Vegetarian Progress

by Vegetarian Guy

Okay. So I first came to this website almost 2 years ago now. I feel i should write what I have experienced so far. It was my sadness and I guess depression that drove me to find any solution to my problem, and so I found this website.


In the beginning i started with reducing all sugars. I would eat as what was posted as advised food on this website. I felt a lot better, and I thought i would soon see results. I saw results that a lot less hair fell off. But I counted at least 20 hairs falling every day, and that was not including counting hairs falling in shower and so on.

After a couple of months my diet went towards more or less the paleo diet. I would eat a ton of chicken and salmon. I could eat salmon for breakfast along with some spinach, then chicken for lunch and fish for dinner again. I also ate a lot of veggies and fruits.

I felt better and healthier and I saw some progress in my hair I guess, but it was not satisfying. I was patient and went on with the paleo diet for about 1.5 years. I had slowed down hair loss pretty much and my hair was not as good as I wanted it, but it was not too bad.

Now six months ago i met some vegetarian people who motivated me to watch some vegetarian documentaries on YouTube, Netflix, and so on. It really messed with my head.

The animals were treated really bad. I felt like I was in trouble. I wanted to get enough protein from fish and chicken but still felt like cruel and bad as a person for eating them and seeing for the first time how many animals are treated in slaughter houses.

So I googled "is vegetarian diet good for hair" most of the results was negative, concluding that vegetarianism is bad for hair and will cause hair loss.

I still wanted to be vegetarian for a lot of other reasons as well, not only animal abuse. It's good for the environment, costs far less energy to produce beans, rice, and so on, compared to red meat, fish, chicken.

A little worried, I started to eat vegetarian 3 days a week. I felt so good in my hart because i knew fewer animals was killed because of me eating less meat.

I then started to find documentaries and articles online that suggested that vegetarianism might be beneficial for hair growth. I then went full vegan/vegetarian. I felt a little weird in the beginning but my conscience was so good for not eating any animals. So I felt stronger in my belief that this was the right path. I reduced hair loss even more. Nowadays my hair is falling almost not at all. On average less than 10 hairs I think. Sometimes none at all. My hair is better than ever and I feel great.


So this is just me, and i know people are different, but I feel this has really helped me, and i know by experience how bad and hopeless one can feel when hair is falling off the head. At times it really messed me up, and I was really low. But at the worst I felt comfort by reading posts at this forum and I told myself that one way or another i will stop hair loss and NEVER EVER stop until my hair is back.

What I think is that when I started this journey, my diet was bad, but not extremely bad. I didn't eat chocolate for breakfast or anything. I ate some candy in the weekends, and sometimes processed food, but not a lot. I also liked ice cream once in a while. But this is why i think i didn't see great results when i went paleo, because my diet wasn't that bad in the beginning.

Why I think I'm seeing better results now is that I have learned that meat and pretty much all animal products cause the body to be acidic which is a bad environment for the hair. I also have read that continuous meat eating causes the body to produce too much testosterone, and thus too much free testosterone that converts to DHT.

But i know vegetarians can be unhealthy as well, only eating cheese and bread. But if you go for whole food plant based , I think that is the best diet possible for the body.

I know a lot of people are skeptical for the vegetarian diet, but i just thought i should share my thoughts as i know how this forum helped me motivate for my hair loss battle, i wanted to share back and tell people what worked for me.

PS, i also use/make flax seed gel by boiling flax seed in water. This is a great styling product, and has A LOT of omega3 fatty acids, which is really healthy for the hair.


Vegetarian Guy, 23 years old.

Never give up, and never quit, it will get better soon :)

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Vegetarian with Hair Loss

by Shiv
(US)

Hi Sheree, your website is absolutely amazing. I have spent months and months pouring over everything that is on this site. I also check it frequently (at least once every couple of days) for updates. I find your positive attitude to be so encouraging - this is what keeps me going every day!

A little bit about me - I started experiencing hair loss (telogen effluvium) when I graduated college a few years ago. The TE made sense given my diet and the stress in my life at that time. Since then, my hair not only never "regained" the volume, but I have noticed a gradual decrease in hair volume over the years.

This became extremely obvious when I became pregnant and my hair started thinning - I started seeing my scalp! Breastfeeding just made it worse! This is when I discovered your website. I realized that nutrition and stress likely has a key role in my hair loss - until recently, I survived on pasta, pizza and bread. I was a vegetarian that hated vegetables!

