Night Blindness From Vitamin A Deficiency
Night blindness associated with vitamin A deficiency is reversible when malabsorption is resolved and with the addition of a vitamin A supplement. Xeropthalmia, or chronic, often severe, dry eyes, is also related to severe vitamin A deficiency. It is rare in developed countries, but can be found in some people with malnutrition due to celiac disease.
A Look At Chronic Inflammation And Its Effect On The Scalp
Inflammation is the normal bodily response to injury and infection. In fact, inflammation is necessary for your overall health and wellness.
But what happens when that inflammation turns chronic?
The symptoms of inflammation, including itchiness and dryness, are the main triggers of hair loss. However, hair follicle miniaturization may also occur. While everyone experiences minor inflammation from time to time, chronic inflammation can have long-term effects.
These effects occur when inflammation damages the hair follicle. As the follicles inflame, the hair cycle is interrupted. Eventually, this leads to a shortening of the anagen phase, therefore stopping the stimulation of new hair growth.
The cause of such inflammation will vary by individual. For those with male-pattern baldness, sensitivity to DHT is the main cause. This is why blocking DHT isnt actually the answer. For those with dandruff, a fungus known as malassezia leads to inflammation. And still, for those with allergies or sensitivities, inflammation is a direct immune system response.
Hashimotos Thyroiditis And Celiac Disease
Patients who find themselves suffering from wide-ranging symptoms like weight gain, weak or hoarse voice, joint pain, puffy eyes, and fatigue might be dealing with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, another autoimmune disorder that causes the body to attack the thyroid and subsequently the hormones that are needed to live a healthy life.
Again, although rarer than the cases of alopecia and celiac disease, there seems to be some kind of connection between Hashimoto and CD. The combination of these two disorders could lead to hair loss and dry skin.
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Headaches Are A Very Common Symptom Of Wheat Allergy As Well As Gluten Intolerance Migraines Are Common In Those With Celiac Disease And Gluten Intolerance As Are Sinus Headaches
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Celiac.com 04/05/2019 – Gluten intolerance caused by celiac disease, or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, may affect virtually any part of the body. A culprit in multiple health disorders, gluten intolerance is a major driver of health care delivery and associated costs. While this may seem to be an outrageous claim, a review of the many ways in which gluten intolerance can adversely affect the body will illustrate this point. So, lets work our way down from head to toe.
List Of Gluten Allergy Symptoms
In sensitive individuals, eating gluten can lead to a vast array of very disturbing symptoms. Some of the listed symptoms of glutenallergies are diarrhea, constipation, heartburn, stomach bloating, headaches, fatigue, hay fever, hives, joint pain, hypoglycemia, eczema, mental confusion, inability to absorb vitamin b-12, , itchy skin, osteopenia, varicose veins and migraines.
Gluten allergy symptoms are associated with acne vulgaris, infertility, lupus, spontaneous abortions, low bone density, anaphylaxis, Crohn’s Disease, irritable bowel syndrome, Addison’s Disease, Sjogren’s Syndrome, fibromyalgia and the full autism spectrum.
In Dr. David Perlmutter’s groundbreaking book, Grain Brain, he attributes disorders like dystonia, schizophrenia, Tourette’s syndrome and epileptic seizures to gluten.Why gluten intolerance will cause skin itching, infertility or hypothyroidism in one person, and cause alopecia totalis or osteoporosis in another is unknown. Symptoms can include leaky gut syndrome, which is increased gut permeability. When the bowels are damaged from inflammation, large molecules of food and other dangerous particles are allowed to pass unrestricted through the gut lining. This unrestricted passage leads to acute auto-immune reactions and cascades into massive inflammation. Read this article on the effects of gluten on leaky gut
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Other Causes Of Hair Loss
While celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that, if untreated, may result in hair loss, there are many other reasons you may be losing your hair. This is why its extremely important to discuss your hair loss, and other health concerns, with your doctor.
For informational purposes, Id like to share some of the other potential causes for hair loss.
Crohns Disease And Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Inflammatory bowel diseases , like Crohns disease, ulcerative colitis and celiac disease, are still not fully understood, nor is the connection between IBD and hair loss.
Regardless, research shows that the immune system is involved in the mediation of inflammatory bowel diseases, and this might be one way IBD can contribute to hair loss. Often, immunosuppressant medications are given to help manage IBDs, and these might also contribute to hair loss.
