By: Jeanne Powers
Toxins and Hair Loss
(Radio show link at bottom af article)
Disclaimer – I’m not a nutritionist or a doctor. I am presenting this information for educational purposes only. If you are ill or suspect you have a health problem, it is recommended you seek the advice of a competent, licensed health-care provider.
My purpose is to do everything I can to help each woman achieve happiness and well-being; whatever I can do to facilitate that I will do.
Over 50% of American women are losing their hair. And it’s getting worse.
The intention here is to help enlighten you on some of the toxins you may have in your life that could be causing you difficulty in growing the head of hair you want and feeling as good as you deserve to feel.
Hair loss is an indicator of physical stress, chemical stress or emotional stress or any combination of the three. A pill won’t eliminate the problem. Nor will any chemical solution. Many or all of these solutions have been found to cause more damage than they remedy.
You are not to blame for hair loss. You have never been given the real reasons or the real answers.
There are several influencing factors that cause hair loss. The aspects we’re taking up now are toxins and how they affect your health and your hair.
Up until the mid-nineteenth century women had thick gorgeous hair and it remained that way. They were not exposed to toxins in food, air or body products.
The condition of your hair is like a barometer of your overall health. Sudden or excessive hair loss can indicate an underlying problem, such as a vitamin or mineral deficiency, a hormone imbalance, a toxicity brought on by something in your environment, or too much stress in your life.
We are bombarded with toxic chemicals. A lot of the health problems we face today are the result of daily chemical exposure. It’s impossible to completely eliminate exposure to toxic chemicals unless we live on a desert island far away from civilization. But there are simple steps one can take to start eliminating the worst offenders.
So let’s take a look at some of the different toxins that affect how we feel and look and how to avoid them.
The first is processed food.
Processed foods invariably weakens the body’s ability to survive in a happy state. A noted Naturopath says that by continuing to eat commercially processed foods day after day which contain pesticides and other toxins that are empty of nutrition brings the eliminative organs to a point where they no longer have the ability to do their job, the job of filtering toxic substances out of the body. The next thing that happens is the body becomes sluggish and one’s energy level goes down. One or more of a hundred different disease symptoms can then manifest in the body. Processed foods are acidic. An acid system is a key contributor to hair-loss. Please really get that last point. Processed foods are acidic. An acid system is a key contributor to hair-loss.
When you’re eating organic plant-based, nutrient-rich foods you’re creating a foundation for health to where your body can fight off toxins much more effectively than eating a diet deficient in nutrition.
Mother Nature’s foods are naturally alkaline. Beautiful, thick hair starts with the blood being on the alkaline side.
Mother Nature
If we do anything Mother Nature doesn’t do, there’s trouble. Would Mother Nature put toxins in her soil, in her air, in our bodies? No. Toxins defeat nature’s ability to heal and beautify naturally. The body defends itself by storing toxins as best it can. At the point it can no longer store them (as in a garage that gets too full) it will start dumping those toxins into the system. And then we don’t feel so good, to put it mildly.
Our awareness has gradually moved away from the basic, workable ways of taking care of ourselves to that of a chemical world. Our natural defense systems have become over-loaded and put strain on even Mother Nature’s ability to deal with the onslaught of poisons. What is a poison? It’s anything Mother Nature didn’t create in its pure state.
Premature aging of the body is just cumulative toxins, lack of proper nutrition and stress. Isn’t that interesting? That’s it, the only reasons!
It’s important to understand that the physical, mental and spiritual all work together. Each one enhances or detracts from the other according to the condition of the other two. Being connected to a body with poisons inhibits one’s mental and spiritual expression.
Continued headaches, constipation, brain fog, fatigue, irritability, aches, pains, unhealthy skin and hair, to name just a few of the signs of toxicity, can be very discouraging. These symptoms oftentimes change our whole attitude towards life and may leave us desperately seeking solutions without relief. Resorting to pain killers and unnecessary drugs only compounds the problem because one’s overall health continues to take a dive. In some cases that downward spiral can make us want to give up which is not okay and not necessary.
