Hair Loss in Women: Top Causes and Treatments

Hair Loss

Did you know on average women lose between 50-100 hairs per day?  For women, hair loss, or alopecia, can occur and become a concern for those who don’t understand why it’s happening. There are two different types of hair loss, focal (small patches) or diffuse (all over). It’s extremely important for women, and men, to understand what their body is telling them, and what they can do to help restore their body balances.

  • Hormone Imbalances

Hormone imbalances in both women and men can cause hair loss. If you suffer from female-pattern hair loss, it’s more diffuse than characteristic male-pattern baldness. Factors that can contribute to hair loss are testosterone excess, insulin resistance, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and low antioxidant status. There are ways to put your body back in its natural orbit, such as improving blood sugar regulations with diet and lifestyle changes, increasing antioxidant intake, and considering a saw palmetto extract (Murray and Pizzorno 361).

  • Hypothyroidism

One of the most common signs of hypothyroidism is hair loss, this can include the outer edges of the eyebrows, and can be worsened by stress. Getting your thyroid back into balance is easy with the right help, and can restore your hair back to a healthy place.

  • Nutritional Deficiencies

A wide variety of nutritional deficiencies can be linked to hair loss. The most common ones are zinc, vitamin A, essential fatty acids, and iron. Low iron can cause anemia, fatigue, especially worse with your cycle, and hair loss. A simple blood test for ferritin and a CBC can tell you if you are anemic, and iron pills can help restore healthy levels.  “There is a very strong association between low body iron stores and diffuse hair loss in women,” (Murray and Pizzorno 632).  

  • Drugs and Medications

Certain types of drugs and medications can cause hair loss, be sure to check the list of side effects of all your medications if you suspect this may be the a factor.  Medications that have chemotherapy agents, such as fluorouracil, are a prime example of medications that are easily identifiable as the cause of hair loss. It’s extremely important to know the side effects, and how some of your medication may deplete other nutrients. If you are unsure, ask your doctor, and for a good online resource check out Mytavin.com. If you are on medications you can minimize side effects with proper supplementation, or even find safe effective alternative treatments. For more information find a Naturopathic

  • Celiac Disease

Celiac is a commonly missed and very problematic dis-ease in the body. It’s when the body can not absorb or tolerate gluten, an intolerance to gluten. The side effects can range from joint pain to fatigue, to hair loss to long standing digestive discomfort. Because individuals react differently to their gluten intolerance, they may not have apparent gastrointestinal symptoms. Hair loss is a common, less obvious symptom of Celiac disease. It is recommended that the test for human anti tissue transglutaminase antibodies (IgA anti-tTG) is done and in some cases a tissue biopsy of the small intestine is done.

At Wild Women Wellness, Dr. Tanya Escobedo specializes treating hormone imbalances, including thyroid, we do testing for iron, zinc and other nutritional deficiencies, CBCs, celiac testing, and many more tests. Dr. Escobedo is knowledgeable about prescription medications and safe natural alternative to help you choose the right therapy for you. If you are interested in learning more about Wild Women Wellness, you can visit our website or give us a call today at (650)-271-9453 to set up your appointment!

 

Sources:

Murray, Michael T, and Joseph E Pizzorno. The Encyclopedia Of Natural Medicine. 3rd ed. New York: Atria Books, 2012. Print.

Men’s Health

Feel the power of balanced testosterone.

If you are looking for a knowledgeable, wholistic, experienced doctor to help you restore your testosterone, growth hormone, or other hormones safely and effectivly Dr.E can help!

Are you experiencing:

  • Muscle loss
  • Weight gain-increased body fat especially around the mid-section
  • Loss of interest in sex
  • Depression or low mood
  • Erectile dysfunction
  • Low energy
  • Increased risk for cardiovascular disease
  • Poor sleep
  • Lack of confidence
  • Feeling complacent

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms you may have low testosterone, read on to learn how to boost testosterone naturally, how to get tested, and why having the right doctor is important.