Also, people who are dealing with inflammatory bowel diseases often have trouble absorbing adequate vitamins and minerals, so dietary deficiencies might also cause hair loss. And then theres stress. Stress and IBD are often joined at the hip, and stress can have some pretty major impacts on our follicles, too.
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What Does Gluten Do To Your Hair
As gluten is known for its elastic and glue-like properties, it makes a great ingredient for shampoos and other products. It nourishes hair that had some of its protein stripped away. It adds volume and body to the hair, forms a shiny film on the surface of the hair, and repairs damaged hair with proteins.
Can Intestinal Problems Cause Hair Loss
It may sound like a correlation that you wouldnât find in your wildest dreams, but intestinal problems can cause hair loss.
A 2013 study investigated the correlation of hair loss in patients with inflammatory bowel disease , showing the potential reason of protean as the cause of hair loss in IBD patients. Despite this, as imaginable, there is relatively little data describing the prevalence, cause, or course of hair loss in people with IBD.
Itâs difficult to pinpoint the reason for hair loss in those tested and it is not always possible to make such a determination to an accurate degree. Telogen effluvium, associated with acute or chronic flares of IBD is regarded as the most common cause of disease-related hair loss, although the prevalence is unknown. Other causes can be identified as drug-related side effects and nutritional deficiencies, although protean is the demonstrated conclusion as reported in the study.
Although the study demonstrated a focus on IBD, the disease shares plenty of common ground with Celiac Disease, often leading to common misdiagnosis between the two. Approximately 4-10% of those suffering from IBS are also thought to suffer from celiac disease so itâs important to get tested if youâre demonstrating gut-based and/or general symptoms of the condition.
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Treating Baldness Caused By Gluten Intolerance
The only treatment for celiac disease is abstinence from foods containing gluten. You can find a comprehensive list of foods that contain gluten, by clicking the link.
A lifelong gluten-free diet will prevent the recurrence of celiac disease and allow the villi to heal themselves as long as they are not totally destroyed by the disease.
While the villi heal, the absorption of vitamins and minerals will improve and the autoimmune reaction destroying cells all over the body will die off.
Therefore, hair regrowth can be encouraged by taking vitamin and mineral supplements to make up for nutritional deficiencies. This will help get essential nutrients to hair follicle cells quickly and speed up the reversal of hair loss.
Does Graves Disease Cause Hair Loss
Graves disease is one of several autoimmune diseases that can impact hair follicles and growth cycles. It can develop in anyone at any age, though most often it occurs between ages 30 to 50 and is significantly more likely to affect women than men.
If you are managing Graves disease or other thyroid disorders, you might start to notice you’re losing hair and wonder if the condition is to blame. Read on to understand the Graves disease and hair loss connection and what you can do to combat thinning hair ASAP.
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Head Lice Painful Sores On Scalp
img source: tripsavvy.com
The lice are small crawling insects that feed on human blood by biting and sucking. If you have lice on head or in hair you will be able to see small grayish wingless animals that crawl. Moreover, eggs which look like sesame seeds, usually get attached to hair or closer to the scalp. After they hatch, they leave clear shells on the head.
Signs and symptoms
Head lice cause small sores on scalp. Presence of small red bumps or sores is the common sign one has head lice. Other symptoms include:
- itching especially after infestation
- Crawling sensation
- Difficulty sleeping due to pain
- Tickling sensation
Sores on the scalp caused by head lice are usually painful. Note that your child can still have head lice and not itch or scratch the scalp until they have caused harm. Sometimes, young children become irritable due to lice infestation.
If an infestation of head lice occurs it leads to pediculosis capitis which is contagious.
Anyone can get head lice but school going children are victims. The common ways in which the head louse is spread from one person to another include sharing, touching and while seated close together.
The Link Between Gluten Intolerance And Inflammation
Allergies dont always manifest in the typical throat-scratching, eye-watering, tongue-swelling way. In fact, many allergies manifest without our even realizing, yet they still wreak havoc on our bodies.
These kinds of allergies are more commonly referred to as intolerances, with gluten intolerance ) leading the pack as one of the most well known.
There are a number of symptoms experienced by individuals with undiscovered gluten intolerance. To get a better idea of how gluten intolerance manifests, lets take a look at a few of the most common symptoms.