I just recently stopped breastfeeding (about a month ago) and I'm seeing a major increase in hair shedding which is very stressful!

Since reading your website, I have completely changed my diet. I drink green smoothies everyday and eat lots of salads with greens(spinach, kale, arugula) and chick peas / beans. I have been doing this on and off for 3-4 months.

My hair loss is very unique in my family - no one in my family has hair loss. Everything on the internet (and in real life - my dermatologist) seems to indicate that this is genetic and that I'm doomed with androgenetic alopecia - even though there is no genetic linkage in my family!

I struggle to stay positive and feel like I'm trying to "convince" myself that I won't go bald. It is so hard to be around my cousins - they all have beautiful long black hair. Even my mother has decent hair for her age (she has thin hair but this is after a hysterectomy, issues with her thyroid medicine and menopause!)

I'm not sure if this is relevant but my periods have also been off - My periods decreased a few years ago to 3 days and were lighter. I got checked by a doctor and she said everything is normal (she also checked me for PCOS).

My period came back 8 months ago (while breastfeeding) and last month it only lasted 2 days! I have been checked several times for my thyroid and the results come back normal. I have also been checked for PCOS before I had my son and was confirmed to not have it. I don't know if my hair loss and periods are related - I have a feeling they are but I don't know the answer and neither do the doctors!! It might still be the aftereffects of breastfeeding??

My question for you is - what are some good recipes/foods for vegetarians we should eat regularly? My concern is that I'm not doing enough? I already know and eat beans, chickpeas and greens every day. I'm not sure about tofu - I've heard a lot of bad things about eating tofu, so I'm weary of eating it all the time.

Also, I put hemp seeds, chia seeds and flax seeds to get Omega 3's and 6's. I also take Vitamin D, Ho Shu Wu, Borage Oil and L-Lysince supplements. I have been doing this since January (granted I fall off the wagon a few meals by eating some bread). I'm getting concerned because my hair is actually getting worse!! It's so stressful that I'm starting to do yoga and run to relieve some of this stress.

Also, what are your thoughts on wheat grass juice? And cottage cheese and flax seed oil? Wheat grass is a great source of natural chlorophyll. However, I haven't found too much on wheat grass and hair growth. Cottage cheese and flax seed oil - there is a lot online about using this for cancer patients to rejuvenate your body at a cellular level. I haven't tried either of these but wanted to get your thoughts on these?

Thank you again for your website - this is literally the only website out there that is my source of encouragement. I agree with so many others that you truly are a saint!!


Thanks,
Shiv

Comments for Vegetarian with Hair Loss

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Mar 14, 2015
To Shiv
by: Sheree

Hi Shiv,

I get such a good energy from you. Thank you so much for your compliments and kind words. We've been here for over four years now, and I'm so grateful that you are here to experience this with us.

I work with a lot of vegetarians. Probably 1/4 of my coaching clients are vegetarians. Vegetarians have a higher chance for hair loss for these reasons:

A high glycemic diet

A high sugar diet

A high grain diet

Large volumes of gluten and wheat

Lack of protein

Lacking key nutrients

Improperly combining food to create amino acid profile (protein).

Insufficient amounts of food.


From what you've described, your hair loss is very easy to solve. This is a protein and nutrient balance issue.

Childbirth causes hair loss for women. The reason is because the hair doesn't shed during pregnancy, and then it sheds all at once after birth. This is alarming, but it generally clears up by itself. I'm uncertain if there is a causal relationship between breastfeeding and hair loss, however.

A diet low in key nutrients, and a low fat diet can stop or change your periods. We have a submission from a woman who's periods stopped for a year. After being on the hair loss diet for a while, her periods came back, and her hair grew back.

Click here to read her story


Wheat grass juice is fine because it's gluten free, and has a ton of nutrients. Cottage cheese is good for you every day. For you, it has the necessary complete proteins that your body is desperate for.

The hemp and chia are enormously important for you, because they have protein your body needs to rebuild tissue.

The flax oil has essential fatty acids that your hair needs to grow.

It's my firm belief that your hair loss is totally diet related, and is very easy to solve. If you're confused about any of the information here, please sign up for coaching and I'll walk you through the process step by step.

