Vitamins That Cause Hair Loss
There’s a reason why most top nutrition experts recommend all things in moderation. Moderation is the key to a balanced, healthy life. As it turns out, too much of a good thing can actually be too much. It’s actually been found that certain vitamins and minerals can cause hair loss.
It’s important to know that a normal, healthy body is capable of getting all of its vitamins and minerals from a balanced diet. Of course, there are those that do need vitamin supplements due to some sort of deficiency or medical condition. However, this should be diagnosed by a doctor. Self medicating, even with nutritional supplements, is dangerous and can even turn deadly. While it would be very difficult to overdose on the vitamins and minerals in food, this is not the case with over-the-counter supplements. Though some vitamins will be flushed out of your system should you consume too much, this isn’t the case for all vitamins. Certain vitamins, such as fat soluble ones, may be stored in the body and can build up to toxic levels.
The possibility of toxic buildup can create a somewhat tricky balance to be achieved since some vitamins are among the best elements for hair growth when taken in the right ratios and harmful to hair growth when taken in excess. For example, when taken in appropriate doses such as 80 mg per day, zinc consistently proves to be one of the best options for naturally promoting hair growth because of its ability to affect the levels of hormones (androgens) associated with genetic hair loss. However, if zinc supplementation exceeds advised amounts and is not balanced out by a corresponding increase in copper it can actually lead to hair loss. Furthermore, zinc is a pro-oxidant metal so extreme levels can cause an increase in health-damaging free radicals. But since the hair loss benefits of zinc supplementation are considerable you should consider having your personal physician monitor your situation instead of completely passing on this mineral altogether.
Another vitamin that you’ll want to maintain caution with is vitamin A (retinol). Although there are plenty of excellent health-promoting benefits associated with vitamin A, you may suffer from hair loss if you develop chronic vitamin A toxicity. This occurs from consistently overdosing on vitamin A over an extended timeframe. More specifically, consuming more than 100,000 IU or more per day of vitamin A for a long time has been directly linked to hair loss. However, you can maintain a healthy balance by limiting yourself to about 10,000 IU of daily vitamin A consumption.
The good news is that the adverse effects of vitamin A on hair loss can be reversed simply by significantly backing off your vitamin A consumption. It should also be noted that blood pressure, gout medications, and vitamin-A derived drugs (retinoid) have been linked to hair loss along with direct excessive vitamin A ingestion.
The very best way to get your vitamins is to get them through eating a wide selection of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and hearty grains. Eating a variety of these foods will also insure that you do not take in too much of any one vitamin or mineral. Green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, calf liver, brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, granulated lecithin, fish (baked), eggs, beans, soy protein, tofu and yogurt have all demonstrated a strong ability to maintain healthy hair and even promote new hair growth.