How I started reversing Male Pattern Baldness naturally ?

This post talks in depth about how I started reversing Male Pattern Baldness naturally.

Using the approach I am going to share with you in this blog post I didn’t only stop my hair loss/thinning, got rid of my dandruff, oiliness and itching but I also thickened my hair in front, started regrowing hair naturally in crown (after 9 years of hair thinning) and advanced my hairline by at least 7 to 10 mm over the period of 15 months (and I am still continuing with this)

I did all of it using just Pro-Thyroid Diet, Lifestyle Interventions and Scalp Stimulation Exercises. I am also going to show you my photos from time to time.

When I was 17-18 years old, I had joined swimming. I used to wear swimming cap then. I did swimming for over an year. On one fine day, one of the friends pointed out that I had developed bald patch on my crown area and soon everyone started telling me about it. I immediately stopped swimming.

But I didn’t do anything back then because I didn’t know what to do. Then in 2009, I took consultation of homeopathic doctor in our family, he was quite experienced doctor and he told me that one of his clients started getting hair in his late 60s. The client name was Hrishikesh Mukherjee so I was very optimistic about getting results. He told me to take the medication for an entire year. I took it only for 3 months and because I didn’t see any results. I stopped taking it.

(Hrishikesh Mukherjee)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hrishikesh_Mukherjee

I am not very fond of taking my photos. Back then, I didn’t prefer taking my photos and I didn’t allow anyone to take my photos so I have very few photos available to show you as a reference.

Take Baldness Risk Factor Quiz Now

My hair in 2006/07

My hair in May 2011

See my crown area, you can see bald patch there.

My hair in 2012

See crown area, May 2012. If you look closely, you will see partial bald patch at crown area.

After that I didn’t do anything to reverse my hair thinning. I didn’t experience any hair loss in all those years except in 2015.

In 2013, I started experiencing a lot of issues concerning my health.

Migraine like pain, late afternoon fatigue, not feeling energetic despite getting more and more sleep, skin rashes, food allergies, stomach upsets, frequent bowel movements, cold hands and feet and lot more.

I started adopting different types of diets and exploring different methods to help myself dealing with symptoms.  While researching forums for my symptoms, I came across few posts who had exactly same symptoms I had. According to those posts, these were symptoms of Candida/Fungal infection.

The popular advice,  I prominently followed was restricting carbs because that was the “ONLY” way to starve mold/fungus. For first couple of weeks after stopping carbs (fruits, juices, rice and almost everything) I felt great. I thought this is the key to get rid of symptoms.

After couple of weeks, symptoms started worsening instead of improving. I developed severe craving for carbs and no matter how much protein and fats I would eat, I didn’t feel satisfied. I started feeling irritable and started having mood swings. I started getting anxiety attacks. I started getting upset over  trivial things.

I started feeling more fatigued. I started having difficulty in sleeping. I started having more migraine like pains but I didn’t face any skin rashes so I thought I am getting better. I became even more stricter when it came to avoiding carbs.

I started having even lower energy, my hands and feet started becoming cold.

In July or August of 2015, I started experiencing uncontrollable itch on my scalp. I always used to have a moderate dandruff. No matter how many times, I washed my hair with different shampoos, nothing helped. For a day or two, my scalp used to feel good, I used to have no dandruff and itchiness and after that it would return with vengeance.

Shampoo used to strip off the natural oil in my hair and used to replace it with synthetic oils, so my hair used to become oily quickly.It was vicious cycle.

More shampoo–More oiliness–Even more shampooing—Even more oiliness

At the same time, I started getting clumps of hairs in my hands whenever I used to graze my hands through my hair. Earlier, it was gradual thinning, I never saw so many hairs in my hands when I used to graze my hand through my hair.

My hair become so brittle, they used to break very easily.

In August/September of 2015, while I was looking in mirror for combing my hair. I could see right through my frontal area. My crown area was visible. I didn’t like what I saw there.

“Where the fuck did my hair go ?” I said to myself in the moment of shock.

I thought this is probably the end and I am not going to get those hairs back. To get over severe itch and hair loss/thinning, I started asking my friends about it. The popular advice was to shave your head. I didn’t quite like the idea of shaving the head so I went to barber and I got my zero cut (army cut) like this

For the time being, I felt relief from supposedly hair loss, dandruff and itching. I felt joyous but it was short lived.

One on fine day in October 2015, while I was sleeping, my father woke me up at 7 AM.

“Sukrut, wake up , wake up. What happened to your hair ? Why don’t you something about it ? Have you thought of visiting a doctor ?”

I woke up in the state of panic and asked my father about severity of hair thinning. He told me that my crown was in very bad condition. He told me that I need to do something about this.

My father had never warned me about my hair before but after he told me that day, it seriously got me worried. If he is telling it, there must be something horribly wrong.

At the same time, I used to visit a close friend of mine. He also started pointing out this to me every time and he started making fun of it. Whenever someone used to point at my hair or lack of it, I would start getting severe panic attacks. I started to avoid my friend/s but then I realized that it wasn’t the option.

I used to physically tremble just at the thought of someone asking me the question about my hair loss. Looking at my hair in mirror used to give me panic attacks.

I didn’t know any other options.I only knew about one option. Hair Transplant.

In December 2015, I visited my friends sister wedding, there I met my friends friend who was in his early 40s, completely bald, when he was young, he also explored different options to treat his hair thinning but he didn’t succeed.

So I discussed different options of hair transplants with him including when I should go for it and which clinic I should visit.

He told me to wait till the time I lose all of my hair. He also told me not to cut corners when choosing a hair loss clinic. Choose the best one.

But then I came across research on Hair Transplants, I decided to stay away from it

Should you really go for a hair transplant ?

This is what I did to reverse it.

Time Period/Changes Food Lifestyle Scalp (other methods)
January to March No Particular, starved myself of Carbs Shampoo, Bodyweight Exercise, Five Tibetan Rite Onion Juice, Nail Rubbing, Frequency
April to June No Particular, starved myself of Carbs, also started including carbs slowly Shampoo, Bodyweight Exercise, Five Tibetan Rite Oil, Shaving, Galea Relaxing, Nail Rubbing, Frequency
July to September Pro Thyroid Food No Shampoo, Five Tibetan Rite Detumescence Therapy, Towel Massage, Nail Rubbing, Frequency
October to December Pro Thyroid Food No Shampoo, No soaps, Five Tibetan Rites Detumescence Therapy, Towel Massage, Nail Rubbing, Hair Pulling, Frequency
January to March Pro Thyroid Food, Supplementation No Shampoo, No Soaps, Cycling, Five Tibetan Rites, Power Yoga, reduced Plastic usage (Tupperware) Infrared, Hypnosis, Detumescence, Towel Massage, Frequency, Emu + Castor Oil
April to June Pro Thyroid Food, ZMA supplementation No Shampoo, No Soaps Towel Massage
July to September Pro Thyroid Food, Magnesium from Concentrace Trace Minerals, Adrenal Cocktail, No Shampoos, No Soaps Towel Massage
October to December Pro Thyroid Food, Trace Minerals, Adrenal Cocktail, Cod Liver Oil, Diatomaceous Earth, Stabilized Rice Bran, Wheatgrass, Boron, Blood Donation, Curcumin No shampoos, No soaps, Borax as Shampoo Towel Massage
January to March Pro Thyroid Food, Magnesium Glycinate, Adrenal Cocktail, Beef Liver Capsules, Food based Vitamin B, Vitamin E, Bee Pollen, Boron, Unfortified Nutritional Yeast, Cacao, Hemp Protein No shampoos, No soaps, Borax as Shampoo Towel Massage

 

 
April to June Pro-Thyroid Food

 

Magnesium Glycinate, Pasture Raised Egg Yolks, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Bee Pollen, Boron, Unfortified Nutritional Yeast, Cacao, Organic Plant Protein, Cacao, Hemp Protein, Kelp

 No Shampoo/Soaps

 

Only occasional use of Soap

 Towel Massage

Take Baldness Risk Factor Quiz Now

How to perform Detumescence Therapy and Towel Massage

January to March 2016My photo in Mid January 2016

In January, I still believed my stomach problems are caused by Candida infection and I was still consuming lot less carbs. Apart from that, my diet was not particular. I avoided rice, avoided fruits and juices. I also avoided milk thinking it will aggravate my stomach condition.I used to shampoo quite regularly, every day or every alternate day. I also used to perform body-weight exercises and 5 Tibetan rites.I was doing nail rubbing (Balayam) every day at least once or sometimes twice.

In March, I started using Onion Juice. It helped me to reduce itchiness in my scalp but it was too much hassle to prepare juice. After few days of using it used to turn green. I didn’t face any smell problems but I certainly didn’t like idea of using Onion and then shampooing every day. Whenever I traveled, I had to carry the Onion Juice bottle and it created smell problems.So I got rid of it.At the end of March, while looking at mirror, I realized that I had regrown few new hairs in frontal area which were not there before.

Results : Very tiny regrowth in front. Itching reduced. Dandruff reduced a little. I used to wash hair daily so I didn’t see any oiliness.

April to June 2016

From April, I started increasing my carb intake, I started eating fruits and rice slowly. I continued with body-weight exercises, 5 Tibetan rites. I reduced shampooing frequency.I started using an oil (I don’t know the components, it looked red) which was supposed to grow new hair. After couple of weeks of using it, my close friend warned me that my crown patch had become even bigger. I told him to click the pics and show me and I realized that I had indeed lost more hair in my crown after using oil. I became alarmed and stopped using oil completely.

Note : I don’t know the effectiveness of this oil but whenever any treatment starts working, the first sign is little/moderate hair shedding at least for few weeks/couple of months. In very few cases, the hair shedding is heavy.Then I learned Galea relaxing exercises and I started doing it every day for 5 minutes along with nail rubbing. I shaved my head completely at the end of April because I thought I had lost lot of hair in my crown area and I was looking horrible.

Results : Itchiness reduced further. Dandruff reduced further. More regrowth in front and little regrowth in crown area.

July to September 2016
My photo in first week of September 2016, at my friend’s wedding.

From June I continued with nail rubbing. I also started Detumescence Therapy and Towel massage. After I started with Detumescence and Towel massage (especially towel massage) within couple of weeks, my crown area lost a lot of density. Almost everyone noticed it and asked me what happened to my crown hair. (see photo at bottom of this page)

Within few days, my dandruff, itchiness, oiliness problem went away never to return back. Since then I have shampooed probably twice in last 8-9 months. I started losing lot more hair and started seeing them on my towel. I continued with Five Tibetan Rites.I feared that I would not get those lost hair back but I was optimistic. Every single day, I performed Detumescence Therapy for 5-10 minutes and towel rub for 3 minutes throughout my scalp.

I started consuming Pro-Thyroid Food.More Fruits, More saturated fats, Milk, Chicken, Fish, Rice, Potato, Carrot Salad, organic eggs. I started eating 5-6 times in a day. I started measuring my temp and pulse test. My pulse was normal most of the times but my temperature at 3 was below range.If you want detailed advice on incorporating Pro-Thyroid Food in your diet, I have included that in Hair Regrowth Blueprint

I stopped eating beans, nuts. I also stopped gluten for a month and reintroduced it slowly. After stopping Gluten, some of my digestion issues went away and after reintroduction, they never re-occurred.I changed my diet to bring it up to the mark most of the times. After a while, instead of measuring temperature and pulse every day, I started relying more on my overall mood and energy. I started eating fruits or Chocolate Milk at night to reduce stress response in morning.My morning would typically start with fruits and I would perform light exercises after Breakfast instead of doing it on empty stomach.

Results : Dandruff, itchiness, oiliness completely gone, never returned back. Crown area density reduced. Frontal hair thickened a bit. The percentage increase in thickness was more compared to what it was before. I believe it’s the combined result of Diet, Towel massage and Detumescence Therapy.

