Dandruff

[metabolizm]

Does anyone have any RP quotes on dandruff? He's covered so many topics but I've not seen him refer specifically to that one. I suppose I could email him.

My dandruff has waxed and waned over years, and I still haven't figured out the cause, but I'm beginning to think it's not connected not so much to a specific food or even deficiency but to the general state of health. I've noticed that having dandruff usually goes hand in hand with fatigue, cold hands, BO, and other low-energy symptoms.

So I'm starting to see dandruff really as an indicator of low energy production, and anything restorative - good sleep, improved digestion, low stress - is likely to reduce symptoms. It's a bit of a wild goose chase trying to identify specific dietary causes, is the conclusion I'm coming to. I suspect RP might agree.

 

[redsun]

Does anyone have any RP quotes on dandruff? He's covered so many topics but I've not seen him refer specifically to that one. I suppose I could email him.

My dandruff has waxed and waned for years, and I still haven't figured out the cause, but I'm beginning to think it's not connected not so much to a specific food but to the general state of health. I've noticed that having dandruff usually goes hand in hand with fatigue, cold hands, BO, and other low-energy symptoms.

So I'm starting to see dandruff as an indicator of low energy production, and that anything restorative - good sleep, improved digestion, low stress - is likely to reduce symptoms. It's a bit of a wild goose chase trying to identify specific dietary causes, is the conclusion I'm coming to. I suspect RP might agree.

I don't think RP has direct quotes on this specifically but active B6 seems to help dandruff that I sometimes get but I mainly use it for dry, chapped lips. Dandruff is fungus related so higher zinc and copper intake both of which are anti-fungal may help out here. B6 is necessary to utilize zinc properly and actually synergizes with other minerals as well so that may be why it helps.

 

[metabolizm]

I don't think RP has direct quotes on this specifically but active B6 seems to help dandruff that I sometimes get but I mainly use it for dry, chapped lips. Dandruff is fungus related so higher zinc and copper intake both of which are anti-fungal may help out here. B6 is necessary to utilize zinc properly and actually synergizes with other minerals as well so that may be why it helps.

What do you mean by active B6? Is there an inactive form that is less useful?

 

[redsun]

What do you mean by active B6? Is there an inactive form that is less useful?

Active B6 supplement, aka PLP or P5P, pyridoxal 5 phosphate. Many names for active B6 but its the same thing. If you take something like pyridoxine hydrochloride, this is not active and needs to be activated by the body so will not work as well.

And when I say it helps dandruff it basically gets rid of it. Should have clarified.

 

[metabolizm]

Active B6 supplement, aka PLP or P5P, pyridoxal 5 phosphate. Many names for active B6 but its the same thing. If you take something like pyridoxine hydrochloride, this is not active and needs to be activated by the body so will not work as well.

And when I say it helps dandruff it basically gets rid of it. Should have clarified.

So something like this would be less useful? Is there a brand and dosage of active B6 you could recommend?

 

[redsun]

So something like this would be less useful? Is there a brand of active B6 you could recommend?

Yeh this is pyridoxine HCL which is inactive unless your body activates it. I got my p5p from vitamin shoppe but I have run out so may get some soon. SeekingHealth brand on amazon looks okay but I have not ordered yet. It really doesnt matter too much the brand.

What matters is if its the active pyroxidal 5 phosphate version and not super crazy high dose ones like >50mg. If you get a 50mg one you can just cut it in half for 25mg which is not as insane. But if there are ones that are like 10mg-25mg doses it would pretty good as those doses are not too high.

 

[metabolizm]

Yeh this is pyridoxine HCL which is inactive unless your body activates it. I got my p5p from vitamin shoppe but I have run out so may get some soon. SeekingHealth brand on amazon looks okay but I have not ordered yet. It really doesnt matter too much the brand.

What matters is if its the active pyroxidal 5 phosphate version and not super crazy high dose ones like >50mg. If you get a 50mg one you can just cut it in half for 25mg which is not as insane. But if there are ones that are like 10mg-25mg doses it would pretty good as those doses are not too high.

Thank you! I'll look into this. Ray has implicated B6 deficiency in anxiety as well, so it could be doubly useful for me.

@redsun What about this one? 20mg dosage, although I'm not sure what "coenzymated" means.

 

[redsun]

Thank you! I'll look into this. Ray has implicated B6 deficiency in anxiety as well, so it could be doubly useful for me.

B6 is needed to make dopamine as well as histamine (One step conversion of histidine -> histamine requires P5P). Histamine helping to antagonize noradrenaline/adrenaline which are implicated in anxiety and the increased dopamine helps to balance the scales of dopamine:adrenaline ratio. I believe glutamate -> gaba conversion also requires P5P.

Vitamin B6 May Be Anti-Adrenaline, And Thus Anti-Stress

 

[metabolizm]

Ray's opinion: Usually it’s from a slight nutritional deficiency or imbalance. Vitamin D, the ratio of calcium to phosphate in your diet, and thyroid function are some of the things that affect it.

I'm going to supplement vitamin D and P5P, as the first step. I should probably take a thyroid supplement too, but I'd need to get a blood test first.

 

[Quelsatron]

I'm sure that you can entirely fix dandruff yeast by improving your health (unlike gut bacteria which might require direct intervention, since they produce a negative feedback loop for your health), but in the meantime I'm going to try and make some xylitol hair wash. I've googled a bit and it seems that it might actually be useful for this, just as it's useful for oral bacteria.

 

[baccheion]

Meet all RDAs with food (CRON-o-meter) before adding supplements. I've read others saying topical potassium iodide got rid of dandruff for months.

 

[Ron J]

I'm considering oral Nystatin for this; what do you all think? Any potential side effects I may face?

 

[cyclops]

I've suffered with dandruff for 10 years or so and been following a peat diet for about 7 years and no food or supplement has ever helped...I looked for and tried most everything. The only thing that did help (and it helped allot) was antibiotics. But as soon as I get off them in comes right back.

 

[GorillaHead]

Something really interesting i have noticed about dandruff is it seems to occur even in my beard but the one area that seems to be immune is the back of my head where most male pattern balders keep their hair.


Overall i get Very small specked flakes.

 

[Motif]

I have dandruff on top of my scalp, in my beard and the typical seborrhoic eczema area.
Tomorrow I will get my blood test results for zinc copper ceruloplasmin A.

 

[Daniil]

I propose to study the relationship between zinc, copper and dandruff. I have copper 900 (700-1400), cerruloplasmin 20 (20-35) and zinc 964 (600-1200) in my blood.

 

[Daniil]

Vitamin D - 28

 

[Daniil]

Calcium 92.8(80-126). Anyone else?

 

[Evolutionarily]

I have dandruff on top of my scalp, in my beard and the typical seborrhoic eczema area.
Tomorrow I will get my blood test results for zinc copper ceruloplasmin A.

Please keep us informed.

 

[GorillaHead]

i keep coming up with new working theories but i propose that gut endotoxin/bacteria cause the follicles to secrete prolactin ( raypeat said its a molting hormone). This results in the hair to shed and the skin to flake. L dopa. Dopamine agonist will help but probably wont solve the problem