don't eat?
Well, I don't really have a balanced diet. I eat junk all the time because my mom usually makes just meat for dinner or something, so I end up getting a bag of chips. I'm pretty sure I don't eat unusual foods. I'm going to try and get some suppeiments, and if I'm still losing alot of hair, I guess I have to go to the doctor.
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Doctors may or may not be of help. And they are very unlikely to start interfering in your family life to help your mother make food chooses that aren't meat-centered. Even if you find a vegetarian doctor.<br><br><br><br>
Supplementary micro-nutrients may not take the place of adequate amounts of macro-nutrients. I would suggest learning the fundamentals of human nutritional requirements for protein, fat, and carbohydrates, and the role of fiber, and then try to make some of your own meals, or "help" your mom out when she is preparing meals. "Contribute" to the process, being as diplomatic as possible about adding your own alternatives to meat, for providing the family with protein and fats. You won't have to get your recipes in every day. You don't really need "3 square meals a day" to get all your nutrients. Just maybe aroung 5 dishes during the week may perhaps be of some help.
Supplementary micro-nutrients may not take the place of adequate amounts of macro-nutrients. I would suggest learning the fundamentals of human nutritional requirements for protein, fat, and carbohydrates, and the role of fiber, and then try to make some of your own meals, or "help" your mom out when she is preparing meals. "Contribute" to the process, being as diplomatic as possible about adding your own alternatives to meat, for providing the family with protein and fats. You won't have to get your recipes in every day. You don't really need "3 square meals a day" to get all your nutrients. Just maybe aroung 5 dishes during the week may perhaps be of some help.
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<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block"><i>Originally posted by AliasSpy</i><br><br><b>Well, I don't really have a balanced diet. I eat junk all the time because my mom usually makes just meat for dinner or something, so I end up getting a bag of chips. I'm pretty sure I don't eat unusual foods. I'm going to try and get some suppeiments, and if I'm still losing alot of hair, I guess I have to go to the doctor.</b></div>
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no you just have to EAT! if your mom won't make you vegetarian meals, make your own. you cannot live off chips no matter how many vitamins you pop! you gotta eat right whether you're vegetarian, vegan, or omni, chips are nothing but carbs, fat, and sodium. even if your hair went back to normal with vitamins, you still would NOT be even remotely healthy on a diet like that. and by the way, most doctors don't know that much about nutrition, chances are they'll just tell you to go back to eating meat cause it seems like the obvious answer to them.<br><br><br><br><br><br>
i went through the same thing, at first i wasn't really eating enough fresh veggies and protein. but once i started paying more attention to what i ate, making my meals instead of eating packaged junk, including several different foods in each meal to make sure i get enough different sources of protein, and taking either a multivitamin or enriched soymilk, it stopped. now i just notice my hair is either dry or oily all the time, no middle ground, and my scalp is dry and itchy, but i think that's from my shampoo cause i switched to all natural stuff with no animal ingredients and it's taking some time to find the right brand and type for my hair.
<div class="quote-block"><i>Originally posted by AliasSpy</i><br><br><b>Well, I don't really have a balanced diet. I eat junk all the time because my mom usually makes just meat for dinner or something, so I end up getting a bag of chips. I'm pretty sure I don't eat unusual foods. I'm going to try and get some suppeiments, and if I'm still losing alot of hair, I guess I have to go to the doctor.</b></div>
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no you just have to EAT! if your mom won't make you vegetarian meals, make your own. you cannot live off chips no matter how many vitamins you pop! you gotta eat right whether you're vegetarian, vegan, or omni, chips are nothing but carbs, fat, and sodium. even if your hair went back to normal with vitamins, you still would NOT be even remotely healthy on a diet like that. and by the way, most doctors don't know that much about nutrition, chances are they'll just tell you to go back to eating meat cause it seems like the obvious answer to them.<br><br><br><br><br><br>
i went through the same thing, at first i wasn't really eating enough fresh veggies and protein. but once i started paying more attention to what i ate, making my meals instead of eating packaged junk, including several different foods in each meal to make sure i get enough different sources of protein, and taking either a multivitamin or enriched soymilk, it stopped. now i just notice my hair is either dry or oily all the time, no middle ground, and my scalp is dry and itchy, but i think that's from my shampoo cause i switched to all natural stuff with no animal ingredients and it's taking some time to find the right brand and type for my hair.