October to December 2016

My photo in Mid December 2016

From September onward, my diet was more or less same. Other techniques were also same as I described in last 3 months. I added few new things to this regime. I started brushing my hair often. I also started hair pulling (from bottom and not from top) for a brief period (probably a month). I stopped using Soap completely (except washing my hands) I also started taking cold baths for a month. It didn’t quite work for me because I got cold.Whenever I used to pull my hair, 2-3 hair used to come in my hands (not much) but I continued it because my scalp felt better. I continued with Detumescence Therapy, Towel Therapy, Nail Rubbing. I started using Emu Oil + Castor Oil Mixture. I used it every 2-3 days.

Results : Hair thickened a lot in front, crown area started filling in very slowly but steadily. Dandruff, itchiness, oiliness was gone forever. My friends started asking me if I am on some treatment for my hair loss.

January to March 2017

My crown photo comparison

From January, I started supplementation with Vitamin D3, K2, Calcium, Magnesium to reverse Arterial Calcification and Fibrosis. I also started supplementing myself with Vitamin B12 to reverse grey hair. My diet was almost the same.I stopped nail rubbing. I use frequencies but not very regularly. I am quite occupied at the moment so when I don’t get time or when I am tired, I only do towel massage for 3 minutes.I started experimenting with Infrared Light Therapy. Exposing thinned areas to Red Light for 5-10 minutes every few 3-4 days. It gives me a hot tingling sensation after 5-10 minute long session.

I also started Power Yoga , Cycling and I continued with 5 Tibetan Rites. I stopped usage of plastic bags and switched to Tupperware.I have started using Hypnosis (recording affirmations in your own voice and listen to it overnight or when you are resting or working) I have continued using Emu Oil + Castor Oil Mixture. I use it every 5-6 days.

Results : My frontal hair has thickened a lot. Crown area has started filling up. Density in more than it looks in pic. My grey hair has started reversing slowly. New grey hairs are not coming in or coming in very rarely. Almost everyone who meets me after 3-6-9 months, ask me what I am doing with my hair.

April to June 2017

In April, I realized that although I have made a good progress with my frontal 1/3rd area but in my middle 1/3rd area and crown area, there was no significant effect. I realized that I need to do something different in order to achieve this effect.I had only 2 results to show for. I had received several messages like “When I started detumescence/towel massage I could see reduction in hair fall, dandruff, itching”

But there was one problem.I realized that Detumescence or Towel massage were able to induce the new hair growth or thickening of existing hairs but there were not enough to sustain growth from that point onwards.

Only right nutrition is required to sustain the growth and thicken existing hairs. Topicals might help temporarily but they won’t thicken the hair. Unless topicals have certain nutrients they won’t thicken hair. Period.When I realized that, I started reading more and more research on Hair loss exploring Nutrient connection.I came across several research papers on Zinc connected with Hair loss. I also started searching for answers on Forums to see if anyone benefited with Zinc regarding their hair loss.I found several threads on the same. Meanwhile I was also researching other nutrients which could potentially reverse hair loss. One of the prominent minerals was Magnesium. As Male pattern baldness is result of Calcification and Fibrosis. There was a lot of research and anecdotal evidence suggesting Magnesium can potentially reverse Calcification.So I decided to supplement with Zinc and Magnesium.

There was a supplement called ZMA which helped a lot of people to take care of Zinc and Magnesium deficiency and there were several people on internet who were benefited with ZMA for athletic performance , sex drive and hair regrowth however, there was a lot of contrary evidence suggesting that it didn’t help many in regards to reversing hair loss.So I was kind of in dilemma whether to try it or not. But I decided to give it a try for next 3 months. As soon I started with ZMA (which contains Zinc, Magnesium and Vitamin B6) within a week the hair at my middle 1/3rd started growing. In span of 1 month I saw good results. However, I had to stop it because I was having diarrhea like symptoms throughout the day and many of those who switched to ZMA based on my suggestions started having diarrhea like symptoms. While some didn’t face any of the symptoms.I started getting several people reporting that they started seeing improvement with their hair after they were on ZMA.However, I wasn’t sure about what was really responsible for hair regrowth.Was it Zinc, Magnesium or B6 ?

There was overwhelming evidence for Zinc so I thought it was because of Zinc. However, it was a big mistake because everyone who switched to only Zinc supplements, hardly any of them saw any positive results. However, some of them started reporting their hair started greying prematurely, So I stopped using it.

My photo in last week of April 2017 (front photo taken in harshest light possible)

Results : My frontal 1/3rd hair has thickened. Crown area has started filling up. Some of my friends confirmed that there was indeed an improvement in my hairs.

July 2017-September 2017

I started researching other strong links to reverse my hair thinning. I was bumping into dead ends all the time. I realized that I need to find a connecting link which explains the whole picture because resolving hair loss doesn’t seem like a separate problem, it seemed like it wasn’t isolated issue, it was a systemic problem. Isolated supplements may or may not help me.So I started reading a lot of books, research papers and watching youtube videos. I came across Morley Robbins video on Copper Dysregulation. I found it because I was researching copper in connection with my grey hair.

It didn’t make any sense initially after watching his video. so I started watching more and more of his videos.His advice seemed contrary to what other popular gurus were preaching .He talked about stopping Vitamin D, Iron, Calcium, Multivitamins supplement. Instead talked about adding more magnesium and food based supplements rather than synthetic supplements.It was first very difficult to believe his advice because whatever I had read in first 16-17 months, he mentioned to do 80% of the opposite. So I joined his group and started learning about his protocol.

Learn more about it here

http://gotmag.org/the-root-cause-protocol/

But I saw several others in group benefiting from his protocol so I decided to dig deeper into the research behind it and started implementing the protocol.First of all, I ditched all synthetic supplements.I first bought Concentrace Trace Minerals and added things like Adrenal Cocktail, added Silica and other things in Protocol. I started seeing smaller changes in my hair.

Morley talked a lot about Iron—Copper, Magnesium—-Calcium Dance.Watch his video and you will understand

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ongtN4bz_V0

If you don’t want to spend an hour and want less technicality, watch this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=281NHbjJ1Wo

After learning Root Cause Protocol, I realized that my fatigue, IBS symptoms, hair loss, greying could be because of excess Iron. All I wanted to do was to get my blood tests done

My photo in July 2017

.

Results : I saw good changes in my other symptoms. Little improvement in my hair especially middle and crown 1/3rd.

October 2017 to December 2017

In September, I decided to check for my iron markers, vitamin D, liver enzymes, Ceruloplasmin, serum copper, serum zinc.Here are my values.I realized that my Iron markers are very high and I needed to reduce it. Check my reports below.

I went for blood donation. I also started taking Rice Bran, Wheatgrass. This helped me to successfully deal with many health issues I was still having. Changing my diet in September 2016 helped me a lot in many issues, however, there were other issues still there.

First improvement I had seen was reduction in fatigue. Earlier by quitting wheat and changing my diet, I had already seen the improvement in my fatigue and IBS but after a blood donation, I saw very good changes.I continued with Concentrace Trace Minerals till it lasted. Once they were over, I didn’t take any Magnesium supplement.

In November,I was supposed to fly to US for Business and Leisure Trip.When I flew to US, I was terrified because I thought I had to deal with IBS, Hair Loss and several other issues because Food System in US is seriously bad.

Genetically modified foods, Iron Fortified Foods etc etc.

Being an Indian and being health conscious, I never wanted to eat french fries, burgers, low fat milk etc etc. I chose not to eat bread, pasta there, stuck to fruits, seafood, rice, beans. I didn’t face any problems in US. Thank GOD.Even when I used to wash my hair with shampoo, I still didn’t face excessive hair loss.Here is me with my mentor Ryan Levesque

When I came back, I again went for blood donation and then I continued with Wheatgrass, Rice Bran. All values came into the range except D and I know why that could have happened. I stopped my Magnesium for 3 months. I don’t know why but I just stopped it.

Results : When I came back, I did see marginal improvement as confirmed by some of my friends.

January 2018 to March 2018

In January, I got my 23andme reports.Here are test results of my Genetic Testing

So by genetic standards, I am not supposed to lose hair by age 40 but I still lost it and I have started regaining it so you can say that it’s possible to activate or deactivate genes based on your diet and lifestyle.

I also started getting more magnesium, Vitamin A, I added Egg Yolks, Nutritional Yeast, Cacao Beans, Food based B, E Vitamins, Red Palm Oil. I started seeing major changes within few weeks.Earlier, although I had decent results in middle 1/3rd area, I was not able to part my hair sideways because they didn’t grow long beyond certain length but after this regimen, especially I believe course of B-Vitamins over 6-8 weeks, the hairs which were stagnant for last 8-10 years started growing back.

I don’t know it’s only because of B Vitamins or something else. I think they have played a major role. The key is getting most of them from food or food based supplement and not from Synthetic supplements. It’s not biotin. Biotin will help you to grow your hair faster but it won’t thicken or regrow the hair which are stagnant.The key to get all Vitamins and Minerals from high quality foods or superfoods.Pasture Raised Egg Yolks, Bee Pollen, Unfortified Nutritional Yeast, Stabilized Rice Bran (Brown Rice) for B-Vitamins

Here are my current photos from Mid March 2018http://i.prntscr.com/2Qm6zOV7QUeBziNUBYWAEQ.png

Results : Crown Area almost filled. I can part my hairs sideways without leaving any gaps, earlier, there used to be big gaps, now they are hardly there, unless I try to create it.Using oil still shows gap.So when it comes to reversing hair loss (stopping hair loss/thinning and regrowing new hair) it comes to implementing step by step approach.

April to June 2018

From May, I started regularly eating Pasture Raised Egg Yolks (at least 6 a day), I also started consuming more Pumpkin, Sunflower Seeds (10-20gms each)

I started consuming Organic Plant Protein, Hemp Protein, Kelp, Bee Pollen, Cacao Nibs, Unfortified Nutritional Yeast, Borax(to get Boron)

I started seeing further improvement in my hair. (You can see further improvement in crown area despite hair length being 4-5 cm less than previous photos)

In May, I again had chance to travel to Chicago, I didn’t face much problems with food.

Me with my Mentor Perry Marshall in Chicago

This was my journey, if you want to stop your hair loss, I have developed 5 step game plan to identify root causes, resolve them using diet & lifestyle changes, scalp stimulation exercises to stop hair loss and regrow hair naturally.

Take Baldness Risk Factor Quiz Now

Here it’s

Step 1. Root Cause (Remove, Reduce or Rule Out)

My maternal uncle and grandfather and thin hairs. My maternal grandfather was completely bald at the age of 40. My maternal uncle is not completely bald and had thin hairs since he was young. Same with my mother. Although, my genetic test shows something different.In 2013, I started having problems with leaky gut, food allergies, frequent bowel movements etc.I went on a low-carb diet. The low carb diet is usually bad for hair. Your entire metabolism runs on fatty acids instead of burning glucose. It’s very inefficient fuel compared to glucose.  It causes hair follicles begin to miniaturize.I used to wash my hair with hard water for first half of 2015 and I used to shampoo my hair very regularly.When I started finding different possible triggers of hair thinning, I started eliminating them one by one. It wasn’t possible to eliminate every trigger but it was possible to reduce side effects of them. I started doing it with Diet, Scalp Stimulation Exercise and Lifestyle Interventions.If you want to find possible triggers, check out the program I have developed : Hair Regrowth Blueprint

Step 2. Reset Scalp

In order for hair to grow or regrow, your scalp has to be in optimum condition. If you have condition like excessive oiliness, itchiness, fungal infections, no matter how many different attempts you make to regrow new hair, the results will not be optimal.If you want help to reduce dandruff, itchiness and oiliness of your scalp, check out this blog post

How to cure dandruff, reduce oiliness of scalp and resolve itch permanently ?

