Although there is never usually one main reason for hair loss, clinical studies have found that a large percentage of women suffering from hair loss between the ages of 35 and 50 are deficient in iron.
The British Journal of Dermatology states 'in women the major cause of hair loss before the age of 50 is nutritional - the main cause appears to be depleted iron stores, compromised by a suboptimal intake of the essential amino acid I-Iysine.'
Further investigation in different studies at the Oregon Health Sciences University found that on average 70% of women suffering with telogen effluvium, (a form of non-scarring alopecia) were also low in iron levels.
Trends show that hair loss related to iron deficiency affects women and hardly ever men, while joggers, pregnant women, and new mothers are at the highest risk of being affected. Those suffering with anaemia, when the body does not have enough red blood cells, could also notice, as a side effect of their illness, that they are losing or shedding hair.
While there is no one key explanation that one has and undersupply of the vitamin, three major categories of causes are: blood loss, a lack of iron absorption, and a decrease in iron intake. Blood loss could result in iron deficiency for a number of reasons: ulcers and inflammation of the stomach - gastritis, is a common issue which could lead to bleeding in the digestive tract, causing iron deficiency; blood loss is also common in pregnant women, either during or after birth. Low iron levels are also more prevalent in women than men due to menstruation - those suffering from excessively heavy periods (under the diagnosis of menorrhagia) are likely to have low levels of iron, especially when combined with an insufficient iron intake.
Anaemia is an illness that has become more and more general in recent times. This is when the body does not have enough red blood cells, caused by not enough iron being available to produce haemoglobin, in turn causing the body to be unable to make the red blood cells. 'Kidshealth' cite that due to a lack in red blood cells carrying oxygen around the body, less oxygen reaches cells and tissues in anaemia, affecting the functioning of cells and tissues. While this is a cause of hair loss and shedding, it is necessary to realise that iron deficiency doesn't always result in anaemia.
Lacking in iron absorption can also be caused by a number of reasons. Medications reducing stomach acids (as is necessary for particular illnesses) do also reduce iron levels in the blood stream. While there are obviously foods that can increase the levels of iron, there are also those that have been known to reduce levels, such as black teas, coffee, bran, soybeans, split peas and dried beans. This doesn't mean avoiding the foods completely, however one should consider, if these foods are common in the diet, to take vitamin C supplements to help absorb a more even level of iron into the blood stream.
As mentioned, there are foods that are known to be good sources of the vitamin. These include lean red meat, eggs, fish and cheese.
Ferritin is a protein found in the body that stores iron, and the serum ferritin (ferritin in the blood) amount is positively correlated with the amount of iron stored in the body. While diet and blood tests can determine the more immediate levels of iron in the body and blood stream, ferritin is a more precise, long term status of iron levels, however this is altered by a change in diet.
The British Journal of Dermatology mentions 'serum ferritin concentrations provide a good assessment of an individual's iron status...the role of the essential amino acid I-Iysine in hair loss also appears to be important'. For this reason, it is necessary for doctors to conduct a ferritin test to determine if one is iron deficient, as L'Oreal have stated, 'The amount of ferritin in the blood indicates how much iron the body has in reserve', proving the directly proportional relationship between serum ferritin and iron levels.
While it has been shown that low iron levels is directly related to hair loss and shedding in women, it can easily be resolved in most cases. This is usually by modifying the daily diet, implementing the aforementioned foods and more iron-rich vitamins, however, iron supplement pills are easily accessible and can reduce the intensity of the problem.
Daniella Clowd,
Bloomsbury of London
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