Vitamins/Minerals

Vitamins Minerals for hair loss can Make All The Difference in The Quantity and Quality of Hair Growth

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Given today's junk food crisis with the mornings order of donuts and pastries - add the pancakes with globes of SUGAR syrup and lunch of fast food burgers and fries and you have a typical morning and lunch feast in many if not most homes and workplaces in America.

Not only do you get little if any nutritional value from these popular foods (if you can call them that) but your body even has to give up some of its precious stores of vitamins and minerals just to neutralize this junk.

I would say the only smart thing is to use a good vitamin mineral supplement that includes a quality Calcium/Magnesium combination and even then you may not be getting enough of the most important mineral-Calcium.

The following amounts are the RDA (recommended daily allowance) from the NIH – here are the latest guidelines

----On the basis of the most current information available, optimal calcium intake is estimated to be

400 mg/day (birth–6 months) to 600 mg/day (6–12 months) in infants
800 mg/day in young children (1–5 years)
800–1,200 mg/day for older children (6–10 years);
1,200–1,500 mg/day for adolescents and young adults (11–24years)
1,000 mg/day for women between 25 and 50 years
1,200–1,500 mg/day for pregnant or lactating women
1,000 mg/day for postmenopausal women on estrogen replacement therapy
1,500 mg/day for postmenopausal women not on estrogen therapy.
Recommended daily intake for men is 1,000 mg/day (25–65 years)

For all women and men over 65, daily intake is recommended to be 1,500 mg/day, although further research is needed in this age group. These guidelines are based upon calcium from the diet plus any calcium taken in supplemental form --------

These are the amounts deemed to be necessary for good health but practically No one gets the daily amount recommended and add to this that only a percentage of the foods or supplements calcium value is actually absorbed.

What does this mean well just looking at the mineral calcium alone and its requirement as a cofactor in the bodies systems listed below – this is the short list….

1 Strong bones and teeth (calcium makes up to 70 % of bone mass)
2 It plays a roll in muscle contractions including the heart, nerve conduction, and blood clotting.
3 The blood stream must maintain a very narrow PH balance and calcium is essential to this
4 Recent studies suggest calcium/magnesium combination plays a roll in controlling hypertension
5 Colon cancer can be caused by a deficiency of calcium.
6 Calcium is closely involved with overweight conditions
7 Calcium is necessary for proper protein and amino acid uptake and breakdown

Calcium is so essential to the bodies daily functions that if you don’t get enough from your diet the body will pull it from your bones and this can lead to osteoporosis. which may, its believed, lead to a condition called bone spurs as the mineral is leached out. Any supplement should include vitamin D to help calcium absorption

Why all this about one mineral well this is just one example of what can happen with poor nutrition and hair loss is only one of the conditions that may result without a proper vitamin mineral intake-hair loss may make you look bad but the other results can be deadly.

Calcium is necessary as a cofactor in the cascade processing of amino acids and among these is the essential amino acid Lysine. This amino helps maintain nitrogen balance in the body as well as promoting healthy blood vessels and this is vital to hair growth as a good blood supply is needed by the scalp for hair regeneration. Many studies have shown it to be helpful with female shedding problems.

It also appears to work on hair loss by increasing the effectiveness of drugs like Propecia and the natural alternatives such as Saw Palmetto, Beta Sit sterols .and as noted earlier the drug Avodart, although not approved for hair loss at this time by the FDA, in reducing the body’s production of DHT.

The following vitamins and minerals have been shown to have a positive effect in rebuilding a full head of hair.

Ascorbic Acid – AKA Vitamin C (check out link - a secret on the home page)
Pantothenic Acid
B complex vitamins
Vitamin A
P.A.B.A.
Zinc (chelated form)

And as mentioned above a supplement of 1000mg of calcium and500mg of Magnesium would also be beneficial along with an Omega 3 supplement of 1000 mg or more and or evening primrose oil..

Keep in mind that it is best to take a multiple vitamin mineral formula than to try to take each ingredient separately not just for cost sake but for body synergy-one vitamin or mineral helps other vitamins/minerals to do their job.

Patience is a virtue here as nothing is going to restore hair overnight and with the above supplementation program it will probably take several months to show improvement.

Got a blender - try blending the following foods to help with hair growth and have a breakfast tonic to boot.

6 oz orange juice
6 oz unflavored yogurt
1 raw egg yolk
2 Table spns of wheat germ
2 Table spns of brewers yeast
1 Table spn of Lecithin graduals
1 Vitamin c 500 mg capsule powder (or crushed pill)
1 Table spn of unflavored gelatin powder

Use a natural sweetener such as honey (I recommend you never use white sugar if at all possible due to various damaging effects on the body) If 2 Table spns of brewers yeast is to much you can try using 1 as it does have a bitter taste to it.

I would also suggest you check out a doctor's insight on this subject with a more medical slant who helps people with this problem daily and will give you even more practical suggestions and ideas on what your options are which may go beyond the scope of this site.

Be sure to check out the latest headlines on hair loss below - bookmark this page and check back for new articles and ideas to help with hair loss.