I achieved optimum scalp condition through diet, Detumescence Therapy and Towel Massage.Detumescence Therapy consists of Pinching, Pressing and Stretching the scalp to reverse local calcification & fibrosis and restore natural blood supply. Towel massage achieves the same purpose at much faster pace.If you have lost almost all of hair, Detumescence is more effective to you and if you still have a lot of tiny hair still intact, towel massage is the best way to go forward.In Hair Regrowth Blueprint, I answer most of the questions revolving around Detumescence Therapy and Towel Massage.

Step 3. Reactivating Dormant Hair Follicles

To reactivate dormant hair follicles, I employed several methods.Notable ones are Detumescence Therapy and Towel massage. I also used Nail Rubbing, Onion Juice, Five Tibetan Rites and Emu+Castor Oil.In late 2016, I also started using supplementation like Ca along with Vitamin D3 and K2 to reverse Arterial Calcification. I started drinking Guava + Orange Juice every week to reverse Fibrosis. (Guava contains Apigenin and Orange contains Naringenin and both of them are known to reverse Fibrosis)

Step 4 : Regrow Hair

Using right food, supplements for deficiency or therapeutic purposes at right time which will not only optimize your metabolism and reduce metabolic stress but also help you grow your hair which were miniaturized or were not growing earlier to fuller length and keep the existing hair.

Step 5 : Retain Hair

Once you get your hair back, even if you start facing hair loss at any other time, you need to know troubleshooting steps to backtrace possible causes of hair loss and reverse it.So if you want to use this 5 Step Methodology to identify possible causes of your Hair Loss/Hair Thinning and, stop it and start regrowing your hair naturally like I did, check out Hair Regrowth Blueprint

  October 2017 First Week December 2017 Last Week June 2018
Serum Iron 144.5 ug/dL 100.5 84.3
Transferrin Saturation 51% 32.74 28.97
Haemoglobin 16.2 g/dL 16.6 16
Ferritin 219 ng/ml 39.4 39.1
Vitamin D 20 ng/ml 12.21 14.87
Vitamin B12 550 pg/ml 428 330
Homocysteine 22.2 umol/L 12.6 10.6
LDL 122 mg/dL 116  
Total Cholesterol 205 mg/dL 179  
Alkaline Phosphatase 85.1 U/l 85.1 84.4
Bilirubin 1.04 mg/dL 0.75 0.56
SGOT 29.4 U/l 29.7 26.9
SGPT 32 U/l 39 34.7
TSH 2.16 μIU/ml 2.55 2.02
Ceruloplasmin 0.2 g/L    
Serum Copper 113.5 ug/dL    
Serum Zinc 120.4 ug/dL  

Summary

Pro-Thyroid Diet
Diet popularized by Ray Peat which supports Thyroid but you shouldn’t eat fish, nuts, seeds, legumes, beans, grains. I tried for 6–8 months, I got good improvement in front. But it’s not sustainable. I now eat everything in moderation.

What you should do ?

a. Stop all types of diets like Keto Diet, Low Carb Diet, Low Fat Diet, Fruit Only Diet, Raw Food Diet or any kind of weight loss diet
b. If possible, stop all medications like Vitamin A (Acne Medication), Painkillers, Gout Medications, Beta Blockers, Female Hormones, Male Hormones, Steroids/Immunosuppressants with or without Doctor’s permission as you think is suitable. (I am not a Licensed Practitioner or Doctor)
c. Stop Foods you are sensitive to and/or switch to higher quality foods 
Stop eating prepackaged wheat flour, eat wheat flour from mill. (This suggestion alone can help you reversing hair loss)
d. Work on your mind first. Although you might think it’s not very important, I believe that it has major impact on your health and hair loss. There are certain methods I have used like EFT, Emotion Code, Journaling, Non-dominant hand writing, forgiveness etc et
e. Improve your digestion by killing gut infection and restoring Gut Bacteria. (No antibiotics please)

1. Stop smoking, drinking, drugs, weeds
2. Change cooking oil to ghee, cold pressed coconut or groundnut oil
3. No Whey Protein or Soy or any man made protein extracted from foods. Eat real food even if it’s expensive
4. No Vitamin D, A, Zinc, Copper, Iron and Multi-Vitamin supplement
5. Donate blood every 3–4 months. (Very very important)
6. Add more magnesium rich foods in your diet sunflower, pumpkin, watermelon seeds, cacao, Magnesium Oil (to spray not to eat), hemp seeds etc etc
7. No oats, corn flakes, soya, museli and canned or packaged foods/snacks
8. Add B Vitamin rich foods, Moringa, Bee Pollen, Unfortified Nutritional Yeast, Brown Rice, Pasture raised egg yolks etc etc
9. Add Vitamin A rich foods especially animal based like Egg Yolks, Fish
10. Add lots of different types of fruits in your diet
11. Dont try to block DHT, IL-6, Prostaglandin D2 and other inflammatory mediators.

 

 

 

How to take comparable pictures of hair for better comparison every time ?

I always had this problem when it comes to comparing hair Before After photos.
I get people sending me first photo with more length, different combing style, different camera, different lighting and the subsequent photos with totally different length, camera, combing style, lighting etc etc.

When it happens, when you can’t really compare 2 pictures, but the person says that he had seen density improvement or regrowth, you can imagine my frustration. I get such not so comparable pictures all the time.

I requested one of my clients who is Professional Photographer to teach us how one can take such comparable pictures without buying any expensive equipment, lighting etc etc.

He has personally seen the improvement with his hair in matter of 2-3 months. He is approaching 60 years. Look at his photos

Here is the procedure he sent me.

First Video is made under direct florescent light and there after a pic taken in the same setup, for the second Video same setup but a tenting with white cloth was made in between the light and the object (Head) remaining everything is same, a Video and a photograph is also done for the same setup,you can notice the difference between the two photographer’s in the first pic you can see shiny patches on the hair whereas in the second photo the shiny patches are not that visible, so in this way if you can do the details of the hair will be more visible,my intention is to show you the technique and suggest you to do it under sunlight in the same way, so that the details of the hair will be better, but while doing this please follow these steps, the sunlight should be 45°to 65°from the right side of the object (Head) the background and the dress of the person should be dark because most of the camera’s of the mobile phones are set in auto mode the exposure may change if the background or dress is light in color, the camera may take exposure for lighter colors and the main part(Hair) will become more darker and the details will be lost, since the details of the hair is important most of the photograph should be the head,the cloth that you use for tenting should be white and two to three feet above the object (Head) parallel in between the light and head, it will be better if you take help from someone to hold the four sides of the cloth or fix it accordingly. This Video and photos are done with a lower end mobile phone.

Here is how not to take photo
This is how it looks like
Take Correct Photo using a White Cloth or standing in Sunlight
This is how it really looks like

So, now you know how to take correct photos, go and read my advice, take your first photo using this method, send it to me.

  1. How I started reversing my Male Pattern Baldness Naturally ?
  2. Diffuse Hair Loss : Get More Vitamin B6
  3. How to reverse Hypothyroidism induced Pattern Hair Loss ?

If you want me to help you personally, if you want to see results what others have achieved, check it out Hair Regrowth Blueprint.

How to reverse Hypothyroidism Induced Pattern Hair Loss ?

Several times, I encounter people who think all of their MPB or Pattern hair loss symptoms are because of Hypothyroidism but unfortunately their Thyroid profile results show otherwise.

Their tsh values are usually within range. Their doctors tell them it’s fine but usually they have many symptoms of hypothyroidism along with Hair thinning.

What’s this conundrum all about ?

Today, I am going to share with you all I have learned about hypothyroidism and hypo induced hair loss and what you can do to stop and reverse it.

There are a lot of prominent internet personalities when it comes to dealing with Thyroid problems. Few names come to my mind which include Amy Myers, Izabella Wentz etc etc.

But personally I resonate much more with few with not so common theories when it comes to Thyroid problems.

First name comes to my mind is of Dr Ryke Geerd Hamer.

He developed a new branch of medicine called German New Medicine. When it comes to his theories, there are people who are hardcore opponents of his seemingly wild claims and on the other hand, there are people who are on totally opposite side, these people are hardcore proponents and who swear by his theories and use it regularly in their practice.

I have started studying the implications of his theories and started to find that there is quite a lot of truth out there. However, I will reserve my final opinion unless I test his theories for longer duration.

He coined term called Dirk Hamer Syndrome and discovered 5 biological laws. They are especially developed in regards to cancer but they can also be extended to other ailments. He has worked tirelessly and fearlessly for more than 35 plus years to validate his theories.

If you want a brief overview of 5 biological laws, check it out here

http://www.newmedicine.ca/overview.php

He believes Brain-Psyche-Organ are connected. 

Taken from GNM Scientific Chart

If I interpret his theory correctly, if you want to understand the true reason behind Hypothyroid, then you have to ask yourself this question

Have you ever been in a Conflict which involves Conflict Shock that has to do with feeling too slow, feeling lagging behind in life, not being quick enough to get something, failing to get rid of something due to being too slow, pressured to hurry, or another feeling along this general theme ?

When you experience any of these, your thyroid gland produces more Thyroxine in order to help you to cope up by speeding you up but eventually it slows down if it constantly has to produce more Thyroxine all the time. 

Reference : http://www.newmedicine.ca/

How to resolve this ?

Answer to this may not be as straightforward as it sounds but it can include anything from 

  1. Waiting for natural resolution to happen or accepting things as it’s and learn to live with it. The later may not resolve it completely but symptoms will be much more manageable. 
  2. Looking at the situation from a totally different angle
  3. Not giving any meaning to what happened to you. The Lefkoe Method will be handy to you.
    https://www.mortylefkoe.com/
  4. Learning to emotionally let go of it through various methods like Forgiveness, Emotion Code, EFT etc etc
  5. Change your priorities so that the problem would no longer bother you

There is no one solution which is valid for everyone. The person has to evaluate all the information and come to his/her own conclusion on what can be or needs to be done.

According to GNM, if you are diagnosed with Auto-immune disease , it’s usually Hanging Healing i.e. the condition never fully goes through the entire resolution/ healing phase. It just “hangs” because there are tracks or reminders that keep us in a low level of conflict activity and as a result, the condition never fully heals.

According to its laws, Hypothyroidism is always preceded by Hyperthyroidism.

I am not an expert on German New Medicine, I am not claiming it otherwise. It’s a huge topic, I have just begun to scratch the surface. I have outlined some authentic resources I found on it, so you choose the right ones instead of looking on sites which don’t truly reflect the work of Dr Hamer.

If you want to know or learn about German New Medicine, get more information here

http://www.newmedicine.ca/overview.php
https://amici-di-dirk.com

http://www.drrykegeerdhamer.com/de/index.php

Then there comes Morley Robbins.

He is truly an iconoclast when it comes to the topic of nutrition. He doesn’t just point out problems with Allopathic Practitioners but he also points out the biggest flaws in Alternative Medicine Practitioners through his truly classic writing style. 

His Root Cause Protocol is culmination of 9 plus years of work with clients, research and his unparalleled success stories, case studies is a testimony of his work being truly revered by his clients.

I was personally diehard skeptic of his suggestions in 2017 till it changed my worldview once I started studying it and when people working with me started getting better results, I realized how valuable his research is.

Here is link to study his Root Cause Protocol
https://therootcauseprotocol.com/about/

According to Morley there are several important things you need to take into account when evaluating your thyroid health and you shouldn’t just look at TSH value.

There are many things you need to evaluate which include 

  1. Iron Profile
  2. RBC Magnesium
  3. Ceruloplasmin status
  4. Vitamin D

And then you can look at typical thyroid profile like T3, T4 and TSH.

According to Morley Robbins “There is NO such thing as “medical disease” o There is ONLY “metabolic dysfunction” CAUSED by “mineral dysregulation”

Morley thinks “STRESS” is behind everything. 

Stress
↓
Magnesium Loss
↓
Electrolyte Dysfunction
↓
Energy Loss
↓
Cell Death
↓
Inflammation
↓
Calcification/Fibrosis

Morley Robbins also thinks along similar lines of Dr Hamer saying those who have Thyroid problems should take a look at the sources of stress in their lives.

