Iron and hair growth

[alwayssmiling]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1348097/I-lost-hair--grew-iron-rich-COCKLE-diet.html

I read this wonderful story about a lady who managed to regrow her hair, after suffering from alopecia, using an iron rich diet.

Thought it may be of interest to some of you. I'll be eating spinach tonight :).

[eilz90]

"When mother-of-three Mary Corrigan began losing her hair, she was naturally devastated.

The 43-year-old was so embarrassed about her bald patches that she wouldn’t go out without a hat.

Yet despite visits to her GP and a trichologist, she was told there was no cure. So the housewife, a former chef with a background in nutrition, decided to find her own solution.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/01/18/article-1348097-0CCEF13A000005DC-466_468x566.jpg
Healthy hair: Mrs Corrigan now has a full head of hair after she started following her own iron-rich diet

And after lengthy research, she came up with a ‘grow-your-hair-back diet’ – featuring iron-rich fare such as cockles, venison and leafy green vegetables."

<moderator snip; please don't repost whole articles as that violates copyright, post links instead; the full article can be found here (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1348097/I-lost-hair--grew-iron-rich-COCKLE-diet.html)>

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[LocustSpawning]

Wow!!! ..... Okay.. now I am definitely going to include more iron in my diet. Seriously.

[Flossy]

Leafy green vegies I can handle. Cockles and venison...I might pass on those ones!

[vanity_acefake]

Wow what an amazing story. Thank you for posting. Funnily enough I have just had blood taken to be tested for iron deficiency as I'm so tired.

[Othala]

What an intelligent (and beautiful) woman. Well done to her for taking her health into her own hands and curing her alopecia.

She has motivated me to eat more home-made beefburgers and green salads.

[hanne jensen]

Thanks for posting this article. I'll definately add more iron rich foods to my diet! By the way, what are cockles?

[PiroskaCicu]

Wow, what an inspiring story! I suffer from lack of iron anemia but I am slowly gaining more iron levels! Maybe I need to start eating venison... hehe

I need iron...hmm inspires me to take even better care of my diet

[marzipanthecat]

Thanks for posting this article. I'll definately add more iron rich foods to my diet! By the way, what are cockles?

Small clams.

I think clams would do just as well, if you can't get hold of cockles!

[julliams]

There is a thread about this started here.http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=63813

[virgo75]

Thanks for this reminder!

I just re-purchased some Slow-Fe because my iron is low. I hate taking iron because of the side effects, but I don't get enough in my diet no matter how much spinach I eat. :(

I'll try to include more of these foods to increase my iron as well. :)

[Anje]

Just a reminder to everyone: be careful when taking iron supplements in addition to what you can add with your diet. Not that it's OK to overdose on anything, but iron is relatively easy to overdose and fairly toxic when you do. Check with a doctor if you think you're anemic; don't just start popping pills.

[alwayssmiling]

There is a thread about this started here.http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=63813

Don't think I can delete a thread I started but have edited the title for people to ignore.

Anje very good point.:)

[TiaKitty]

Anyone else have more information on this??? The water where I live has a high iron content and stains everything... red clay mud, you know?

I've been wondering if this is good for my hair or harmful. I don't mind if it stains it so much, because I'm a strawberry blonde... naturally and henna'd. I've wondered if the iron is partially responsible for my good growth, though...

Anyone have more info or know where I can find more specific info relating to iron and hair?

[Anywhere]

I'm anemic so I eat high iron diets anyway. Along with a supplement. Too bad my hair only grows the average rate.

[jel]

Actually, the other thread seems to have been started after this one.

Regarding ferritin, that is true. When I had my big shed a couple of years ago, I went to the doctor and had a bunch of blood tests done (including hormones). Well, my ferritin was low - however, it was still in the "normal" range. The bottom of the normal range was, IIRC, 12 - and my GP said that it has to be over 40-50 for hair growth. I was stunned! I suppose the normal range just means enough ferritin to avoid death!

Bottom line - if you think you're losing more than usual amounts of hair, get tested. If it is a problem with your ferritin, then get your doctor to advise or prescribe iron supplements. Too much iron can have negative effects, not least tummy troubles...

Oh, and I forgot to mention - the iron supplements worked for me. I stopped shedding almost instantly, and started seeing regrowth within 3 months. Later blood tests confirmed that my ferritin was at a high enough level to support hair growth.

[Purdy Bear]

This article appeared in the Daily Mail:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1348097/I-lost-hair--grew-iron-rich-COCKLE-diet.html

Im in real hope here, as Im sure it is Ferritin with me, or a part of it. Im going to make sure at my next set of blood test they actually test me for that one.

Im also going to see if I can find out more about the diet.
:cheese::cheese::cheese: For Mary!

[HintOfMint]

I hope you will have finally found a solution! Best of luck!

[Anywhere]

There has been a few threads on this already. Be careful, you don't want to OD on iron.

[lundmir]

I hope you do get the results you want! But do be careful and don't overdo anything, take care of your health.

[Igor]

Well, having super low levels of anything that is considered essential for the body in general (Minerals, vitamins, body fat or protein intake) can cause hair loss.

Its not specific to iron. Take it as a reminder to live healthy and have a varied diet.

[enfys]

Her meal plan sounded pretty yummy until tea time...I'll skip the seafood thanks!

My multivitamin already has 12mg in which is 86&#37; of the RDA, so I'd be wary of anyone planning to boost their intake too much if they already take a multivitamin; my mum had an iron overdose after her doctor gave her too many supplements and a diet regieme of liver and Guiness after giving birth! Check labels and whatnot. Suddenly jumping to 80mg based on what a woman in a newspaper said many trichologists say could be risky!

It doesn't mention it, but the foods all seem to combine iron with vitamin c, which is needed for absorbtion as far as I know. Orange juice, peppers etc.

I'm very happy for her results and I hope your doctor can help, Purdy!

[Igor]

Seems we have another case of duplicate threads again, so I’ll just repeat what I said in the other one:

“Having super low levels of anything that is considered essential for the body in general (Minerals, vitamins, body fat or protein intake) can cause hair loss.

Its not specific to iron. Take it as a reminder to live healthy and have a varied diet. “

[iris]

Mod note: I merged the three duplicate threads on the same topic (interesting topic :)), so if you're reading this and wondering where the other threads about this topic are that people are talking about above :ponder:, they are all together here now.

[little_cherry]

Just a reminder to everyone: be careful when taking iron supplements in addition to what you can add with your diet. Not that it's OK to overdose on anything, but iron is relatively easy to overdose and fairly toxic when you do. Check with a doctor if you think you're anemic; don't just start popping pills.


Well, having super low levels of anything that is considered essential for the body in general (Minerals, vitamins, body fat or protein intake) can cause hair loss.

Its not specific to iron. Take it as a reminder to live healthy and have a varied diet.
Absolutely agreed.

Don't forget that too much iron = constipation. :run: But that's the least of your worries when you OD on iron.

Iron (http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.htm) is found in many dark green leafy veggies, meat (http://www.healthcastle.com/iron.shtml), beans/legumes, broccoli..

[Shell]

My growth and new hair growth increased greatly on iron tablets. I was anemic though, so as many have said, don't OD on iron, especially guys who don't lose blood monthly. :)

[ChloeDharma]

She's from where i live.

I'll repeat the word of caution about iron supplements. Though usually i'm not too precious about these things i wouldn't think it clever to go overdosing on them.

Enfy's advice regarding vitamin C is also important. Also be aware that tannins can hinder absorbtion of iron so i avoid tea around meal times to give the iron a chance to absorb.