Lack of Iodine and Silica Can Create Hair Loss
Iodine
Iodine is vital to your hair growth. Sheep farmers long ago
found that vegetation-lacking iodine due to iodine-depleted soil
would adversely affect the growth of wool in their sheep.
Likewise, to avoid hair loss, you need iodine. Iodine is
synthetically added to table salt, however in this form it is
not assimilated well into your body and can therefore cause
iodine overload.
An excess of iodine in the body can adversely affect the
thyroid. The lack of iodine can cause hypothyroidism. In
hypothyroidism, your cell metabolism slows down and body cells
and hair cells don't receive the energy they need to function
properly. When you lack iodine, you will lose more hair than
normal and may even lose eyebrow hair.
You can check your thyroid with a basal thermometer, not a
digital thermometer, by placing it in your underarm first thing
when you wake up. Then, don't move for 10 minutes. After 10
minutes, look at the temperature. The normal body temperature
for good thyroid function is 97.8 to 98.2 degrees C. Take this
measurement for 5-10 day. If your temperature is below 97.6 and
lower, for the 5-10 days, you will want to consult your doctor
or for more direction and information. You definitely have low
thyroid function.
Menstruating women should start this 5-10 day check on the 3rd
day of their cycle.
It is best to use non-iodized salt and get your iodine from
natural foods. These include seaweed, salmon, seafood, lima
beans, molasses, eggs, potatoes with the skin on, watercress and
garlic.
Silica
One of the most difficult nutrients vital to your hair growth to
get in your diet is trace mineral silica. Silica is a form of
silicon and is the second most abundant element in the earth's
crust, second only to oxygen. The Earth provides everything we
need for health, and with silicon being so abundant, it would
seem that there would never be a problem with silica deficiency.
Unfortunately, trace minerals are rare in our diets because our
food is processed and our soil depleted by chemical treatments.
Silica provides strength to your hair, and although it will not
necessarily stop your hair from falling out from the follicle,
it will stop hair breakage.
Silica works by stimulating your cell metabolism and formation,
which slows the aging process. Foods that are rich in silica are
rice, oats, lettuce, parsnips, asparagus, onion, strawberry,
cabbage, cucumber, leek, sunflower seeds, celery, rhubarb,
cauliflower, and swiss chard. Try to buy these vegetables from
organic sources. Note that many of these foods, particularly
rice, are a large part of Asian diets and Asians tend to have
the strongest and healthiest hair.
For best results eat all your fruits and vegetables raw. For
certain vegetables that need to be cooked, steam them for only a
few minutes.
Be sure to test your thyroid even though doctor's tests show you
do not have a thyroid problem. The basal temperature test is
sometimes more sensitive than blood tests taken by doctors. If
you have hyperthyroidism, you will definitely have hair loss.