White sugar
Let’s take up sugar, the universal poison. The reason I’m emphasizing sugar is that it’s a big cause of hair loss. The same Naturopath states that refined sugar is the number one toxic product pushed by food industries throughout every nation. Sugar creates disastrous consequences. Research has found that white sugar is the primary cause of diabetes, fatigue, obesity, impotence, colds, flus, fibromyalgia, immune system disorders, liver and kidneys problems and a host of other harmful conditions. When you add more processed food to the equation, you have the complete picture of a dangerous, life-threatening situation.
This so-called “food” provides energy and yet this “boost” is very short-lived and very destructive of the body. There is absolutely no nutritional value to sugar, only damage. White sugar is not a whole food; the essential health-giving element, molasses, has been removed.
So now, what does consuming white sugar have to do with hair loss? The B vitamins are known as the hair vitamins. They are essential for hair growth. Sugar entirely depletes the B vitamins in the body. So when you are eating white sugar, the vitamin responsible for thick, beautiful hair, is being used up. And an interesting fact is that B1 is the vitamin responsible for mental well-being. Most people don’t know that and wonder why, just after eating a candy bar or drinking a soda loaded with sugar, they not only experience that “sugar high” but shortly after are physically and mentally exhausted or extremely irritable.
Nutritious white sugar substitutes are: honey, real maple syrup (not synthetic) date sugar, coconut sugar, brown rice syrup, stevia and barley malt.
Now let’s look at an ingredient in body-care products in wide use today.
Paraben Preservatives
Parabens are found in approximately 75-90% of cosmetics such as make-up, lotion, shampoos, conditioners and deodorant. According to “A Consumers Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients,” water is the only cosmetic ingredient used more frequently than paraben preservatives. In an article “Paraben Preservatives and Cosmetics: Controversy and Alternatives,” written by Adams Kristin, he says “Once absorbed into the body, paraben preservatives mimic the hormone estrogen and can disrupt the body’s normal hormonal balance.”
Any time hormones are disrupted, there is the liability of hair loss, depression, anxiety, mental confusion, memory loss and a multitude of other problems.
Any product labels you see with “para” or “paraben,” stay away from them.
Of the thousands of chemicals used in body-care products, only a small percentage has been tested for toxicity. This is a global health crisis. These chemicals are ingested into our bodies and washed into our waters every day. The less we use, the less our bodies and waters suffer from unnecessary pollution. Do your absolute best to eliminate them altogether by using only natural products. There are wonderful shampoos and conditioners available without these toxic chemicals. I’m happy to give you the names. If you go to my website www.TheModernRapunzel.com and click on “Write to Jeanne”, I’m happy to send you the list.
Being in tune with your diet, body care and environmental factors that affect you negatively or positively will start you on the road to being in control of your own life. You and your loved ones are not feeling badly for no reason. Stop and look at what you’re eating, what you’re breathing, what you’re putting on your body and scalp.
Until our manufacturers take responsibility for synthetic body-care products, toxic household-cleaning products and all the rest of the poisonous substances put in and on our bodies, we will have to continue to cope with this injustice.
When we start demanding of our growers that they use only rich soil, rotate the crops and not use toxic pesticides and insecticides, we will then start to see a broad and dramatic change in health
We can wake up the manufacturers and growers through an uncompromising insistence of our inherent rights. We can start by purchasing natural and organic products only.
I hope this information has been very helpful to you. We’re at a turning point on our beautiful planet. Let’s do everything we can to make the shift back to what Mother Nature intended for us.
If you have comments or questions, go to my website www.TheModernRapunzel.com and “Write to Jeanne.” I look forward to hearing from you and receiving suggestions of what you would like to know more about.
The next article will cover other key toxic elements in our lives that disrupt the body’s normal hormonal balance which causes hair loss and how to avoid them.
With all my love,
Jeanne Powers
Please click on this link to listen to Jeanne’s latest radio show on this topic:
Jeanne Powers Empowering Women Episode #2: Toxins and Hair Loss
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