Then third name comes to my mind is 

Dr Carolyn Dean

Morley Robbins work is inspired by her book “Magnesium Miracle”

https://www.amazon.com/Magnesium-Miracle-Revised-Updated/dp/034549458X

Then there is another one called Tom Brimeyer

His work is mainly influenced by Dr Raymond Peat.

In one of blog posts, Tom Brimeyer posts this graphic

Ref : http://www.forefronthealth.com/overcome-hypothyroidism/

According to this diagram, Thyroid Hormone can be blocked at 5 levels

  1. Thyroid Gland
  2. Liver
  3. Bloodstream
  4. Cell Receptors
  5. Metabolism

So I thought I should combine their wisdom for better understanding and implementation

Minerals required for Thyroid

Iodine: T3 has 3 iodine molecules; T4 has 4. T4 (thyroxine) is 68 percent iodine by weight, and T3 (triiodothyronine) is 58 percent.
Selenium: A necessary cofactor in the production of thyroxine (T4), It also converts T4 to the more active form, T3. A total 11 selenium-dependent enzymes have been identified as necessary for thyroid function and thyroid hormone production.
If you take iodine without selenium, you can cause selenium deficiency. If you take selenium without iodine, you can cause iodine deficiency. That’s why Morley Robbins suggests taking RBC selenium test before you supplement with Iodine.
Zinc: Required for the synthesis of thyroid hormones. Zinc deficiency can result in hypothyroidism. Thyroid hormones are essential for the absorption of zinc.
The hair loss attributed to hypothyroidism may not improve with thyroid hormone replacement unless zinc supplements are added. According to Morley Robbins, we can get sufficient Zinc from food, there is no necessity of Zinc supplements and can actually worsen the problem.

Read my blog post,

Diffuse Hair Loss : Get more Vitamin B6

Molybdenum: Molybdenum-dependent enzymes function in the oxidative system of thyrocytes (thyroid epithelial cells). They also play an important role in T3 (thyroglobulin) release from the thyroid gland. (This mineral is a big no no from Morley Robbins as it blocks Ceruloplasmin production so get it from food)
Boron: Helps the conversion of the storage form of thyroid hormone, T4, to T3, the active form.
Copper: Plays an important role in the metabolism of the amino acid tyrosine, which is a precursor to T4 (thyroxine). It’s usually not supplemented but status should be measured in terms of Ceruloplasmin value.
Chromium: Enhances insulin activity playing a major role in the regulation of insulin release and its effects on carbohydrate, protein and lipid metabolism. Conversion of T4 to T3 is influenced by insulin, so in a roundabout way, chromium helps this conversion.
Manganese: Required to transport the hormone thyroxine into our cells.
Magnesium: Calcium and magnesium must be balanced in the body to ensure proper thyroid function. If there is too much calcium, thyroid hormones can become diminished. Magnesium is the regulator of calcium absorption and utilization.

Vitamins needed for Thyroid

Vitamin A : T3 and Vitamin A is required to convert your cholesterol into all of your thyroid-protective youth hormones, so deficient in Vitamin A prevents you from being able to use thyroid hormone.
Vitamin D : Magnesium is involved in each step of Vitamin D synthesis and storage so indirectly Vitamin D is also required for proper thyroid functioning. 

If you really look at the list, with proper testing almost all minerals and vitamins are directly and indirectly needed for proper thyroid functioning but I definitely think there is hierarchy. 

  1. Magnesium (decided by your RBC Magnesium levels)
  2. Vitamin A Retinol
  3. Iodine (with RBC Selenium testing if you want to be 100% sure)
  4. Selenium
  5. Vitamin D (from sunlight and repleting Magnesium levels)

Usually, I haven’t seen or hardly seen people overdosing Magnesium from foods or supplements, even if they do, I haven’t seen any side effects as such except more bowel movements. That’s not to say overdosing is OK.

Getting Retinol overdose is also not very likely unless you buy beef liver capsules consume it in excess, even if you do, I don’t think it’s physically viable to do it to that extent.

If you eat brazil nut or grain, egg yolks, fish you usually get enough Selenium.

If you get enough Sunlight, then there is no side effects of Vitamin D synthesis by your own body as it’s water soluble (when it’s produced by Sun exposure). Vitamin D supplementation is not necessary.

In case, if you want to read about my own experience with Vitamin D supplementation, read it here

But there is a good chance of getting Iodine overdose because of several reasons. First of all, RBC selenium testing isn’t cheap and that common.

When people want to get iodine, they use these 4 sources

  1. Lugol’s iodine (major possibility of overdose)
  2. Seaweed/Kelp (unless you are consuming standardized capsules, there is high possibility of overdose)
  3. Vodka Remedy (either you are not getting enough or any iodine or you are getting too much of it)
    Watch video here
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keblDhPjqyA&t=209s
  4. Iodized salt (if you are careful to use it in proportion only what is needed and also carefully evaluating other sources of iodine in your diet)

Excess Iodine can cause Auto-immune Thyroiditis which can worsen your symptoms and cause even more hair thinning.

If you are curious and you really want to know how to correctly interpret if you have optimally working Thyroid or not, is to do Temp and Pulse Test and not just rely on TSH value. 

http://www.forefronthealth.com/lp/3-step-testing-protocol/

If you think you have developed Auto-Immune Thyroid disease including Hashimoto or Graves, you also have to check 2 more things. 

  1. Thyroid Peroxidase Antibody (TPOAb).

2. hyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb)

I haven’t really encountered many cases like this and I am not knowledgeable in this area so I would recommend taking advice from your Doctor and the experts above and also Izabella Wentz. 

https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/

Initially, I was heavily influenced by her work and she has written a very comprehensive book on Hashimoto. More details here

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615825796/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i1

And also took Her Hashimoto’s Self Management Program

https://thyroidpharmacist.com/enroll-in-hashimotos-program/

However, when I started researching more, in my personal opinion, the Work of Dr Hamer, Carolyn Dean, Morley Robbins advice holds more merit and value although they are not as famous or widely recognized as she is right now. This is not to take any credit away from what she has done for the entire Hypothyroid and Hashimoto community in general and she being my source of inspiration right from the beginning.

What’s ideal TSH value ?

I don’t know.Various experts have different opinion. Some say it should be less than 1 and more than 0.5. Some say it should be less than 2.5 and more than 0.5.

I usually consider 0.5 to 2 as ideal range.

Will reduction in TSH value will stop and reverse my hair loss ? Depends

Here is someone who reduced TSH and gained hairs

TSH before : 13 TSH after : 8

Here is someone who improved hairs but no changes in TSH, but with reduction in TSH, his hair became worse 

TSH Before : 10.326
TSH Middle : 10.09
TSH After : 6.48

What you should really look to see if there is an improvement in their thyroid functioning or not

Some people just look at TSH value and say there is improvement or no improvement.

I think that’s incorrect way of looking at the situation,

Instead this is what they should look for 

  1. You should first do Temp and Pulse Test (before and after results and see if there is an improvement in temp and pulse compared to earlier)
    More details here
    http://www.forefronthealth.com/lp/3-step-testing-protocol/
  2. Symptoms. If you experience better digestion, better bowel movements, better sleep, better energy, better sex drive, better mood, better appetite, better health, better hair etc etc, then that’s sign of improvement 
  3. You should also look if they don’t have impending ongoing conflict as Dr Hamer points out, it’s either getting resolved, already resolved or you are using different ideas I mentioned in the beginning to mitigate it
  4. Then finally you should look at their TSH value and other parameters like RBC magnesium, Iron Profile, Vitamin D etc etc and in case if TSH values are more than 5, you should also get testing done for Thyroid Peroxidase Antibody (TPOAb), Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb)

What I have learned in the last 4 years is those who are still losing density and are not seeing progress either because they are not following suggestions properly or they are going through active/hanging conflict or on certain drugs, hormones, medications etc etc

And then there are some more ways to improve thyroid function, inspired by Izabella Wentz book “Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis“

If you want me to help you analyze your blood work and tell you how you can balance thyroid and regrow your hair, check out Hair Regrowth Blueprint

How to identify Fake and Scammy Hair Loss Products or Services ?

In this post, I have purposefully avoided taking names of particular companies or brands except one.

  1. Look at their ad

Now, in this photo, you don’t know whether it’s shown for representation purpose or is it real transformation with this oil. End user doesn’t know and because end user is usually naive, he/she believes this photo as a Testimonial. 

Many would click the AD because they would see this photo and believe they are going to see this kind of transformation with this Oil. If they are using photos of a real person in the ad who have seen the results, then that shouldn’t really be a problem

In this ad, they are not technically lying but they are not telling the truth either.

2. Clinical Trials but no proof

This company claims their product grew hair in 85% of them so where are those clinical studies ? Where are the links so I can read them ?

You won’t find them because there are NO clinical studies. 

There are many hair loss supplements which talk about their supplements passing clinical trials but if you don’t find them on their website, then their claims are totally fake and based and based on where they are located, they can get into deep trouble.

Where is the evidence of this ?

Here are supplements which actually did clinical trials. 

Here is one for Jigsaw Magnesium

http://www.jigsawhealth.com/scottsdale-magnesium-study/

Here is one for OptiMSM

https://www.optimsm.com/science/

3. Photos

I found this before after photo on one of the websites selling hair oil, so I just thought of doing reverse image search on person who posted the testimonial.

If it’s a product/service, if you see the photos, your job is to do reverse image search first.

Let’s do reverse image search
On Reverse image search, you will find this image is taken from Stock Photos website
Do you smell a RAT ?

4. Ways to contact them

NO Email

Try to find their email address. Have they given it somewhere or they are actively trying to hide it ? 

No Phone Number

Try to see if they have provided their phone number. If yes, call on it and see if anyone picks up the phone or respond to the message. Try it multiple times, if they respond to any of that or if you see automated voice message, then it’s time you should be careful. 

Fake Video Testimonials

It’s easy to figure out. From their body language, voice tone, face expressions. Some fake product developers hire actors to make it look like a genuine testimonial. I can figure out such testimonials from a mile away. You may not, so sometimes it’s better to trust your gut feeling. If you don’t feel right, don’t buy that product or service. 

Review

Fraud companies like these change their product names and company names to save themselves from Legal Action. 

Few other ways to spot SCAM or Fraud

Look at the customer service

See how they treat their customers, how they respond to their questions, how they address their questions/concerns, see their fulfilment service etc etc. 

Responding to emails

Ask them a question over email and see how long they did take to respond ? Use Boomerang to check if they actually read your mail or not. If they don’t, gently follow up with them. Email them 4-5 times over the period of few weeks, if they read emails but don’t respond back, then don’t purchase from them. 

Responding to Messages

If you have queries or questions or want help with after sales service, if they are hardly available to answer your questions, that’s a Red Flag. 

Responding to calls

Call them, preferably 3-5 times at different times, on different days. Give them some benefit of doubt. If they don’t call back or if they respond through other mode of communication, it’s another red flag.

5. Look at Refund service

See whether they actually refund or not, if yes, how much do they refund ? 

Ask them about refund. When do they provide refund ? How much refund do they provide ? On what criteria they provide refund ? 

Also check if they actually provide refund  or not, if yes, in how many days ? 

 It’s often tricky, difficult or time consuming but in order not to get scammed, you have to do the due diligence.. 

Some might have strong refund policy saying that if you follow this and do this and don’t see the results, we will give all the money back, some have very weak refund policy. 

If they have guts to give guarantee almost everyone in the market is terrified to give and if they actually live up to it…That’s indication of great product/service. 

