If you’ve been experiencing unexplained hair loss, brittle or dull-looking hair, then you need to look a little deeper than just the hair itself. Hair, skin, and nails are very good indicators of your internal health. So, your internal health is what needs to be addressed if you want to have shiny, healthy, strong hair. In this article, we will explain some of the root causes of hair problems. We’ll also explore some valuable tips about the best nutrition and vitamins for hair growth.
Hormone imbalance is one of the main causes of poor hair health. This imbalance may arise from cases such as adrenal fatigue, thyroid issues or issues with the Ovarian Adrenal Thyroid (OAT) axis. All of these imbalances can occur when your NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response is dysregulated. This can occur due to a number of different stressors, such as a bad diet, exposure to toxins, poor sleep, infections, and psychological stress.
Your NEM is your body’s global response to stress, and it consists of six circuits that work together to regulate stress. These NEM components are the Hormone, Bioenergetics, Cardionomic, Neuroaffect, Inflammation, and Detoxification Circuits. They work to handle acute stress through the “fight or flight” response, and they are meant to revert to a state of homeostasis afterward. This would then allow your body to rest and rejuvenate itself.
Unfortunately, modern life is rife with stress, and chronic stress is an unfortunate reality for many people. Chronic stress causes the NEM and its different components to dysregulate. This makes it difficult for the body to repair itself and function optimally.
The Hormone Circuit is usually triggered first, as it contains your body’s first line of defense against stress: your adrenal glands. Your adrenal glands produce your body’s main anti-stress hormone, cortisol. The other two components of the Hormone Circuit are the thyroid gland, which regulates your energy reserves, and your reproductive organs, which produce sex hormones.
In the beginning stages of Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS), cortisol is high. However, once the adrenal glands are exhausted, cortisol output drops, which marks the more advanced stages of AFS. There are many symptoms of adrenal fatigue which include fatigue, weight gain, insomnia, hair loss, brittle hair, brittle nails, dry skin, itchy skin, brain fog, and an inability to handle stress.
One of the biggest stressors of modern life is an unhealthy diet. Nutrition plays a major role in the dysregulation of the adrenal glands and the NEM’s Hormone Circuit. Let’s consider the role of nutrition for healthy hair.
Before getting into the specific vitamins for hair growth, we must first explore the nutritional steps you need to take to rebalance your Hormone Circuit.
Without a doubt, food is one of the best ways to recover and optimize your health. Your nutrition is also the cornerstone of adrenal fatigue recovery. Supplementing with vitamins for hair growth and for any other nutritional or therapeutic purposes will help to support a healthy diet once it is established.
In order to balance your Hormone Circuit, and address any inflammation and dysbiosis in your gut, you need to follow a few simple nutritional guidelines. They include:
Almost all inflammation begins in the gut, and your gut has a huge impact on your hormones. That’s why getting rid of inflammatory foods and drinks from your diet is the first step towards healing. These foods and drinks include:
Try to get most of your nutritional needs met from your diet. This includes getting the vitamins for hair growth as well. The adrenal fatigue diet is one such nutritional plan, and it is usually composed of:
With adrenal fatigue, the main issue your body is facing is a depletion of energy and nutritional stores. Therefore, when you eat matters just as much as what you eat. Also, a steady supply of nutritional raw material is also needed for hormone production.
So you want to eat every three to four hours, and you should follow a regular daily schedule, like this one:
Eating like this will stabilize your blood sugar levels. It will also remove one of the biggest stressors on your Hormone Circuit and entire body: blood sugar spikes and crashes.
Following the previous nutritional advice should yield massive improvements to your health, and by default, to your hair. But if you want the added boost of supplements and vitamins for hair growth, there are a few that are quite effective. However, keep in mind that not all people can handle taking these supplements. Therefore, you should consult an experienced medical practitioner before starting new supplements and vitamins. It is also important to keep your expectations in check. These supplements could help but won’t immediately grow your hair.
Vitamin A is important for all cell growth, including hair cells. It also supports sebum production, which is the oil that your skin produces to keep your scalp and hair nourished. Do your best to get your vitamin A from food rather than supplements, as too much of it can actually speed up hair loss. You can find enough vitamin A and its precursor, beta carotene, in eggs, pumpkins, carrots, spinach, and kale.
Many people, especially vegetarians and vegans, are deficient in vitamin B12. So, it’s very important to supplement in such cases. Biotin is another one of the important vitamins for hair growth, and it is one that is almost always found in hair supplements. Although you can get most of your B vitamin needs through food, taking a supplement might be a good idea. You can take supplements for a short while until you get your diet right.
