7 Tips to Improve Hair Health
Tip #2 On How To Improve Hair Health
We understand that thyroid problems are complicated and that is why Dr. Shook has created one of the most comprehensive hair loss guidebooks available on the market today.
We are dedicated to helping you be your own advocate and take your health back!
Let's Cover The Most Basic Factors That Must Be Considered To Improve Your Hair Health
#1 Thyroid Hormone
Thyroid hormones are important for the health of hair follicles, and many thyroid patients struggle with thinning hair and hair loss even though they have been told, "everything looks good" or "your labs are normal."
If you can relate to these statements, or if you are taking thyroid hormone medications only to not have any significant improvement, don't worry, you are not alone.
Although many thyroid patients resolve their hair loss issues with thyroid hormone medication, many others don’t.
Why is that?
It’s important to understand factors beyond thyroid hormone deficiency affect hair loss!
Have you seen my video on how your thyroid works?
This video has been viewed over 2 million times and is a starting point for your self-education on your thyroid problems. If you have a breakdown at any of the 24 possible places throughout your thyroid chemistry then it can cause problems with the health of your hair.
If you aren't familiar with the 24 ways your thyroid can breakdown then you absolutely must start here: How Your Thyroid Works and How It Can Breakdown
The video is 24 minutes, but I promise you it is worth your time. Why else would it have been viewed over 2 million times, with over 18,000 shares and over 1,700 comments?
Please, watch the video and take notes, it will be enlightening and could hold the answers to improving your hair!
If you have had blood work done, or if you want to have blood work done to determine if your thyroid chemistry is breaking down in ways that have not been checked, you may want to consider my guidebook, "9 Tests Required to Understand Your Thyroid". It's low cost and comes with a 7 day, "no questions asked," 100% money back guarantee as are all of the guidebooks and digital programs I create. I stand behind my work, and if you don't like it for any reason I will refund your money.
#2 Inflammation Can Impair Hair Follicle Cell Function
I think everyone has heard that inflammation is "the root of all disease", and to a great extent, that statement is true.
When you look at hair loss, the most common source of inflammation is autoimmunity.
In particular, inflammation due to Hashimoto's (an autoimmune thyroid condition associated with low thyroid hormone production) is very common in people that have been diagnosed as hypothyroid (low thyroid function) because 90%, yes 90% of everyone in with hypothyroidism are hypothyroid because of Hashimoto's!
Have you been diagnosed with a low thyroid?
If you are hypothyroid, did you know that you have a 9 in 10 chance of having an autoimmune condition causing your low thyroid function?
Did you know this can be the cause of your hair loss?
Did you know that autoimmunity is a progressive disease process that gets worse with time?
Did you know there are 3 stages of autoimmunity and you need to catch it early?
Did you know that the autoimmunity against the thyroid is completely ignored medically though we now have science to help us improve the autoimmune process?
Have you been checked to see if you have Hashimoto's (autoimmunity against your thyroid)?
If you have not been checked for Hashimoto's my office offers thyroid antibodies testing of TPO and Tg Antibodies for only $20.
All you have to do is go to the LabCorp nearest you, have you blood drawn and then follow up with me for a free 15-minute consult to review your findings. There are no costs at all other than the $20 you pay for the labs. I do one
If you are
Since I started working with people that have Hashimoto's I've been amazed by how many doctors completely ignore autoimmunity. After all, autoimmunity is your immune system attacking you! Your immune system is supposed to attack foreign invaders, not your own body!
Do you know why autoimmunity is not addressed in most medical offices?
Because addressing autoimmunity by looking for the cause, and then supporting the autoimmunity naturally using diet, lifestyle and temporary nutritional supplementation is actually going to decrease prescriptions and improve health rather than just covering up symptoms and making you a long-term customer. Can you see the problem?
I believe that everyone in healthcare means well and wants to help you, but the system is broken, and doctors and nurses are trapped in a system that doesn't reflect their values or why they got into medicine in the first place! With that said, our healthcare system is still a problem that is leaving millions of people not feeling well even though their labs "look good".