(This is example of specific and strong guarantee, although it’s not from any hair loss product/service)

There are few things you can do to ensure you will not get scammed

  1. Email/Call/Ask for Trial if it’s oil/topical
  2. Check Person/Company on Google/Social Media, check for Complaint, Check Forum/Youtube
  3. Reference Check (from a trusted friend) or someone you can talk/chat/email/meet 
  4. Mystery Shop. Call them, email them and place an enquiry or order and see if you can manage to spot any suspicious behaviour. 
  5. Reverse Image Search : Whatever photos they give, always run reverse image search on various websites. If you find those photos on other websites, you got your answer. 
  6. Unverifiable Mentions (or Paid mentions) : See if the video testimonials or those who have been mentioned as Testimonials are real people or not. 
  7. Unverifiable Clinical Trials : If you don’t find any document verifying clinical results, then it’s a big SHAM. 
  8. Gut Feeling : Despite doing all due diligence, it’s still possible that you will get cheated by some clever machinations of evil fraudster, always trust your gut feelings. 

Diffuse Hair Loss : Get More Vitamin B6

When I was experimenting to regrow hairs, I was trying different foods, supplements. In April 2017, I get message from a reader. His friend recovered entire crown with ZMA. It’s a supplement which contains Zinc, Magnesium and Vitamin B6. It’s supplement usually taken by those who want to boost their performance in Gym Performance, increase Testosterone.

Naturally, I was curious. After trying Detumescence and Towel massage for 8 months along with Ray Peat inspired diet, there was no sign of improvement on my crown area with this diet. Frankly, I was ready to try anything.

Before, I try any supplement, I usually try to research more about it on Amazon, Youtube, Forums. I found more than 10 people who swore by ZMA to improve density of hair. Many of the reviews raved about Positive effects of ZMA on their sleep, energy level, mood. I was completely sold on trying this new magic supplement.

Basically, ZMA has Zinc Aspartate and Monomethionine, Magnesium Asparate, Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine HCL)

For first few days, I experienced more stamina, more energy, deep sleep (I had in years) and within a week, middle 2/3rd of my hairs started growing. I checked it multiple times to confirm I wasn’t dreaming so I continued it further. I could still see continued improvement in middle 2/3rd area.

I couldn’t believe that I was seeing improvement. Many people also started messaging me about their improvement. Some people just wanted to wait for some more time.

I was in Heaven.

And then came a real shocker. I didn’t pay much attention to it earlier. I was experiencing more and more bowel movements up to 6 times in a day. Initially, I thought, this would eventually normalize after a week, but unfortunately it didn’t.

Then some others also started complaining about it so I started researching more about it. I realized it it’s Magnesium Aspartate causing this problem.

I was really seeing the improvement, but I didn’t want to get stuck up in washroom all the time. Every time, I would go anywhere, this fear would haunt me. So I had to stop it after a month and the problem vanished after that.

But there were few others who still continued despite problems and there were others who were not facing any problems continued too. Not everyone saw improvement with it.

However, that was the time, I started getting before and after pictures from people

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

And there few more and I also got several messages from people who could see the improvement but they didn’t have any before and after photos to share it with me.

This convinced me that it was Zinc that was helping. Was I right in assuming Zinc is doing this ? You will know it soon.

I started reading a lot of literature on Zinc in connection with hair loss.

Most of the studies I found were on Alopecia Areata and Diffuse hair loss. Here is one : Oral Zinc Sulphate in Treatment of Alopecia Areata.

But their before after photos looked dodgy. Here are they

I have no idea if they accidentally put the same photo or it was exactly how it looked like 3 months on Oral Zinc Sulphate.

But there was another study : Zinc Deficiency Associated with Hypothyroidism: An Overlooked Cause of Severe Alopecia

Here are the photos

This was very impressive. However, it didn’t look like normal hair loss. Especially at the back but still I saw tremendous improvement in her frontal hairs.

And I also found several evidence on forums like this one

6 Months on nothing but Zinc with Amazing results

Before

After.

Because this ZMA thing worked well for me. I decided to start Zinc supplements because it didn’t have side effects of excessive bowel movements.

I bought Zinc Picolinate (as it is most bio-avaialble form)

I started taking it every 2-3 days because dose was much higher than RDA. I took it for more than 3-4 weeks with zero improvement. Instead whenever, I used to consume Zinc without food, I would feel so nauseous that I would almost throw up but it worked well with Proteins/Fats.

I thought it was just me not seeing any improvement. Many people I was working with Zinc alone supplement, didn’t see any results at all except one who saw elongation of hairs along hairline.

In fact, including me, many started experiencing side effects like premature grey hairs. First of all, it was not producing any results for hair and on top of that, it was giving me and others premature grey hairs so I decided to ditch it and started researching on reversing grey hair on youtube and I came across Morley Robbins Root Cause Protocol.

And then everything started making sense. After studying and implementing it, I revisited same study of a woman recovering from diffuse Hair Loss and I realized the mistake I made. If you closely read her report, you will know something

“Thyroid function tests were as follows: T3 70 ng/dl (normal 80-200), T4 2 mcg/dl (normal 4-12), and Thyroid Stimulating Hormone 64 IU/ml (normal 0.30-4.5). All routine investigations including antinuclear antibody profile were within normal limits, except for a low hemoglobin level of 9 g/dl.

Her plasma zinc level was estimated, which was 62 mcg/dl (normal 66-144 mcg/dl and optimal levels 90-150 mcg/dl)”

Low Plasma Zinc and Extremely Low Hemoglobin. It was not just Zinc deficiency but it was clear case of Excess Iron. It was Zinc deficiency created by Excess Iron not necessarily lack of Zinc in diet.

There is difference between absolute lack of Nutrient and Bio-availability of Nutrient.

Watch this Video “You are not Anemic”

What should be done in this case is not supplement more zinc, instead run Full Iron Panel Test (Serum iron, Transferin Saturation, Ferritin and Ceruloplasmin)

Giving Zinc supplement in such cases, shouldn’t be even done. Watch this video which explains Root Cause Protocol succinctly.

It’s purpose is to reduce Iron Load and make Zinc bio-available. If you supplement with Zinc (without being truly deficient) then it would further reinforce the symptoms of Excess Iron and Zinc deficiency.

It’s just like taking Iron supplement if you have low Hemoglobin or low Ferritin. It can help you in short term but can cause damage in the long run because true Iron deficiency caused by lack of Iron in diet is very rare.

Heavy metals like Arsenic was used to increase Hemoglobin which stimulates RBC production, but just because Arsenic improves Iron levels doesn’t mean one should use it.

Then I started researching why so many people including me got results with ZMA. I then thought it was Magnesium.

In Root Cause Protocol, Magnesium is the key mineral. I was using Transdermal Magnesium, Ionic Magnesium and Magnesium Glycinate, I saw improvement in my hairs not as dramatic as I saw with ZMA. I started analyzing others lab reports and recommended them to get magnesium through all the means including food. Some saw very good improvement with Root Cause Protocol but those who just used more Magnesium, saw improvement with hair loss and other health issues but not much improvement in density.

I realized I was missing something. Zinc and Magnesium didn’t create much difference. Now it was time to test Vitamin B6.

Vitamin B6 is co-factor for Zinc and Magnesium, it potentiates effects of both. Then my research again started.

I found interesting connections on Forums than in scientific literature.

There is very little evidence of Vitamin B6 in Scientific Literature.

Researchers found that this enzyme Pyridoxine 5 – phosphate oxidase increased in mice, as hair follicles progressed from the telogen (resting) phase to the anagen (active growth) phase. This supports the concept that the metabolism of vitamin B6 is a significant process in the formation of brand new hair shafts.

Vitamin B6 along with Zinc inhibited 5 alpha reductase activity better than just Zinc and Vitamin B6 was also used with diffuse alopecia in Women.

But if you check forums, there is plenty of evidence of Zix (Zinc, Vitamin B6 and other ingredients) There are several threads on hair loss forums/Reddit and many success stories.

Here is one thread : My Zix Experience – How B6 And Zinc Have Saved My Hair

The evidence was so huge that at one point, I thought of ordering Zix but then I thought before I use Zix, I should at least try Vitamin B6 first. I bought food based Vitamin B supplements which contained all B-Vitamins.

As soon as I started consuming it, within a week I again started seeing changes in my hairs as I had seen in my ZMA days. This improvement lasted for 3-4 weeks and then it slowed down.

Then when I started connecting the dots, the picture started becoming more and more clear.

If you look at what people do to restore their hairs. Eat/apply Onion/Garlic/Fenugreek Seeds/Black Cumin Seeds. Each of them have substantial amount of Vitamin B6.

I have personally used Eggs, Unfortified Nutritional Yeast (the richest source of Vitamin B6), stabilized rice bran.

And several people reported improvement in their density and thickness after using it.

Of course, these photos are not comparable but this person mentioned of significant improvement. There was another one who also saw improvement

Both of them saw improvement after adding Vitamin B6 (overall B vitamin rich foods) in their diet.

There are more examples here

So what’s the conclusion ?

If you have early cases of Pattern Hair loss and/or diffuse hair loss, you shouldn’t blindly supplement with Zinc. If you want to use Zinc, first check your Iron markers if they are perfect.

Rule out excess Iron creating Zinc deficiency symptoms. Then if you want to supplement with Zinc, use Wheatgrass (check labels to see if it has Zinc) or eat oysters and other Zinc rich foods. Don’t bother about Zinc supplementation.

If I were you, if I suspect I have true Zinc deficiency (not getting enough from food), I would first try foods and then get more Vitamin B6 from foods rather than supplementing with B complex or B-6 supplements.

Eat foods rich in Vitamin B6.

1. Grass Fed Beef (I don’t eat it, I suggest it to people who can eat it and are OK with it. If you are not OK for any reason, don’t eat it)

2. Unfortified Nutritional Yeast (Don’t eat Fortified, it’s good for nothing)

3. Salmon (Low smoked is better)

4. Pasture Raised Egg Yolks (4-6 a day)

Just because there are not enough studies doesn’t mean you should not try it. If you wait for studies for every food or nutrient, that will probably never happen.

Eat nutrient dense, organically grown, pesticide-chemical free real whole foods and test it for yourself. Don’t wait for double blind studies or any studies.

There is growing tendency among many so called “scientific” people who scour hair loss forums/reddit or read scientific papers. They are waiting for perfect studies before they try anything. Usually, these people don’t see any results or even if they see it, they can’t sustain them for long or without side effects.

Almost every study comes from Western Science is Reductionist. They study a single mineral or extract of something to study efficacy of something so that they can eventually patent something or sell their supplements. That’s the reason, there are very few studies on whole foods.

That’s why many so called “scientific” people are not going to try it because according to them if it’s not “Peer Reviewed” or “Double Blind” it’s not scientific.

I would use studies to educate myself about potential side effects (if any) and then instead of using a sole mineral or vitamin, I would instead find a whole food which contains that mineral/vitamin/enzyme/co-factor and try it for myself. This is better way to approach hair loss. Don’t ignore Anecdotal evidence. Use it for your own advantage but use it wisely, safely and with least side effects.

If you want help with understanding if you are truly Zinc deficient, I can help you do that by analyzing your lab reports and suggest you appropriate course of action. Check Hair Regrowth Blueprint

But don’t hesitate to try Wheatgrass/Oysters as well Pasture Raised Egg Yolks, Unfortified Nutritional Yeast, Salmon

 

Male Pattern Baldness Iron Connection : How Excess Iron Triggers Calcification and Fibrosis Switch ?

In previous blog post, you learned that how I accidentally discovered Iron Connection to hair loss.

Iron : Hair Loss Wunderkind or Arbiter of Doom

In this blog post, I am going to describe how Iron activates the Fibrosis and Calcification Switch and causes Hair Loss and many more Chronic Problems.

But to explain the mechanism to you, I need to simplify things for you.

As you know Pattern Hair Loss is a result of Fibrosis and Calcification.

What’s Fibrosis ? (According to Wikipedia)

Fibrosis is the formation of excess Fibrous Connective Tissue in Organ/Tissue in reparative or reactive process. Fibrosis can interfere with or totally inhibit the function of Organ and Tissue.

