Iron Deficiency & Women's Hair Loss   

 
Hair loss treatments can be expensive, so its always a good idea to check that your iron stores are adequate, particularly as iron levels can have a major impact on a product’s effectiveness. Often women ( and occasionally men ) that are progressing slowly with Calosol, start to progress faster when they correct low iron levels - which can be done very inexpensively:

It is a common misconception that hair loss in Pre Menopausal women is always down to hormone irregularities. It is in fact be down to a nutritional deficiency - depletion of Iron stores within the Blood and Liver.

If you are not sure a very inexpensive solution exists at most health food stores - see below

During a study, one hundred and fifty three women who had been diagnosed with telogen effluvium ( rapid shedding ) between 1995-1998 were examined. Seventy two percent (n=75) of women in the Pre Menopausal group were found to have Iron deficiency as the cause of Telogen Effluvium. Iron deficiency is defined as having a Ferritin level of under 40ng/ml or Iron percent saturation under 20%.

Iron deficiency is the most common cause of Telogen Effluvium in Pre Menopausal women. Although medications are the most common cause of telogen effluvium in postmenopausal women, Iron deficiency should not be ruled out. (Janet L. Roberts Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR, USA) 

Besides being a trigger for Telogen Effluvium where the majority of hair shedding occurs, Iron deficiency can also be the most likely underlying cause when hair loss is subtle; slowly thinning out over many months or even years. This is more common among women of childbearing age due to menstruation and pregnancy. Iron is found mainly in the blood, and according to Dr Michael Sharon, author of Nutrients A-Z 'During one period, a woman will lose around 10-15 mg of iron, while throughout a pregnancy around 600-1000mg will be lost.'

Iron is the mineral  occurring in the greatest volume in the blood and its most important function in the human body is to assist in the production of both hemoglobin (the substance that carries oxygen within red blood cells) and myoglobin. Myoglobin is a form of hemoglobin found in muscles. Iron is also involved in the oxygenation of your body's red blood cells. 

It is understood that levels of iron play a significant role in various body functions, but it is also essential for sustaining normal growth and maintenance of hair. If the amount of energy used up by the body is not replenished by dietary intake, then other non-essential stores will be consumed. Unfortunately, this means the hair cells as they are not an essential part of living.

In order for the body to maintain a sufficient balance of iron, the amount excreted must be replaced by the amount ingested in the diet. When the amount of dietary iron absorbed is insufficient, a negative iron imbalance occurs, and consequently iron stores are exhausted to recoup the deficit.

The fall of iron stores normally passes through several stages: lowered iron stores, iron depletion and iron deficiency anemia.

1) Lowered iron stores: This is indicated when the iron stores are reduced but not completely exhausted. No clinical effects are detected. 

2) Iron depletion: Is evident in laboratory tests. Hemoglobin concentration may be well below ‘normal’ for that individual’s reference range. If the patient increases their iron intake, the hemoglobin may respond by increasing. 

3) Iron deficiency anemia: There is no Iron left remaining in the bone marrow. Hemoglobin production drops to the point where concentration is far below the reference range. 

It is important to note therefore that iron deficiency (low iron stores, i.e. low ferritin) can occur even if the patient is not clinically anemic and has normal hemoglobin levels

There may be a number of reasons why the amount of iron absorbed is not sufficient. Firstly, only about 10% of ingested iron is absorbed into the blood each day, and this is dependent on the type of food in the diet. Certain foods may inhibit the absorption of iron, such as tannins found in tea and coffee, also bran and egg albumin. Whereas other foods may enhance the absorption of iron, i.e. vitamin C, alcohol, and flesh foods. In general you can loose iron by intestinal bleeding, excessive menstrual bleeding, poor digestion, long-term illness, ulcers, and heavy use of anti-acids.

Nutritionist Angel Dowden advises 'You can maximize your iron absorption by eating a combination of iron-rich foods such as red meat, green leafy vegetables, shellfish, egg yolk, nuts and cereals with food or drinks that are rich in vitamin C for example, a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.

Avoid beverages containing Tannin as this reduces the body's ability to absorb Iron.

One method of controlling Iron deficiency in the body is to stimulate the liver to synthesise Ferritin, the protein that stores iron in order to maintain the correct balance. Hair follicles are known to contain ferritin, and when the circulating stores of ferritin decline then these stores are called upon to ensure support for more essential cells, such as bone marrow. The loss of this ferritin from the follicle cells can affect the ability of the hair to grow. This leads to the development of vellus (fine non pigmented hair) which can be an early indication of deficiency. The presence of vellus hairs is commonly  mistaken for miniaturized hair seen in androgenic alopecia. It should be noted here that Iron deficiency hair loss could therefore mimic the pattern of androgenic alopecia hair loss.

The Reference Nutritional Intake (RNI) for iron is 14.8mg in women and this should supply you with enough iron for your daily needs. The problem is that not enough women are achieving this value and as a result, becoming deficient. This is easily treated. Vitamin supplements are available which can boost your iron intake on a daily basis, and help reach the normal level within a few months. As soon as the required level is reached hair growth should return to normal. It is preferable that a patient should take iron supplements under a doctor's supervision, too much iron could also cause hair loss, and in extreme cases, can be toxic.

To diagnose iron deficiency anemia, CBC -complete blood count test - is used. Other common lab tests are serum ferritin or serum iron, which examines the proteins involved in the storage and transport of iron through the body, stool occult blood test and TIBC -total iron binding capacity- These tests will determine whether a person has an iron deficiency and the degree of its severity.

No diffuse alopecia (thinning of the hair) should be ignored. It can be an early manifestation of several underlying conditions. It is important to realise that an imbalance in iron does not necessarily mean you have anemia, a serious condition where the ability of the blood to carry oxygen around the body, is reduced. All it means is that your body is not getting enough iron in your diet and is therefore taking it from somewhere else. Another point to remember is that this type of hair loss, caused by deficiency, is also easily treated.

A lot of dermatologists do not agree to the fact that iron deficiency could be a major cause of hair loss, however most of them won't deny that it is an important contributing factor, besides, a lot of hair loss treatments may not work efficiently with low iron stores. Dr. H. Rushton ( London )  suggests that serum ferritin concentrations of 40 ng/mL or greater are required for maintaining good hair while 70ng/ml is required for hair regrowth