So now let's talk about how autoimmunity impairs how thyroud hormones act on cellular receptors, including the cells in hair follicles.
When inflammation is high, inflammatory immune cells called cytokines can interfere with the action of thyroid hormones on these cellular receptors. This is one reason why, in addition to making sure your thyroid hormone levels are sufficient, it’s important you manage inflammation.
Many times hair loss will not resolve until the patient learns how to manage their autoimmunity.
To dampen autoimmunity you need to know four things:
- Are you reacting to partially digested food proteins
- Do you have chronic infections
- Are you reacting to environmental chemicals
- Do you have high or low cortisol thinning your immune system barriers
All of the things listed above can trigger an immune response and will promote autoimmunity and inflammation!
Okay, but how to we check for inflammation?
The good news is that we can check for inflammation by doing two simple blood tests through a conventional lab like LabCorp (which is who we use when working with people doing distance consulting around the country).
These are the two inflammatory markers I check:
- C-Reactive Protein
- Homocysteine
These are essential inflammatory markers that you need to have checked or the workup is not as good as it could be, and you may be missing a key piece of the hair-loss puzzle.
If you want to better understand the lab workup that I think is most important to consider when trying to figure out how much your thyroid is contributing to your hair loss then you should get my guidebook, including the "29 labs" guidebook (offered on the second page and not available anywhere else, only offered to those that have my "9 Tests Required to Understand Your Thyroid" guidebook) because the "29 labs" guidebook is critical to helping you put the pieces of the puzzle together.
#3 Elevated Testosterone - In A Lot of Women It Is The Main Cause of Hair Loss
The most common reason female Hashimoto’s patients suffer from hair loss is due to elevated testosterone.
Symptoms of elevated testosterone:
- Thinning Hair
- Hair Loss
- Inability to Lose Weight
- Increased Facial Hair (Some Cases)
For most women, high insulin levels brought on by an unhealthy diet and lifestyle cause excess testosterone.
This is because insulin stimulates an enzyme in the ovaries called 17,20 lyase, which promotes the synthesis of testosterone. This increased testosterone then leads to thinning hair and hair loss.
Factors that promote insulin surges and hence elevated testosterone are a diet high in starches, refined carbohydrates, and sugars, and a sedentary lifestyle.
To understand this these problems much better, I highly recommend you watch my video where I explain the chemistry causing an over production of testosterone in detail. If you have any blood sugar, adrenal gland or hormonal problems, then this video should be a requirement! If you have these problems this can lead to very significant health problems and decrease your quality of life, not to mention cause hair loss!
#4 Poor Blood Flow - If You Can't Get Blood To Your Scalp Then Your Hair Can't Grow!
Another common cause of continued hair loss in Hashimoto’s patients is poor circulation.
The hair follicles need a constant supply of nutrient-rich blood. If circulation to the scalp is compromised, hair loss is inevitable.
Clinically, the signs that signify poor circulation include cold hands, cold feet,
Thinning hair is not the only consequence—poor circulation can have devastating impacts on your brain health.
Do you have problems remembering things ? How about where you left your phone, where you parked your car at the grocery store or just being more forgetful. These are all signs of declining brain health and are all serious signs that need to be taken seriously.
To improve blood flow you have to improve thyroid hormone sensitivity and usability by the cells of your body, it's not just about thyroid hormone levels, that is only one piece of how your thyroid chemistry can breakdown. (watch my thyroid video if you are not familiar with the 24 ways your thyroid can break down).
If you are working to improve the health of your hair, you might be interested in my 29 page hair loss guidebook specifically focused on helping you better understand the problem of hair loss and what you may want to consider doing about it, including discussions of the numerous causes and testing that may need to be considered.
I share numerous tests, including showing you actual test results and explaining to you what they mean and how they may be helpful to you in trying to improve the health of your hair.
If you are interested in learning more about my hair loss guidebook that walks you through testing and numerous problems that you need to consider, just click the green button below to learn more.
Yours in health,
Dr. Brad Shook, DC, BCIM, CSCS