What’s Calcification ? (According to Wikipedia)

Accumulation of Calcium Salts in Tissues.

In order to understand the Mechanism of how Iron initiates Fibrosis and Calcification Switch, you need to understand basis of Cellular Respiration, Energy Metabolism and Anti-Oxidant Defense System.

Dr. Chris Masterjohn has done wonderful job in explaining this in simple language.

There is a study connecting Tissue Hypoxia linked to Male Pattern Baldness. They found tissue hypoxia in bald scalp compared with hair-bearing scalp.

What’s Hypoxia according to Standard Definition ?

It’s low saturation of Oxygen in Tissues but do you know it also could be because of Mitochondrial ETC (Electron Chain Transport) Dysfunction.

Hypoxia = Low Oxygen Levels = Low Levels of Iron (because Iron carries Oxygen)

But low levels of Copper (Bio-available) can also cause Hypoxia because Copper activates Oxygen. Look at Complex IV of ETC.

It’s also called Cytochrome C Oxidase. It’s function is to transfer the electrons from reduced cytochrome C molecules to Oxygen.

It contains

a. Two Heme groups
b. 3 Copper Atoms

Copper is essential for three key steps in the process to make these new blood cells:
a) make energy
Copper (I) is responsible for 90% energy production in Electron Transport Chain.

b) make {Fe-S] Clusters
c) make Heme

(Role of Copper in Mitochondrial Iron Metabolism)

Defects in Iron metabolism causes

  1. Impaired Mobilization of Iron to Transferin (Requires Ceruloplasmin)
  2. Impaired synthesis of Heme from Fe(III) (Requires Cytochrome Oxidase

Both of them are Copper Dependent.

So new definition of Hypoxia is

Hypoxia = Low Oxygen Activation = Lack of Bio-available Copper

Why Copper is so important here ?

Because Copper mobilizes Iron from Tissues/Organs to where it needs to be.

Ceruloplasmin is Copper binding Protein and without it Copper can cause Oxidative damage just like Iron. It oxidizes Ferrous to Ferric and gets reduced from Cupric to Cuprous.

For body to utilize Copper, it has to be in Cu (I) state. For Iron used for Storage purpose (like Ferritin) or Heme Synthesis, Iron has to be in Fe (II) state and for Transport purpose, it has to be Fe (III) state.

Ferrous i.e. Fe (II), Ferric i.e. Fe (III), Cuprous i.e. Cu (I), Cupric i.e. Cu (II)

When there is no Cu (I) available in last step of Cytochrome C Complex IV, 90% of energy is not made (34 out of 38 ATP) Instead ETC dysfunction causes ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species) formation giving rise to oxidative stress through formation of Super oxide , Hydrogen Peroxide, Hydoroxyl Radical etc etc.

Superoxides initiates Fenton reaction in presence of Fe (II)

To stop the propagation of free radicals, anti-oxidant defense system in our body starts working

(Reference : Fenton Reaction)

This is how Fibrosis and Calcification takes place

How Hypoxia induces Hair Loss ?

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc. Object name is FEBS-283-413-g002.jpg

NF‐κB and HIF crosstalk in immune responses

In those experiencing Hair Loss, level of SOD (Superoxide Dismutase) is significantly lower compared to those who don’t have AGA.

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc. Object name is JMedLife-09-79-g001.jpg

The conclusion of papers says that

“Significantly decreased SOD activity but no change in catalase, glutathione peroxidase, non-protein thiols level and total antioxidant activity in erythrocytes suggest the presence of a compensatory mechanism for SOD dysfunction in red blood cells of patients with androgenetic alopecia.”

Oxidative stress in androgenetic alopecia

A recent paper “Copper Deficiency a New Reason of Androgenetic Alopecia?”

It clearly indicates the Copper levels in Men and Women who have Androgenic Alopecia is significantly lower than those who don’t have it.

Copper and Ceruloplasmin levels in men and women with Androgenic Alopecia are significantly lesser than those who don’t have it.

More in depth explanation will be added soon.

If you want to reverse your pattern hair loss using Diet changes and Lab Testing, check Hair Regrowth Blueprint.

 

How He Thickened His Hair and Advanced His Hairline with Simple Diet Changes ?

In May 2018, someone named Marcus aged 23 from Zambia messaged me asking for help. I asked him to send me photos and he sent me few of them. (His camera quality is Poor)

His Original Hairline with no Receding

As he claimed, he had no money, no job and had spent all of his money on Minoxidil with no results but horrible side effects. He also tried rice water,eggs,honey,oils but still there was no progress.

He was asking me if he should just perform Detumescence and Towel massage to regrow hairs back. I told him that he didn’t need either of them but focus on changing his diet.

He thought Diet can’t reverse Fibrosis. I don’t completely agree with this statement, in early to moderate stages, Fibrosis of scalp can be stopped and reversed completely or to major extent. If there is occurrence of Chronic Fibrosis, then Diet won’t reverse it fully and would affect it only a little.

Upon little inquiry, I realized that he started losing hairs in last 12 months and I thought probably he can reverse most of his hair loss and advanced his hairline.

I told him to eat foods I commonly suggest others Eggs, Beef Liver, Raw Milk, Wheatgrass, Bee Pollen, Brown Rice, Fruits. (I don’t eat beef liver and I recommend this food because it’s Rich in B Vitamins, Vitamin A and other Micro-nutrients, not for any other reason. If you are not comfortable eating it, don’t eat it, eat Pastured Raised Eggs instead)

Then I completely forgot about him for next few weeks and on one fine day, I got his message out of the blue.

He claimed to have grown back hairs in M shape and his bald areas got covered with Terminal Hairs.

Here are some photos

But because his photos were not clear, including me nobody else believed him completely.But he promised me to take clearer photo in next few months with better camera.

But I asked him what he was following. He graciously agreed to share in his words (with grammatical correction and punctuation)

“Before I noticed some regrowth in my hairline ,my diet was completely vegan after i stopped processed foods and meat ,milk and carbs. I tried all methods even massages,head stands ,minoxidil ,onion juice, massage improved my hair density a but but not significant. I knew i had to keep searching,that’s when I came across your story.

At first i was skeptical about your dietary advice I thought you were just saying it. But i followed it anyway I introduced fruits,brown rice,meat,chicken,milk,eggs, honey,beans,and Moringa supplement. Two months down the line I saw nothing, besides my gut felt heavy after every meal but i felt energetic and at times I had constipation and gases. I complained to my mom she then called her herbalist cousin. He has some knowledge on digestive issues ,i outlined my dietary plan .The man got back to me and said that the diet was perfect but he insisted that I check the brand of the Milk I took and times I at which I ate my meals . After following what he said all these gut problems left and I changed my milks brand .

I always had a habit of looking in the mirror tracing for regrowth but I couldn’t see any hairs. Luckily one day I went to have my hair cut for my next photos .Then the barber man got shocked and asked if i had borrowed a few hairs lol. Thats when he cut lined my hairline and sides .Sukrut, I was shocked I could see my hairline and my thin areas have tones of baby hairs I barely grew,I noticed my hairline grew hairs and my existing hairs gained good color and its elongating quickly .But I’m facing one challenge ,thickening it to the max is an issue for me. Although my hairline is growing hairs and my crowns covered but the area beyond my hairline is a bit thin .I thought it was vitamin D but here there’s plenty of sunlight .Maybe I’m impatient. Whats your advice ?”

First of all, a lot of people wanted to get Aerial photo comparison. He sent me his photos next day for better comparison

March 2018

June 2018

I asked him about his special carb diet and his meals. His itching and dandruff also resolved by itself when he changed to Coconut oil from Soyabean Oil. This is what he mentioned

He ate bananas ,apples,Carrots ,oranges,and melons mixed in small portions ,black berries ,guavas ,and mangoes ,sugar cane, brown rice ,honey ,roller mealie meal and pumpkin. Two hours after lunch he blended oranges and Apples then he sprinkled Moringa powder.

I told him to add few more things to his diet. He was taking Zincovit as Multi-Vitamin. I told him to eat pasture raised eggs, pumpkin seeds, oysters, Wheatgrass.

Then he shared his story about why he probably started losing his hairs. In his own words (with grammatical correction, punctuation and removing certain inappropriate words/sentences)

“Before i moved out of my mothers house in central city, our diet was gluten free and despite using omega 3 vegetable oil back then.My mom had a traditional way of cooking using less oil on meals we ate meat twice a week ,village chicken (organic)once but she insisted the soup was nourishing so I made sure the plate was clear after my meal. We ate fruits a lot too ,we has a guava ,avocado and mango tree in our plot ,But I was dumb and a huge novice back then so I used harsh chemicals on my lovely hairs go black or super black die soft and free perm lotion. All these never showed harm to my follicles not until moved to the capital city .I put my old mom way of cooking behind me and started eating excess soyabean oil in my meals. In meals like pork ,beef ,greens e.t.c ,Five months down the line I developed dandruff and horrible itching ,fatigue ,blared visions,weak erection and annual sores.

To make it worse I worked with a welder before so I was welding and grinding ,And my lunch was always soy powder geez it was sweet such that I carried home after work. One day my ex girlfriend made fun of me that my hairs in front were shorter than then ones at the back with a visible patch there.I thought she was joking not until my brother laughed out loud and said i had a thinning area on my side line on the left side until this day I noticed. Next day bought a hat for hiding the old looking head. At first my hairline moved like a mature hairline would recede. Next month I had a serious flue, went to the clinic i was diagnosed with amoxicillin anti-biotic .Oh lord, after a moth the M pattern formed and my hairs thinned plus I lost weight and always woke up with body aches even when I rested. That’s how I put my MBs to better work of research on my hair loss although I found comedy preposterous type of methods😂😂😂😂,rogaine,home remedies that work after ages ”

He asked me for advice again. I told him to stop consuming all synthetic supplements and get everything from food. He also asked me about Towel massage.

Within following towel massage for a week, he lost all of his regrowth. Same happened with me (but that’s not necessarily bad as most think it’s) Here is his photo

Because he lost all the progress he has made in couple of months, he was worried that if he has damaged the hair follicles. I told him to do it only for 3 minutes.

Then I told him to add few things in his diet and followed up with him after a month. He told me that he had tooth cavity and he had to take anti-biotics and he lost all the hairs he had gained.

Then after a wait of 3 long months, he messaged me again with his new photos

Along with other diet changes, he also added Bee pollen ,egg yolks ,wheat germ oil & nutritional yeast.

Detumescence Therapy and Towel Massage

Few Takeaways
1. Don’t blindly follow his diet in order to get your hairs back or recover hairline. Experiment with different foods and stick to it for at least 3 months before you notice the improvement.

2. If you don’t have any hairs along the hairline or if you have completely bald patch, then probably diet changes won’t regrow hairs magically but it can possibly stop further receding and thinning.

3. Stop taking synthetic supplements for every mineral and vitamin, instead find high quality food sources which are rich in Nutrients. Even the quantity of nutrient is less, foods are packed with enzymes, co-factors etc etc which enhances effects of each nutrient. It’s not possible with synthetic supplements. Most synthetic supplements are just reductionist chemicals and not made from whole foods.

For long time, I also blindly took Vitamin D supplements, Zinc Supplements, Multi-Vitamins etc etc. All of them did more harm to me in long term than any benefits. I have several people reporting progress for shorter amount of time when they were on such supplements. All of their progress was reversed within few months of stopping the supplements.

Did you enjoy reading this ? Want to read more of such success stories and what did they follow ? I have included them in Hair Regrowth Blueprint, check it here

Photo taken in last week of November

Update : Marcus has promised me to send a recorded video soon. I will upload it as soon as I hear from him

If you want to read my journey read it here

How I started reversing Male Pattern Baldness Naturally ?

