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

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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

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References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19758177
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https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8s34p6b7
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20138991
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