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Diet And Loss Of Hair
According to statistics, only 1% of the population can be accurately said to have a food allergy. And most medical experts feel that the connection between specific foods and hair loss is rather weak and may be caused by more of an indirect relationship.
Individuals with food allergies often have related conditions which affect the hormones. Examples include:
adrenal fatigue
thyroid disorders
Changes in hormonal levels are more likely to affect hair loss.
Since individuals with food allergies often avoid eating certain items, they may also suffer from nutritional deficiencies. And this can also lead to hair loss.
Furthermore, food allergies may be linked an auto-immune reaction known as alopecia areata where the hair follicles are attacked, leading to the loss of hair.
According to Dr. U, hair loss should really be examined and addressed on an individual basis. There are many factors that contribute to shedding, thinning and baldness. And different people will experience them in different degrees. So just because a certain causal variable may have a very low probability of occurring, it does not mean that it should be completely ruled out.
Hair loss due to food allergies is actually a rather common phenomenon in pets, according to PetMD.com. But it can also occur in humans too. So men and women should accept this as a possibility.
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Possible Link Between Gluten And Hair Loss: What Is Gluten
Gluten is a composite of different proteins. It is found most commonly in wheat, as well as barley, rye and triticale. Experts believe that other grains, like rice, contain gluten as well. However, the characteristics of gluten which seem to be associated with health issues typically come from wheat.
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Malabsorption And Vitamin Deficiency
There a few last symptoms related to malabsorption that tend to show up in those with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Easy bruising and bleeding, either due to a deficiency of Vitamin K, or to an autoimmune platelet disorder, is one. Rickets, or osteomalacia a softening of the bones in the legs related to vitamin D deficiency is another. As we said before, inflammation goes along with celiac disease and gluten intolerance, and a common site for inflammation is the lower extremities. Sometimes this can be profound, and trigger doctors to think heart disease, but its often unresponsive to Lasix and other diuretics. This condition, too, may also clear up on a gluten-free diet.
As for me, Ill be happy to be gluten-free, from head to toe.
Gluten Assaults Hair By:
- Malabsorption of nutrients from intestinal permeability.
- Antibodies attacking the immune system.
- Inflammation and necrosis causing loosening and shedding of the hair.
It has been documented through The Healthy Diet Paradise’s hair loss diet academy that in most cases of advanced hair loss, the removal of wheat gluten is what causes spontaneous hair re-growth.
Soy products are also an insidious cause of autoimmune disease and hair loss. Please read our page on soy to learn why.
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Valuable Advice From Dr Stephen Wangen:
According to Dr. Stephen Wangen, many times, doctors either misdiagnose gluten allergy symptoms, or they miss them altogether.
Dr. Wangen also states that doctors will often test for celiac disease by testing for villus atrophy. Villus atrophy is damage to the colon that shows up during an endoscopy. He states that doctors almost never test for non celiac gluten intolerance. So a person can basically be tested for celiac, the tests come up negative, and the doctors will assume their patient has no issue with gluten at all.
Will Gluten Make You Gain Weight
With gluten intolerance, your body has trouble absorbing the protein gluten thats found in wheat, barley, and rye. As you continue to eat these foods you may have a wide array of digestive problems weight gain being one of them. Gluten intolerance can cause gas, cramping, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation.
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Whats The Link Between Coeliac Disease And Alopecia Areata
The second way that coeliac disease can really affect your hair is by increasing the likelihood of developing another autoimmune disease. In general, having one autoimmune disease makes you more likely to develop a second autoimmune condition.
Alopecia areata is one such autoimmune disease.
There is a strong link between coeliac disease and alopecia areata, but its unknown how this link occurs. One scientific paper, , was the first to look into this link. Italian doctors had noticed that an unusually high proportion of their patients who had alopecia also had coeliac disease.
After making their patients aware of this link, they noticed that some regrew their hair after switching to a gluten-free diet.
Because of this paper, doctors have now started recommending coeliac disease blood tests for people who have alopecia. This has only increase the amount of people who have a link between the two, further strengthening the evidence.
Many of those suffering have experienced hair regrowth after switching to a gluten-free diet. However, there was one notable paper that found no hair regrowth after switching diets. Its important to note that even in people without coeliac disease, alopecia areata can be extremely unpredictable, so its hard to know what the outcome will be.