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Hair Loss

Can Your Diet Help You Keep Your Hair?

Summary & Participants

Hair loss can be caused by genetic factors, certain illnesses or medications like chemotherapy. But you may be surprised to know that your diet can also play a big role in how much hair you lose. Join our experts as they explain why a healthy diet is an important factor for maintaining healthy hair.

Medically Reviewed On: June 19, 2008

Webcast Transcript

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: There are many different causes of hair loss that we know of. Hair loss can be genetic. It can be caused by certain illnesses, or by medications like chemotherapy, but you may be surprised to know that your diet may also be an important factor. Yes, what you eat can affect how your hair grows.

We have two guests with us today to tell us how to make sure your diet is a hair-healthy one. On my left is Dr. Peter Halperin. He's an assistant professor in the department of dermatology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University and New York Hospital. On Peter's left, is Dr. Shari Lieberman. She's a nutrition scientist and exercise physiologist, and she's also on the faculty of the University of Bridgeport.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: Let me start, Peter, with you. When you're evaluating somebody for hair loss, in addition to the diet, which we're going to be going into, what are the important factors to consider?

PETER HALPERIN, MD: A full patient comprehensive history would include asking them about which medications they take, what their genetic family history in terms of hair loss is, what allergies they have, and then a full physical exam. It could include hair pull tests, where one would examine hair under a microscope.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: You're not just seeing how strong it is?

PETER HALPERIN, MD: Right. It's actually removing some hairs and examining those under the microscope and examining the scalp for redness or inflammation and removing some of that material by biopsy or by some type of blade removal to examine it to ascertain why the patient is losing the hair.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: Of course, I was thinking the Three Stooges were getting hair pull tests all the time.

PETER HALPERIN, MD: There's a whole range of things that we go into with a patient when they have hair loss.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: Shari, add to that and tie in the diet part.

SHARI LIEBERMAN, PhD: It's interesting that you mention the hair pull test, because there are some very specific nutritional deficiencies, and the classic symptoms of these deficiencies include hair loss. Also, I didn't know that there was actually a hair pull test, but you can actually pull the hair out easier than it would normally pull. You can do it with very, very little difficulty. There are some nutrients like essential fatty acids that play a role in skin, hair and nails and other things as well. These essential fatty acids, like omega-3 fatty acids, are not the type of fatty acids that people are eating a lot of, because the sources of them basically include fish, like salmon and mackerel (not everybody eats that) or flax seed. When was the last time you had flax seed, David?

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: If I could tell you want it was, I could tell you.

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