Higher Metabolism = Hair Loss

[tankasnowgod]

Have you tried supplementing things that help hair grow? Specifically, I'm thinking extra gelatin and biotin. If your metabolism is revving up, maybe you now have a higher requirement for the gelatin aminos and biotin. Red Light and Progesterone are a couple other things you could experiment with.

 

[TNT]

Thanx, @tankasnowgod . I use 10,000mcg/day of biotin and 2-5 Tbsp/day of gelatin. I used progesterone a long time, but stopped a few weeks ago, because it was making things worse. I haven't tried red light, but I did try a Violet Ray on my hair/scalp, and that also made it worse.

 

[Sourdoughbanana]

you need 15-20mg of potassium per gram of carbs, roughly. Maybe try using Cronometer and see what it yields

 

[General Orange]

first, what type of hairloss are you experiencing?

 

[TNT]

What do you mean by "what type," @General Orange ? And I'm female, in case that makes a difference.

 

[Waremu]

This hasn't been my experience. The only time I lost some hair is when I needed more nutrients from increased metabolism. I started including liver, high folate foods such as OJ, egg yolks more often, generally all fruit instead of more sugar, and my shedding stopped. My skin looks much better, my hair has got darker, I got more tone, sleep better, pulse is up, so generally all good markers of higher metabolism. Higher metabolism places more demands for nutrients according to the Peatarian view, and this has also been my experience. Usually too many starches or hard to digest fibers and not enough nutrients is what increases my shedding. But I have stopped that for some time now and my hair has never been better. If I stray too far from a relatively strict Peat diet, I notice shedding again. And sleep issues.

 

[yerrag]

@yerrag , I know my metabolism is revved up because I have way more energy and can eat way more calories. As for fruits, it depends on what's in season, but right now it's mostly grapes, and in the winter, it'll be mostly bananas.

Those are good. I've come to appreciate having my own fruit orchard in the backyard. That way, I get to eat fruit that is tree-ripened. Especially for citrus fruits, which are more acidic when picked unripe and not tree-ripened. With non-citrus fruits, they are sweeter and therefore contains more fructose. Not that all unripe fruits are inferior. Unripe papaya contains more papain enzyme than ripe ones. Papain is a good protein enzyme and helps with digestion.

 

[foodandtheworld]

I had the same experience was Waremu.
Also, be sure you are getting enough protein. 70-80 grams at least. According to Chris Masterjohn's latest video, that base amount of recommended protein shouldn't include collagen/gelatin in its total. Although of course he does recommend gelatin, it should just be counted separately in his view ).
You may need more depending on your metabolism/history (e.g., a history of poor nutrition). But attention to your own body's reaction is key.
Here are some of Ray's comments on protein from email correspondence: Ray Peat Email Exchanges - Ray Peat Forum Wiki

Another factor as others have mentioned is making sure you are going enough vitamins/minerals. Liver once a week and canned oysters once a week has helped me with this.

Another possibility is that you are shedding some of the weaker/thinner hairs that were grown while you were in a state of poorer metabolism/nutritional repleteness. This is something I read from Olwyn's site (see the "What's with all the hair loss/brittleness/dryness/thinness?" section here: FAQ ).

Another possibility is low Vitamin D and high prolactin levels. See Danny Roddy's videos on this topic ("Organizing the Panic") where he goes into hormonal correlations of hair loss.

 

[Ron J]

Those are good. I've come to appreciate having my own fruit orchard in the backyard. That way, I get to eat fruit that is tree-ripened. Especially for citrus fruits, which are more acidic when picked unripe and not tree-ripened. With non-citrus fruits, they are sweeter and therefore contains more fructose. Not that all unripe fruits are inferior. Unripe papaya contains more papain enzyme than ripe ones. Papain is a good protein enzyme and helps with digestion.

I don't want to derail the thread, so if you have some useful information about growing your own fruits(specially from dwarf trees), can you post here?

 

[Sourdoughbanana]

Another possibility is that you are shedding some of the weaker/thinner hairs that were grown while you were in a state of poorer metabolism/nutritional repleteness. This is something I read from Olwyn's site (see the "What's with all the hair loss/brittleness/dryness/thinness?" section here: FAQ ).

This is something we all tend to forget, but sometimes hair loss isn’t bad, it’s what grows in lieu of fallen hair that matters. Miniaturization is a clear sign of bad news

 

[General Orange]

What do you mean by "what type," @General Orange ? And I'm female, in case that makes a difference.

Thinning or hairloss in patches, dear?

Or How much shedding do you have per day loss off over 100 hairs?

Can you make an anonymous picture, please?

 

[TNT]

@Sourdoughbanana , how can I tell if it's miniaturization?

 

[TNT]

@General Orange , it seems to be thinning all over, but there are some areas where it's worse, like patchy (esp. in the back and just above my ears). And yeah, way worse than 100 per day. Prior to when it started falling out, normal for me was to lose about 3 hairs/day. Now, it varies, but it can be between 100-1,000. And unfortunately, I don't have a working camera -- sorry.

 

[General Orange]

Is your scalp oily ?

 

[TNT]

Yes, somewhat oily scalp.

 

[Blossom]

Yes, somewhat oily scalp.

I think someone might have mentioned it already but have you or are you able to get your prolactin checked?

 

[TNT]

I might be able to, @Blossom , but probably not for at least another 6 months or so due to my insurance situation. What would testing prolactin tell me?

 

[Blossom]

I might be able to, @Blossom , but probably not for at least another 6 months or so due to my insurance situation. What would testing prolactin tell me?

The test can tell you if your prolactin is elevated which can be one of numerous contributors to hair loss. It’s the molting hormone in birds and many people experience hair thinning/loss when levels are too high.

 

[Blossom]

@TNT, I’m not sure where you’re located but in the US you can sometimes find an online lab test for prolactin for around $50.00 USD.

 

[Blossom]

How to order prolactin testing - SelfTestable