How Your General Health Affects Hair Loss

Normal hair loss or male pattern baldness is often considered a genetic condition in which there is little or no help to treat or prevent it. There may be more mysteries of hair loss than just bad cards in a genetic poker game. While those of us with baldness may experience hair loss to some degree, there are secondary factors that can accelerate the rate of loss. These factors fall into three categories; Diet, Lifestyle, and Exercise. Here, in the United States, we generally fall into three categories. Many Americans do not eat properly, smoke and drink, and do not exercise enough.

View our Global Neighbors (From an American Perspective)

If you are an American hair loss patient, you may have noticed that baldness affects many of our citizens. If you look elsewhere in the world, especially Asia, you may find that hair loss is a much more common problem in the region. Many men in China also enjoy their hair without gray hair in their sixties. Why is there a difference in the frequency of hair loss between Eastern and Western civilizations? Genetics may play a role but the biggest difference between Americans and their Asian counterparts is in their diet choices.

Have men ever lost their hair in Asia? Yes, it can, but the problem is much lower than the frequency of hair loss in the United States (I suspect the slight decline in hair growth in the region can be compared to the increase in American influence, especially in Japan). In the United States, we usually eat foods that are processed with saturated fat and with little or no nutritional value. It can actually be challenging to avoid these foods in America, but a deep introspective look will help you evaluate where you are on your diet.

Before picking up your phone and ordering Chinese food, be careful that Chinese food in the U.S. different from the original Chinese food. Chinese cuisine here in the US is cooked in large quantities of grease and with MSG food additives. Instead, read on for practical advice on how to check your diet and lifestyle to help reduce your hair loss.

Hair loss is slow and fast

Hair loss can occur at many different speeds and ages depending on the person. This may be due to one's overall health, lifestyle and nutrition. The obvious argument for this theory is that people who look healthy are still bald and many people are not looking after their hair. We need to look beyond the argument. If you do not have the genetic tendency to experience hair loss, your lifestyle will have an inevitable effect on your hair, in which case people with genital warts may lose hair at some rate. Health, Lifestyle, and Nutrition are the variables in this equation.

Contributing Factors

If someone is involved in a diet that is not nutritious, one can expect to worsen their hair loss eventually improving the speed of the situation. Moderate exercise tends to increase blood flow and carry nutrients, vitamins, and minerals around the circulatory system. The deficiency can cause blood to circulate slowly which can lead to serious health problems such as heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. If you smoke, cigarettes may contribute to your blood pollution by adding thousands of toxins to your bloodstream. This second factor plays a role in accelerating male pattern baldness.

Hair Composition

Hair contains three key elements that you may have heard before; Zinc, Copper, and Sulfur. If your dietary options are low, you may not get the required amount of minerals. Strength and elasticity of hair are made up of nutrients, minerals. and vitamins and when there is a deficit, the hair can suffer more.

Biotin is a vitamin responsible for the strength of hair, skin, and nails. While most healthy people can easily get the required biotin dose even with foods like eggs and bananas, fast food aficionado may not be enough. Vitamins, nutrients, and minerals are the building blocks for your hair's health and well-being. Some changes in your diet may help your hair a little.

Health and Hair Loss Equations

Although genetically regulating who will lose their hair, your lifestyle and health can greatly impact the level and rate of hair loss you may experience. You may have seen some people lose most of their hair in a few short years while others have been bald for a very long time. This difference is usually associated with the overall health of hair loss patients.

In other words, those who begin to lose their hair and lead an unhealthy lifestyle have put themselves in a real path to baldness. People who study their lifestyle and diet and make the necessary changes have a good chance of prolonging their hair for many years. The biggest problem is consistency; many people cannot be consistent with healthy choices for a long time.

What You Can Do

If you want to do the best for your hair at a healthy level, the best way to get started is to check your diet, lifestyle and exercise routine. Changing your diet to include foods that supplement vitamins, nutrients, and minerals will strengthen your hair. Reducing bad habits like smoking, alcohol, or drug use will strengthen your immune system. Developing a regular (i.e. running) routine will increase blood flow that distributes vitamins, nutrients, and minerals throughout your bloodstream.

These changes will improve your overall health and your hair's health. Genetics plays a role in hair loss but it is the path that we choose that determines how much of a genetic role it plays. If you give your hair what it needs to grow and keep your health in check, you can keep your hair from further damage and in the meantime recover some of what you've lost.

Remember Diet, Lifestyle, and Exercise are just some of the weapons in combating hair loss. There are other methods that can naturally stop hair loss and regrow hair especially when used in combination. Remember, like most things in life, simplicity is key.

------------------