Iron : Hair Loss Wunderkind or Arbiter of Doom

This title is adopted from “Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Hair Loss Wunderkind or Arbiter of Doom?” by Danny Roddy

http://www.dannyroddy.com/weblog/omega3fattyacidsmalepatternbaldness

and the theme is adopted from“Iron Overload, Perturbed Redox Balance, and Meddling Serotonin”
http://www.dannyroddy.com/weblog/ironoverloadredoxbalanceserotonin

I came across Danny Roddy in 2015 when I was searching for solution to my hair loss problems. I was tired of reading Reddit threads, watching clickbait youtube videos, Forums where people just preached Big 3 and Transplant.

So when I saw someone who has totally different take on reversing hair loss,I immediately bought his book “Hair like a Fox” because his ideas made sense. I followed many of his ideas. Danny talked about lowering Ferritin values in the body, I didn’t pay attention to it back then because I never thought excess Iron would play so much of role in Hair Loss and other Chronic Conditions.

I followed all the advice Danny Roddy/Ray Peat except taking Aspirin, Antibiotics and Hormones.

Check my photos here

I saw great improvement in my frontal 1/3rd following Egg Yolks, Shell Fish, Milk, Vitamin D supplements, Orange Juice (Citrus Fruits), Avoiding Fish and Fish Oils, Gluten, Beans, Nuts and Seeds.

Although I saw good improvement, I felt very restrictive following this diet. I didn’t want to continue with this because it wasn’t responding rest of 2/3rd area of my scalp. Drinking tons of milk even sent me several times to the Washroom. I still continued with the Diet for 6-8 months but I didn’t see continued improvement in rest of my hairs.

Then I started Vitamin D supplements, I started taking gallops of Vitamin D in my body. Should you ever take Vitamin D supplements ?

Read Vitamin D Hair Loss Connection : A Double Edged Sword

Then meanwhile, I was also researching how to reverse grey hair and started watching few videos that made sense and I was told that I should get more copper.

I had already tried different avenues for getting more copper from Copper Supplements (One of the worst experiences, it made me feel worse I ever felt in my life) , Multivitamin (It had highest ratings on Amazon,after I started it, suddenly started seeing more and more hairs on my bed for the first time in my life and I got fever and whenever I would take it, I would feel almost nauseous so I had to stop it) drinking water from Copper Vessel for long time, I had no effect except turning some of my hairs red (My hairs are Black, so it wasn’t even transition back to normal hairs)

While, I was researching more, I saw a video on Side

Rethinking Vitamin D Supplementation
You are not Copper Toxic
Rethinking Iron Supplements

The titles were interesting and controversial enough to grab my attention. I just started watching it. I didn’t expect that it would change my whole thinking process afterwards.

These videos were from Morley Robbins.

Take Baldness Risk Factor Quiz Now

I came across this overwhelming research 18 months ago. To be precise in April 2017. I started following it slowly and started seeing the results then I started applying it on others and they too started seeing the results.

I mentioned about it in my Journey here

Read my Entire Hair Loss and Regrowth Journey here

I started studying this phenomenon in depth and analyzing reports according to his methodology and started seeing Iron problems in almost 50-60% people. After analyzing over 500 plus lab reports. I can reasonably assert that Iron is somehow related to Hair Loss. The connection no one has explored yet.

I went through substantial research and started putting together evidence to finally connect the dots. After 18 months, I am beginning to understand, grasp and simplify these concepts for you.

I am writing this piece after I get substantial evidence in research and personal experience.

This subject is huge and quite complex to understand, although I haven’t understood it fully because it’s so huge and continually evolving. But whatever I have learned, I have tried to simplify it for you.

In this 3 part series, I am going to tell you how Iron is major lever contributing to Pattern hair loss and if you want to stop this cascade, you need to stop this Iron Elephant before you do anything else.

I had good success with Danny Roddy proposed diet but then I came across Morley Robbins whose research became foremost important in getting results on rest of my hairs. It’s research behind Root Cause Protocol helped me create so many success stories I created afterwards. More on that later.

Before I discovered this, I had several health challenges as I explained

Indigestion

Multiple Bowel Movements

Fatigue

Problems with Sleep

Constant recurring infections

Migraines

Low/No sex drive

Skin Rashes/Allergies

I referred everything I can find, youtube, video, forum, book, course. You name it, I have used it or at least I know of it.

I followed Izabella Wentz, Danny Roddy, Ray Peat, Chris Masterjohn, Jordan Reasoner (http://solvingleakygut.com), Joe Cohen (https://selfhacked.com), Rob (http://www.functionalps.com), Tom (http://forefronthealth.com), Joel Wallach, Paul Jaminet (http://perfecthealthdiet.com)

Their ideas helped me to great extent especially temporary improvement in some of the symptoms and permanent improvement in some others. I liked some of their ideas but I didn’t like or resonate with some of their other ideas.

Especially, I liked Ray Peat/Danny Roddy Diet and but I didn’t want to take drugs to reverse fibrosis, antibiotics to kill pathogens or use Thyroid or Progesterone Hormone.

I liked Izabella Wentz’s book Hashimoto’s Thyroid, her lucid explanation and simplification. I adopted this flow chart based on her book but I didn’t quite like the no of supplements she suggested. It is not even too much of unnecessary expense for me but some of the supplements even damaged me (Especially Vitamin D, Zinc)

I don’t want to blame any of them, their suggestions helped me more than it damaged me so this is not a Tirade against any of them.

But almost every one of them except Ray Peat missed the very important point. They undermined importance of Excess Iron in manifestation of chronic conditions.

Once Danny Roddy asked Dr. Peat about good tests to evaluate the iron burden in 2012 and he replied:

I think the copper/iron ratio is under hormonal-developmental control, and I have never seen an attempt to use ceruloplasmin to guide nutrition. Regular good light exposure is probably important for preventing the displacement of copper by iron. —Raymond Peat, PhD

Ray Peat has written great stuff about Iron Dangers here

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/iron-dangers.shtml

Morley Robbins developed Full Fledged Protocol based on this one statement, it’s called Root Cause Protocol

Check Root Cause Protocol here

He didn’t just theorized it, he used it on close to 3000 clients to validate it in real life and then used Research all along to connect the Dots.

So I thought instead of just writing a blog post on my theoretical understanding, I should use it to validate it before writing anything about it.

Because I was done with trying Low Carb, Paleo, Fruit Only Diet, Gluten Free diet. I didn’t want to restrict any or many foods just to get my hairs back.

No expert advice working for me. I was extremely tired of following their advice. Frankly, I had given up on my health. I had no hopes. I had so many health problems, I started suspecting that I might have got some incurable disease.

Backstory : My mother got Cancer

On November 13th 2007, just 2 days before my final exams, she succumbed to Death by Cancer at the age of 48… and I miss her every single day.

In 2002, she was diagnosed with Cancer for the first time and then she underwent a Surgery, again diagnosed with Cancer in 2007& Cancer spread
throughout her body and she died within 9 months of diagnosis.
That left deep scar on my mind, many of my health issues started and worsened within 1-2 years of her death.

I was devastated. How could this happen?

But looking back, the signs leading up to her cancer revealed a pattern:

Lifelong Acid Reflux and stomach pain, Fertility problems, Hyperthyroid, Hair thinning, Migraines, Depression, PMS symptoms, Bipolar disorder, Fatigue, Anxiety, Acne, Breast cancer and finally Ovarian cancer which spread throughout her body before taking her life.

My mother is a prime example of what can happen when this hidden epidemic goes on for years, all the while modern medicine is chasing the symptoms. She suffered through years of thyroid medication, Antacids, Painkillers and finally, Surgery.

And because I had started developing all these symptoms, I thought whether I am developing some incurable disease like Cancer.

I used to pray to God everyday to get me out of this mess. There was no light at the end of tunnel. I had exhausted all my options.

Out of all these diets, Gluten free diet worked well for me, not because Grains have Gluten and Gluten is bad.

Because Gluten is not the problem , Iron is the problem

Watch this video
Iron and Gluten, The Toxic Tandem – Thomas E. Levy, MD, JD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUjmwTwNCAI
Why did I see the benefit ?

I see the connection now.

It’s Government Policy to add Iron in Wheat. Food Fortification is curse on Mankind. The iron they add is Ferrous Salt which is most toxic form of Iron. More on that in next part of the series.

I have countless people telling me their hair loss reduced when they switched to non-fortified flour. I thought it was Gluten but in hindsight I realized it wasn’t gluten. It was Iron.

If you have severe gluten problems, then it’s good to stay away from Gluten for a while. But don’t ever think that Gluten is your enemy. There are hundred if not thousands of books written on this topic. The most famous book is “Wheat Belly” by William Davis but even he didn’t mention anything about Iron.

Check Ray Peat’s article for more information on this. Food Fortification is more common in US, Canada, Australia, UK, India and many other countries.

Read this blog

Iron, Food Enrichment and The Theory of Everything

As I started reading all this material, things really started falling in place. I didn’t listen to Ray Peat/Danny Roddy about lowering my Iron levels but now I really needed to get my iron levels checked.

My blood Test Results : Shock of my life

Parameter October 2017 December 2017 June 2018
Serum Iron 144.5 ug/dL 100.5 84.3
Transferrin Saturation 51% 32.74 % 28.97 %
Ferritin 219 ng/ml 39.4 ng/ml 39.1 ng/ml
Haemoglobin 16.2 g/dL 16.6 g/dL 16 g/dL
Vitamin D 20 ng/ml 12.21 ng/ml 14.87 ng/ml

My Ferritin was very high including Transferrin Saturation. My Vitamin D levels were good because I had swallowed 3000-5000 IUs of Vitamin D for 3-4 months but that came with big cost. Read this

Vitamin D Hair Loss Connection

Whatever Morley Robbins stated was spot on now it was time to implement his ideas in my practice. I went for blood donation twice and started Wheatgrass, Magnesium and other foods and ditched all supplements except (Transdermal Magnesium and Trace Mineral Supplement)

I talk in depth about my journey here

Because I wasn’t getting Magnesium and didn’t ingest Vitamin D supplements, my Vitamin D levels dropped precipitously and revealed true levels. Never try to elevate your Vitamin D levels by injections or supplements even if it’s very low.

I was suggesting my findings to others because I saw that it was very promising but nobody would listen to me. They thought this is me drinking another koolaid like before.

There was someone from Germany who was also facing a lot of problems along with Hair thinning, he checked for all the markers and he did go for blood donation. He followed

In right side photo, the hair length is little more. The improvement is although not very much, but it’s visible (at least that person thought it was improvement)

Not very impressive but it’s there.

2 months changes (Not very huge but noticeable)

There are many other photos including my photos, check them here

Take Baldness Risk Factor Quiz Now

 

How to get rid of itchy scalp naturally ?

Whenever you get itching on your scalp, what do you do immediately ?

First of all, you scratch it.

What do you do if it starts bothering you frequently ?

Then you scratch your scalp again and again and you also might get some hair falling out whenever you scratch your scalp often.

You think that itching caused hair loss so if the scalp itching doesn’t go away, you tend to do one/few of the following things

  1. Shampooing
  2. Applying Oils/Topicals
  3. Applying natural substances to relieve the itch

In fact, I did the same thing, when I started having the itching problem. In 2015, I went on a whimsical/idiotic diet of restricting carbs.

Why ? You would ask.

Because I was facing a lot of health issues, including migraine like pains, indigestion, fatigue, severe itching on my skin, multiple bowel movements. I firmly believed that it was Candida infection.

What’s poplar advice when it comes to treating candida ?

Starve yourself of carbs, so I did. I stopped eating grains, starchy vegetables, fruits. I also stopped eating non veg.

Instead of that, I started eating fermented foods like Dosa, Idli etc etc.

I didn’t know when you eat such fermented foods outside, they don’t use urad dal while preparing these delicacies.Instead they use shortcut. What’s that ? YEAST.

