Iron deficiency for hair growth

[optimisticStar]

Hello,

My iron levels are always at border or am at deficiency. Same for Vit D. My doc had suggested to take vit D naturally from sun or take supplements, but I wanted more of a natural approach. However I don't always go out in sun and then my vit D falls down again. I follow vegetarian diet (no eggs, no meat), so low in iron and B-12 as well.

I have been taking multi-vitamins for last 2 months and it does provide 18mg of iron daily, but my hair fall is not stopping.

Anyone here taking any meds/supplements for iron? Did you notice any difference after that?

[auburntressed]

I take a multivitamin with iron in it because if I don’t, I become weak-limbed and fatigued. This is especially noticeable about a week before my period.

I have not noticed any difference in my hair growth levels between when I was first figuring out that’s what my problem was versus after I started my vitamins.

However, considering hair growth is already painfully slow, it’s possible I just did not notice the before/after difference.

[Fimu]

Recovered anemic vegetarian here! I get my B12 from fortified meat replacements, so they measured very good levels. But I was diagnosed with mild iron deficiency last year but it was probably going around for a longer period.

I took iron pills for 6 months and made minor adjustments in my diet by Ayurvedic diet guidelines for each body/mind type.

When I was deficient, I had nails prone to cracking and chipping, especially in fall/winter. After eating better + iron pills, my nails were strengthened within a month!
I assumed iron deficiency was one of the culprits for my hair being so prone to split ends despite being coarse because hair and nails are both made of keratin, and translated the cracking and chipping to my cuticles. But not everyone with iron deficiency gets fragile hair. I didn't had obvious hair loss, though. I can't tell yet whether my new growth is more resilient because I'm just recovered since this spring.

So far I know, vegetarian foods don't have Vitamin D sources, so I catch up a lot of sun during spring and summer and start with supplements once it's October or November.

[lapushka]

Hello,

My iron levels are always at border or am at deficiency. Same for Vit D. My doc had suggested to take vit D naturally from sun or take supplements, but I wanted more of a natural approach. However I don't always go out in sun and then my vit D falls down again. I follow vegetarian diet (no eggs, no meat), so low in iron and B-12 as well.

I have been taking multi-vitamins for last 2 months and it does provide 18mg of iron daily, but my hair fall is not stopping.

Anyone here taking any meds/supplements for iron? Did you notice any difference after that?

You have to take into account that it doesn't work like magic. It's not like, now I start taking these pills, and it will be OK as of the next day. No, it takes time. More like a couple months, for sure!

And your iron levels need to be back OK for quite some time. If your diet is constantly lacking, you can't stop taking these supplements, or try supplementing naturally through your diet. Lots of vegetarians / vegans find ways to substitute in their diet enough, so it is all in how you prepare your food. You can't just leave meat out, you have to substitute the protein for something else equally as "filling".

[EdG]

I am a vegan, and I find it essential to eat green leaves every day. I like kale, turnip greens, and mustard greens. :yumm: I also eat a lot of legumes (lentils, beans, and peanuts).

I get vitamin D from sunlight, which is plentiful where I live.

The only supplement I take is an occasional vitamin B12.
Ed

[Sweet_Decadence]

If your on a restricted diet then you have to supplement when where your shortfalls are. Long term deficiencies aren't something you want to tango with (https://www.nhs.uk/news/lifestyle-and-exercise/news-analysis-health-claims-about-vitamin-d-examined/).

I've been taking a b vitamin complex for about 3 months, trying to counter my own anemia and I've only just last week noticed my hair is starting to fill out a little and possibly an increase in growth rate(i was growing at best 1/4" p/m). It takes time, things like hair skin and nails are pretty low in your bodies priority list to utilize nutrients.

[Bri-Chan]

Me, thanks to my terrible diet until last summer. Now I need a check after several months, but I'll share my experience.
Basically I discovered I had a mild anemia. I'm vegetarian but for the first years I ate without really thinking about a good diet, so I get that anemia. Changing your alimentation it's the first step to become healthy, because low iron levels is related to a bad diet, not to vegetarian or vegan diet itself.
I never experienced hair loss because of my old diet, but after starting taking supplements I noticed new hair. Now my scalp is full of new hair. I think it's subjective as the body reacts, also because you could also be shedding now naturally. You also need to consider how low your iron levels were when you started, because it takes time. Lower iron levels, more time needed. Also because your iron supplement are quite low in iron (and if your doctor suggested them, that should be enough for your situation).

[MusicalSpoons]

Deficiency takes time to correct to 'not-deficient' levels before your body can start to build up decent levels.

I take 15mg iron daily but haven't noticed any difference tbh, I tried taking 30mg but my stomach couldn't take it and I don't remember to take a tablet at 2 different times a day to see if my stomach would tolerate that better. My levels are in the 'normal' range, so not deficient, but they're low in the range which seems to be fairly widely recognised as less than optimum. The 15mg almost seems like a maintenance dose for me because my levels haven't changed, or I'm not absorbing it (even though I take a hefty dose of vitamin C with it to help). Things might be different for you but if things haven't drastically changed since taking the supplements, you might need more than 18mg to build up your iron levels (or a different form of it, if it's not being absorbed - I don't know how you would find out whether the problem is amount or absorption, though).

Vitamin D, it depends where you live. In the UK the sunlight is only strong enough to produce vitamin D for some months of the year, and even then only if you're out in it long enough so supplements are recommended for most people. Again, there's a difference between 'not-deficient' and 'optimum' levels, so you may wish to do some research to decide for yourself how much to supplement.

[ExpectoPatronum]

Also a vegetarian (I do eat eggs and small amounts of dairy) who was low in vitamin D, B12, and iron. I have a medium skintone and live in a climate where it's cloudy most of the time, so getting enough vitamin D from the sun is next to impossible. I take a supplement and make sure to take it with something fatty to aid absorption.

If you're going the supplement route, like Lapushka said, hair fall is not going to stop overnight. You need to get your levels to an appropriate place and keep them.

I do wonder if vitamin D is contributing to your hair fall. My hair started growing much more nicely after I had all my deficiencies taken care of.

[shelomit]

I have no clue if it will affect your hair at all, but if you are nutrient-deficient, that's bad news and you should do whatever it takes to correct it. Long-term deficiencies will eff you up! I speak from experience here: I had undiagnosed deficiencies in vitamin D and magnesium for a decade or more, as well as a diet far too low in protein. I was having frequent fainting fits, constantly felt nauseated, etc. Changing my diet and adding supplements for magnesium (which my body doesn't absorb at a normal rate from dietary sources) have made me feel much better--but it took quite a while to get to that point. If I miss a meal, I'm back to feeling terrible within an hour or two. If the source of all those symptoms had been discovered sooner, and I had spent less time in a malnourished body, my health today would be much less tenuous.

If you are concerned that supplements are "unnatural," it may help to keep in mind that some people simply cannot fulfill all their nutritional needs through food, whether because of availability, allergens, or absorption issues like me and my stupid magnesium ( ; But either way, you need to be getting your body the nutrients it needs to function or it will, erm, not function.