Vitamin C is an immune-boosting, free radical neutralizing powerhouse, that also helps your body absorb iron, which is another nutrient your hair needs. Plus, vitamin C is used by your body to produce collagen, one of the main proteins that your hair is made of. Generally, you can get enough vitamin C through foods such as citrus fruits, peppers, strawberries, and broccoli. However, if you have lowered immunity or a condition like adrenal fatigue, it might be necessary to take higher doses from supplements rather than food. However keep in mind that adrenal fatigue sufferers can also become too stimulated from taking vitamin C, so you must first consult with your medical practitioner.
Living and working mostly indoors has made many people deficient in vitamin D. Consequently, vitamin D deficiency has been linked with alopecia, along with a host of other health problems. We usually recommend that people supplement with vitamin D3, as well as try to get it through food sources such as mushrooms and wild-caught fatty fish.
Vitamin E is known as the hair, skin, and nails vitamin, and for good reason. It’s a powerful antioxidant that can make your scalp healthier. And a healthy scalp is what grows healthy hair. It is one of the most important vitamins for hair growth for those with alopecia, and it can be used internally or topically. You can also get vitamin E through food sources such as kale, spinach, and wheat germ.
Zinc deficiency is quite common, and it has been linked with hair loss. Although you can get zinc from foods such as pumpkin seeds, beef, spinach, and oysters, a zinc supplement may be required if you have a deficiency. Just be aware that too high of a dose can lead to hair loss instead of hair growth.
Anemia is another cause of hair loss, and it is quite common in women due to blood loss from menstruation. Iron supplements can be a little difficult on the gastrointestinal tract and can cause constipation. Try to eat more iron-rich foods, and if you do supplement, make sure that you also take vitamin C to help with absorption.
Collagen supplements have been all the craze lately, as they can really boost hair growth, skin elasticity, and nail strength. For those with adrenal fatigue, collagen types I and III are the most useful.
Many hair growth issues result from a lack of certain vitamins and nutrients. The following supplements may help the situation.
This is a proprietary formula made of various vitamins and nutrients specifically designed to promote healthy hair, nails. The beneficial ingredients in this supplement include vitamins C, E, and B6, biotin, pantothenic acid, calcium, zinc, selenium, copper, and manganese. These ingredients, while great for hair growth, may also supply adrenal support and help stabilize hormones.
A supplement containing hydrolyzed collagen types 1 and 3, it helps rebuild D-ribose to boost your energy levels. The active ingredients in this proprietary blend include hydrolyzed bovine collagen, d-ribose, fructooligosaccarides, L-lysine, L-proline, L-carnitine, coenzyme Q10, and various other ingredients. The various ingredients, working in synergy, also help address hormonal and hair growth/loss issues.
Pyro Zinc addresses one of the major causes of hair loss: a zinc deficiency. Many people suffer from pyroluria. This is either an inherited disorder or one acquired due to emotional or environmental stress that causes an increase in kryptopyrrole levels. High kryptopyrrole levels in your body hamper your body’s ability to absorb sufficient zinc. This formula, however, is an easily absorbed form of zinc that may help restore your body’s zinc levels.
A blend of vitamins D3 and K2, this supplement also contains black pepper fruit extract and calcium. Lower calcium levels in your body are one of the main reasons for hair loss in many people. Black pepper, on the other hand, is rich in antioxidants and other compounds that not only stimulate hair growth but help control hair fall while addressing scalp issues like dandruff. The two vitamins in D5000 Plus also have their own set of benefits. Vitamin D, for example, is essential for processing keratin. Keratin is important for healthy nails, skin, and hair. Essential for hair strand regeneration, vitamin K may help reverse balding while promoting faster, stronger hair growth.
LipoNano C makes use of liposomal technology that allows for the encapsulation of a hydrophilic nutrient inside a lipid carrier. The proprietary blend of nutrients in this supplement includes shitake and lion’s mane mushrooms, vitamin C, sodium ascorbate, and a phospholipid complex from sunflower lecithin.
Pandrenal is another supplement that helps provide adrenal support. In so doing, it may also help address hormonal imbalance. One of the main ingredients in this supplement, pantethine, in the form of pantothenic acid, i.e., vitamin B5, works in conjunction with other nutrients to rebuild individual hair shafts. The other ingredients in this supplement include acetyl L-carnitine HCI, L-arginine, and L-lysine.
We advise that you be aware that vitamins for hair growth should be taken with caution. If you have adrenal fatigue or hormonal issues, you should only take vitamins for hair growth under supervision to avoid a paradoxical reaction. Now that you have all of this info, what steps will you take to get that shiny, healthy hair you’ve been dreaming of?
There are many commercial vitamins for hair growth on the market. But they fail to address the most important aspect of hair health: your body’s internal state. Read on to get an overview of nutritional advice as well as the best supplements for healthy, shiny, beautiful hair.