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AS,<br><br>
I feel your pain... often I get home from work after my family has eaten dinner and cleaned up, so I am left with whatever I can find. Sometimes they help me out and let me know of some leftovers that I'd like, but most often I am left with PBJ. I don't feel like cooking anything that takes longer than 15 minutes when I just worked a long day.
I feel your pain... often I get home from work after my family has eaten dinner and cleaned up, so I am left with whatever I can find. Sometimes they help me out and let me know of some leftovers that I'd like, but most often I am left with PBJ. I don't feel like cooking anything that takes longer than 15 minutes when I just worked a long day.
I became a vegetarian about a year and a half ago and my hair also just started to fall out. I started to examine what I ate and I realized that I was eating lots of carrots, handfuls of about 7 at a time. So then I looked up what an excess of vitamin a does to your body. I found on some website that an extreme excess of vitamin a (which I was getting) causes your hair to fall out. I was somewhat skeptical since it was an internet website. But then one day I was reading my biology book and I found that an excess of vitamin a can cause your hair to fall out. I stopped eating so many carrots and my hair has stopped falling out, so I am pretty sure it was the vitamin a. So if you eat lots of carrots, you may be getting too much vitamin a, causing your hair to fall out.<br><br><br><br>
~Liana
~Liana
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could be stress, hmm i'd talk to your doctor or your hair dress my hair allways falls, out all the time, yet it never sems to thin<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/worried.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":worried:">but hey worst case i become bald and buy a wig*shrugs* i'm pretty easy going to matter what. but mostly my hair started out when i started middle shcool and same with allot people in my class, we wrote it off as stress cause our teacher was insane<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/shocked.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=""> but my hair still does not as much mind you, my hair loss has actually gotten less frequent after becomeing vegan soo you never know. i'd go with seeing the hair dresser and doctor <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/carrot.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":vebo:"> goodluck!
"> but my hair still does not as much mind you, my hair loss has actually gotten less frequent after becomeing vegan soo you never know. i'd go with seeing the hair dresser and doctor <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/carrot.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":vebo:"> goodluck!
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<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>AliasSpy</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br>
Thank you very much. I hardly plan my diet, so it's highly probable that I'm not getting enough iron or zinc. So, I guess I'll have to get supplements. I love this board already, you are very helpful and informative. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=""></div>
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You need to watch what you eat, lady!<br><br><br><br>
I highly suggest getting enough sleep, keeping your stress levels down, eating healthy varied food, getting excercise, and taking a daily multivitamin.<br><br><br><br>
If you do all 5 of those, your hair ought to stop falling out within a couple weeks. My hair started falling out a couple months after I became vegan and with just a few changes it stopped within 2 weeks.<br><br><br><br>
If you eat either french fries or potato chips every day then you're doing something wrong! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/veganpolice.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":notvegan:">
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>AliasSpy</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br>
Thank you very much. I hardly plan my diet, so it's highly probable that I'm not getting enough iron or zinc. So, I guess I'll have to get supplements. I love this board already, you are very helpful and informative. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="
"></div></div>
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You need to watch what you eat, lady!<br><br><br><br>
I highly suggest getting enough sleep, keeping your stress levels down, eating healthy varied food, getting excercise, and taking a daily multivitamin.<br><br><br><br>
If you do all 5 of those, your hair ought to stop falling out within a couple weeks. My hair started falling out a couple months after I became vegan and with just a few changes it stopped within 2 weeks.<br><br><br><br>
If you eat either french fries or potato chips every day then you're doing something wrong! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/veganpolice.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":notvegan:">
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bad, you realize this thread is a year and a half odd right? Why'd you raise it!<br><br><br><br>
I spent time making a post before I realized you raised this from the bottomless pit. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/mad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">
I spent time making a post before I realized you raised this from the bottomless pit. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/mad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="
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