Love,

Sheree

Mar 17, 2015
Thank you!
by: Anonymous

Sheree,

Hearing you say that you think my hair loss is diet related has brought me so much relief!! I don't feel like anyone else around me understands how devastating hair loss is! And the voice in my head keeps reminding me that the internet and dermatologist think it's genetic! One of my male cousins went bald in his teens (classic male pattern baldness) but make pattern baldness is very common in his mom's side of the family (we are related through his dad's side). Even my grandpa (supposedly baldness is passed from your mom's dad) had a decent head of hair before he passed away in his 80s!

Anyway, thank you for the advice! I have eliminated sugar and grains (90%) from my diet so I don't think those are issues. However, I never thought about a low fat diet contributing to hair loss. I also struggle with the concept of food combining to create a full amino acid profile.

Also, I agree with you in that I don't think breastfeeding and hair loss aren't related. However, I think breastfeeding further contributed to my nutritional deficiencies. I know about post partum hair loss - I experienced in starting at 3 months. However, it is sad to me that at 15 months, I still have very thinning spots and I was recently experiencing major hair shed!

I'm so glad you are helping me connect the dots between diet, my periods and hair loss. This was another area that doctors didn't even bring up!!!

Mar 26, 2015
Guidance
by: Shiv

Hi Sheree,

I just signed up for coaching as I really need your guidance. I want to really believe this will work but I'm not seeing progress!

Can you please let me know how the email coaching works? I looked on the email coaching site but was hoping you can provide details...should I wait for you to email me?

Mar 26, 2015
I Received Your Coaching Order
by: Sheree

Hi Shiv,

During coaching, we're going to make sure that your diet is within the guidelines. After we carefully go over every detail of your diet, the only thing we can do is wait.

An enormous amount of patience is required in some cases. Some people have it really easy and experience very fast regrowth, and others take much longer.

Whenever one of my clients gets frustrated and experiences hair regrowth delays, I ask myself this question: "Would I quit trying if it were me?" And the answer is "never." And it ALWAYS pays off! I lost count a very long time ago of advanced cases that turned around after many years of hair loss

I did get your order, and I'm going to go to the coaching email to get you started.

See you in coaching.

Love,

Sheree

May 06, 2015
Help
by: Dan

Hi Sheree. I'm Dan and I'm a male. I have some type of hair loss. I think it's male pattern baldness.

But mine is weird. It's like when my head starts to have a tingling sensation or tightening pain or burning pain, any type of weird sensation on my scalp, that's where my hair loss occurs.

I tried everything.

Is there anything I can do to get this to stop and get my hair to grow?

What's your take on organic and non organic vegetables?

And I don't eat bread, but I am common to wheat and sugar a lot. I love coconut cashews. I'm a sweet tooth kind of guy, etc. I'm also in my early 20s, 23 currently.

My hair loss really began 2 years ago, but even before that it was kind of thin.

Please help me.

May 08, 2015
Hair Loss Diet Concepts
by: Sheree

Hi Dan,

The name of your hair loss doesn't matter. It's only a name. We do assign names to specify a particular pattern that the hair will fall out.

The sensations on your scalp are very common. We're unsure why they occur. When your hair begins to grow back, it may tingle and give you strange sensations as well. Scalp sensations occur in about 10% of my clients.

I used to be able to coach in the forums, but I stopped about two years ago due to repeat questions. The search engines will penalize us for duplicate content, so I have to do coaching through email or through the telephone.

The information you need is already on the website. Make sure you study every concept on the main hair loss diet page, and follow all of the links. Take your time and fully learn everything. It will take you approximately two to four months to completely assimilate the concepts.

You can sign up for coaching, and I will walk you through the process step by step and teach it to you, or you can go through the website on your own and learn the concepts. It's up to you.

Be sure to take pictures to document your progress. You will be successful.

Love,

Sheree

May 25, 2015
For Dan
by: Anonymous

Hi Dan, you might have Seborrheic Dermatitis. I was diagnosed SD at your age and experienced exactly the same feelings that you mentioned. Please seek help from a skin doctor to diagnose it, however I don't recommend using steroid topically cos it would just make the condition worse. Search Scott Kramer online as his stuff helped me to sooth the symptom. You should have very oil scalp and face?

I'm on this low GI diet for two and a half years now. Before it is too late, please follow everything Sheree says.

P from Hong Kong

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