Andropause

Ever wonder why you don’t feel as good in your 40 & 50s as you did in your 20s? It’s because your hormones are dropping rapidly as you hit adropause.

  • Men produce 10x more testosterone than women in their youth
  • Testosterone declines with age, about midlife levels can plumet, this is called Andropause!
  • Testosterone level start to decline significantly, muscle mass reduces, the beer belly makes an appearance, and the libido and erections aren’t what they used to be.
  • In fact as testosterone decreases, fat store increase along with the production of estrogen.
  • By retirement age men can be producing more estrogen than women of the same age.

How do you know if your testosterone or other hormones are low?

Get tested!

The first step is to get to the bottom of how you are feeling, is it low testosterone, low thyroid, poor growth hormone production, nutrient depletion or what?! Here are the tests Dr. E recommends every man should check included in brackets are the HEALTHY ranges (don’t settle when your regular doctor tells you your testosterone levels are “normal”!).

  • Total testosterone (600-1000)
  • Free testosterone (20-30)
  • SHBG (20-35)
  • PSA (<1.0)
  • TSH (1.00-1.50)
  • Free T3 (3.0-3.4)
  • Free T4 (1.1-1.4)
  • B12 (700-1000)
  • Folate (> 18)
  • Vitamin D (50-90)
  • IGF-1  (measure of growth hormone production)
  • Estradiol, sensitive (20-30)
  • CBC w Diff (Hb 13-16.5)
  • AST & ALT (10-26)
  • hs-CRP (<1.00)

Dr. Escobedo orders these test for all her male patients to ensure optimal health, most of which should be covered by your insurance if you have a PPO. If you want to get tested book a free 15 minute phone consult with Dr.E and ask to have her order your labs today!

Why Choose Dr. Escobedo?

Dr.Escobedo has extensive experience working with men to balance, replace and restore healthy hormones including testosterone. She is successfully prescribing, managing and safely monitoring hundreds of men on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), using well rounded programs including testosterone injections, topical bio-identical testosterone cream, hCG, clomid, sermorelin, growth hormone boosters and estrogen blockers such as anastrozole. Moreover, she utilizes supplements, diet, exercise and herbs to help restore the bodies natural hormone levels. Restoring adrenal health, reducing toxic exposure, and increasing building blocks for hormone production all support healthy hormone production and utilization. Maximizing your bodies health and efficiency.

Please don’t try to do it on your own! Did you know if  you’re on testosterone injections your blood gets thicker and increases your risk for a clot! Dr. E always monitors your hemoglobin levels regularly to eliminate this risk. Taking high doses of testosterone can also cause estrogen to sky rocket making you moody, irritable, cause gynocomastia (aka man boobs) and cause your testies to shrink! Managing your estrogen is a crucial part of safe effective hormone replacement therapy. 

Want to Fight Back!! Boost Your Testosterone Naturally Here’s some tips:

Exercise:

Studies have shown these types of exercises increase testosterone when combined in a dynamic workout.

Interval Training

  • 20 minutes total
  • 5 minutes warm up + 5 minutes cool down
  • 10 minutes intervals: 1 minute intense running or biking 1 minute walking X 5 times =10 minutes
  • Weights:
    • 3 sets compound movements
    • Heavy enough for 8-12 reps
    • Focus on large muscle groups

Get your Key Nutrients:

  • Good Fats: Fish oil, olive oil, coconut butter, omega-3s, your body uses them to build sex hormones
  • Protein: Whey Protein concentrate, best taken just before a weight lifting workout
  • Bio-available minerals: Zinc, magnesium, calcium and chromium
  • Lycopene, from tomatoes and is high in tomato past, helps to prevent prostate cancer!
  • Maca to support erectile health and sexual performance
  • B-vitamins to support energy and adrenal health

There are lots of Test booster supplements on the market, most are filled with junk and don’t do much or have fillers that are bad for you and others work really well. For the best results ask Dr. E she has seen most of them and knows what works.