That is worse thing to add in a food. But I didn’t know that so I blindly started eating so called fermented foods. In first few days, I felt good, then after a week, I started feeling ridiculously weak, emaciated, fatigued, jaded, and all adjectives you can think of. But instead of listening to my body, I decided to continue with the insanity. I started eating more of so called fermented foods. I was determined to find answers to my health woes.

At that time, my symptoms started to become worse. I believed it as a healing reaction and continued on this self-experimentation for 4 more months. Imagine what would have convinced me to do this despite my condition getting continuously worse over the time. Even when I visited my friend in Bangalore, I only ate Dosa, Idli etc etc. it got him worried. Sukrut how can you survive on this ? I gave him some BS explanation considering I wasn’t sane back then.

A couple of weeks into the diet, I developed severe itching on my scalp and started seeing hairs in my hands whenever I used to scratch my hair.  I never ever in my life experienced itching, that was the first time in 2015 I experienced it and no matter what I did nothing seemed to work. I used topicals, oils, shampoos, I used aloe vera gel. I did everything to relieve the itching but nothing worked.

In September or October 2015, while I was looking at the mirror. I could see right through my scalp. I could see my crown area for the first time in 28 years.

Where did the f**k my hair go ? I was in Shock.

I thought it is some illusion so I first checked if I wasn’t dreaming and I wasn’t dreaming. It was real. So I thought of using comb in a different way to see if it’s that bad. After coming in different directions, I realized that it’s indeed very bad.

I shaved my head to get over itch.

Did it go away ? Temporarily YES.

This story is similar to most stories I hear around scalp itching. Those who experience a lot of itching has gone through the same cycle. Itching followed by hair loss, application of several things on scalp—shaves head finally and expect itching will go away but there is no permanent effect.

If I knew what I know now, I probably wouldn’t have gone through the similar insanity.

When you have scalp itching, in most cases, its internal problem. Not external. So don’t try to solve it from outside by applying 100 things on scalp or shaving your head because it’s pointless. Unless, it’s a fungal infection, it’s not going to go away. But with each application of topical,shampoo, it’s going to take your hair away.

Take Baldness Risk Factor Quiz Now

When its internal problem, it’s a histamine issue. Itching is a histamine reaction .

What’s histamine ?

Histamine is a neurotransmitter essential for normal functioning of brain and central nervous system.

Histamine is required for digestion, gastric acid release and also essential component of immunological protection for external threats like Trauma/Allergic reactions.

It creates problems when

  1. It is released in excess
  2. Body can’t break down excess

Excess Histamine is controlled by 2 key enzymes

  1. HNMT (histamine-N-methyltransferase)
  2. DAO (diamine oxidase)

HNMT prevents histamine binding to its receptors and DAO degrades histamine into inactive metabolites and excrete through urine.

Histamine is stored in granules in mast cells of throughout the body. It’s released in response to triggers like Cold/Heat, Toxins, Trauma etc etc.

Histamine release occurs when allergens bind to mast-cell-bound IgE antibodies

These are some histamine responses (itching is one of them) If you have any of these reactions , you are probably going through the same histamine response.

This is how Histamine is degraded

Copper (Bioavailable Copper), Vitamin C Magnesium, Vitamin B6 are required for DAO to function properly

So the solution is not in doing treatment on scalp,it’s something different.

How you can significantly reduce or eliminate itching ?

  • Avoiding Triggers
  • Strengthening the Host (By balancing Minerals)

 

What triggers you can avoid/reduce

Drugs
a. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, aspirin)
b. Antidepressants (Cymbalta, Effexor, Prozac, Zoloft)
c. Immune modulators (Humira, Enbrel, Plaquenil)
d. Antiarrhythmics (propanolol, metaprolol, Cardizem, Norvasc)
e. Antihistamines (Allegra, Zyrtec, Benadryl)
f. Histamine (H2) blockers (Tagamet, Pepcid, Zantac)

Foods
a. Alcoholic Beverages
b. Preservatives
c. Cured Meats
c. Fortified Foods like Wheat, Bread, Pasta, Cereals
d. Polyunsaturated FATS especially when they get oxidized and turn rancid

 

How you can strengthen the Host ?

  • Getting more B6, Vitamin C, Magnesium especially from Foods
  • Getting more Copper and making it more bio-available so body can use it (No Copper Supplements please, they will make the issue worse)

Which factors negatively affect bio-availability of Copper

  • Iron Overload/Anemia of Chronic Inflammation, Iron Supplementation
  • Magnesium Deficiency
  • Calcium, Vitamin D, Multi-Vitamins
  • Ascorbic Acid (not real food based Vitamin C)
  • B Vitamin Deficiencies

So the best bet to avoiding itching is to avoid/reduce triggers by adjusting your Diet and avoid the triggers and increase your body’s capability to counteract the histamine response by supplying it with right nutrients

Take Baldness Risk Factor Quiz Now

References

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2837895/
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Mast-cell-activation-in-response-to-viral-infection-Mast-cells-are-classically-known-for_fig1_277780530
https://www.mthfrsupport.com.au/dao-deficiency-and-histamine-the-unlikely-connection/
https://www.selfhacked.com/blog/deal-histamine/
https://ainotes.wikispaces.com/Histamine+Intolerance+and+Scombroid
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/85/5/1185/4633007
https://chriskresser.com/could-your-histamine-intolerance-really-be-mast-cell-activation-disorder/
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Mast-cell-activation-in-response-to-viral-infection-Mast-cells-are-classically-known-for_fig1_277780530
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2837895/

Vitamin D Hair Loss Connection : A Double Edged Sword

I get this question a lot. Does Vitamin D deficiency cause Hair thinning ?

Well, the answer is YES. Because in my experience, whenever I am analyzing lab reports, almost everyone has low Vitamin D. Usually, those with Vitamin D levels above 30 ng/ml have always taken Vitamin D injections or supplements.

If you visit a doctor, he would just dismiss your concern by saying “It’s very common problem in the population. Don’t worry too much about it. If it’s too low, let me give you Vitamin D injections or supplements”

But do you know something strange ?

Vitamin D deficiency and Vitamin D in excess both can cause Hair Thinning.

Supplementation of Vitamin D might raise your Vitamin D in some cases only if you are seriously deficient but in long term it can cause serious damage to your body and hair.

 

Ref : Vitamin D metabolites as clinical markers in autoimmune and chronic disease

Take Baldness Risk Factor Quiz Now

Why does that happen ?

Why Vitamin D deficiency is not so simple to deal with. It’s the result of several factors going wrong at the same time. If you really delve into this topic further, you will realize that Vitamin D is a Hormone.

Vitamin D deficiency is not just Vitamin D deficiency. But it’s also

  1. Insufficiency of Vitamin A and Vitamin K2
  2. Insufficiency of Magnesium and Boron
  3. Impaired function of Liver, Kidney as well as Intestine

But let’s first understand how Vitamin D is manufactured in the body.

 

To correctly understand Vitamin D status, you need to know

  1. Magnesium RBC
  2. 25(OH)D Storage Vitamin D
  3. 1,25(OH)2D Active Vitamin D
  4. Ionized Serum Calcium

Unless you test these things, it’s not wise to just to take Vitamin D supplements.

What are the problems with taking Isolated Vitamin D ?

  1. It mobilizes Calcium from Bones causing Hypercalcemia, Kidney Failure, Depression, Heart Failure
  2. It causes Potassium wasting from Kidneys
  3. It also causes depletion of Vitamin A (Retinol) from Liver

When we have low Vitamin D in blood test, it’s telling us that there is too much calcium in the blood, not enough Magnesium to transform Vitamin D storage into Active Vitamin D.

When you take supplemental D, it initiates the inflammatory cascade in your body. It causes Calcium and Sodium to enter the cell throwing Potassium and Magnesium out of the cell. In turn it will negatively affect production of Ceruloplasmin in Liver as supplemental Vitamin D cause depletion of Vitamin A from Liver causing unbound iron to increase.

When Ceruloplasmin production is affected, it affects the production of key antioxidant enzyme Cytochrome C Oxidase and all other antioxidant enzymes. This metabolic derangement causes Arterial Calcification and Fibrosis by Iron loaded Macrophages, initiating inflammatory response.

a. It activates IL-6
b. It activates Acid Phosphatase enzyme which causes Calcium Loss from bones
c. It activates MCP-1 causing Fibrosis and Calcification of Soft Tissues
d. It also activates Lipid Peroxidation and build up of Intracellular Calcium

Supplemental Vitamin D ↑

Intracellular Calcium  ↑

Intracellular Magnesium ↓

Intracellular Potassium ↓

Retinol (Vitamin A) ↓

Ceruloplasmin  ↓

Activation of Antioxidant Enzymes ↓

Unbound Iron  ↑

Inflammatory Response  ↑

IL-6, MCP-1, Lipid Peroxidation  ↑

Soft Tissue Calcification and Fibrosis ↑

Hair Loss and Thinning ↑

My Experiment with Megadosing Vitamin D

Last year March, I started taking Vitamin D supplements because  I came across substantial research about Vitamin D and Pattern Hair Loss Connection.

I used to take anywhere from 3000 to 5000 IUs a day. While I didn’t experience any particular benefits with my Hair thinning but within few weeks, I started experiencing more and more fatigue, leg and back pain (Excess Supplemental D depletes Magnesium) After few weeks, I wasn’t able to see things in dim light. It compromised my ability to work without switching on light even in a daylight (Excess Vitamin D depletes Liver Retinol Vitamin A)

After 2 months, I came across various other research talking about Dangers of Supplemental Vitamin D and my symptoms sounded very familiar. I immediately stopped Vitamin D supplements and within few weeks, my fatigue, back pain, eyesight issues were gone completely.

Why does Vitamin D from Sunlight doesn’t cause Toxicity in the Body ?

When exposed to sunshine, your skin synthesizes vitamin D3 sulfate. This form of vitamin D is water soluble, unlike oral vitamin D3 supplements, which is unsulfated. The water-soluble form can travel freely in your bloodstream, whereas the unsulfated form needs LDL as a vehicle of transport. so the oral non-sulfated form of vitamin D might not provide all of the same benefits, because it cannot be converted to vitamin D sulfate
You cannot overdose when getting your vitamin D from sun exposure, as your body has the ability to self-regulate and only make what it needs.
In short, Vitamin D produced from Sunlight won’t cause Toxicity.

So what to do next ?

  1. Get enough Vitamin D from Sunlight. Use Dminder App
  2. Get it from Fatty Fish, Eggs, Cod Liver Oil and other natural animal sources
  3. Get sufficient Vitamin A and Vitamin K2 rich foods (No synthetic supplements)
  4. Magnesium & Boron Supplementation and Foods
  5. Fix your Gastrointestinal, Liver and Kidney issues (by working on improving Ceruloplasmin and getting rid of excess unbound Iron)

If you want to reverse your hair thinning, identify how you can scientifically do it using Lab testing, Diet Changes, Lifestyle Changes, check out Hair Regrowth Blueprint

Take Baldness Risk Factor Quiz Now

References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19758177
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jocd.12224/abstract
https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2008/189/11/does-degree-baldness-influence-vitamin-d-status
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8s34p6b7
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20138991
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4127032/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5007917/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24655364
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3805278/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20200983
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3765911/
https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/abcs-of-nutrition/from-seafood-to-sunshine-a-new-understanding-of-vitamin-d-safety/
http://gotmag.org/the-vitamin-d-controversy/
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/29/8/854.full.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC291035/
https://www.westonaprice.org/new-evidence-of-synergy-between-vitamins-a-and-d-protection-against-autoimmune-diseases/
https://chriskresser.com/vitamin-d-more-is-not-better/
https://www.precisionnutrition.com/stop-vitamin-d
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17145139
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7669510
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3079418
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4712861/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19386744
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22516723
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18722618
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02990471
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/941867
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23816829
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3915480/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28471760
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17145139
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15579526?dopt=Abstract
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2879391/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16181808
https://academic.oup.com/ndt/article/26/4/1137/1884318
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-19092-1
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/9365123/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2705470/