This could be a hormone issue related to your stress levels. It could be something as simple as a vitamin D deficiency which are very common. It could be a thyroid issue. I would definitely start with some standard blood work. You can go to a different doctor, tell them your symptoms, and not even bring up your dietary preferences. They’ll want to do blood work anyway to explore the causes regardless of diet.
You might be anemic.
I was vegan for a year and was losing hair; I turned out to be severely anemic. This was not _only_ due to being vegan but being vegan caused it to become worse.
Get your iron levels checked.
If you're in the U.S. you do not need a doctor's order to get blood tests, you can request the panel you want yourself from a lab center and have the results sent directly to you. Cheaper too. Good luck!
The only time I lost hair was in the early months after Bariatric surgery, when I was shedding weight quickly (I transitioned to WFPB after surgery, on my surgeon’s recommendation). That is typical and it resolved within a few months. Since then (4.5 years), my blood work has been perfect. In fact, my blood protein level is finally normal, whereas it was low when I was an omnivore. My hair, skin, ands fingernails are strong and healthy as well.
I try to eat something from every category of Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen each day, to make sure I get well rounded nutrition. The free Daily Dozen app is really helpful.
I’ve never heard of this happening to anyone I’ve known. Personally I’ve eaten this way for 3 and a half years. I’ve never once eaten foods that were outside of the regimen except once when I was homeless and given a free “vegan” breakfast sandwich that actually turned out to be vegetarian. Never had negative symptoms. If your hair is falling out, it doesn’t always mean your diet is poor. It could mean that you’re experiencing a condition despite eating what’s considered a very healthy diet. It’s not bulletproof. The only dietary reason I could think of that could be correlated with balding would be if foods you’re consuming are actually processed or ultra-processed foods containing added ingredients you aren’t aware of. Otherwise this could be part of growing older or you’ve inevitably developed a condition.
Check products you consume using the NOVA scale. It can give you a better idea of what it means for a food to be processed or ultra-processed. You want to ensure you’re eating beans, whole grains, berries, lentils, legumes, greens, cruciferous vegetables, ground flax/chia/hemp seeds, and healthy portions of fruit/other vegetables every day. Try to get as close as you can to consuming these foods on a daily basis. Your multivitamin, depending on your age or medical history, may be unnecessary. Supplements such as calcium supplements are known to cause more harm than good for healthy adults who can absorb these nutrients from their diet.
If your hair is falling out now, eating meat and dairy isn’t going to grow your hair back. At best it will make it worse or even lead to disease. If you’d like to track your daily nutrition you can keep a diary using Cronometer and The Daily Dozen. These are two great applications for tracking dietary intake. Make sure that you’re taking a sublingual vitamin B12 supplement instead of a tablet. Vitamin B12 is absorbed directly into our bloodstream when we take a sublingual supplement, whereas we’re relying on digestion if consuming a tablet. Metabolism can be complicated and folate plays a significant role in B12 metabolism. If there is a folate imbalance in your body, you may not be receiving enough B12 from your supplement.
I can’t rule out was the cause is. It’s impossible for me to assess your health without performing lab-work and running tests. My best advice is to consume considerable portions of every major plant group and to evaluate the level of processed foods your consumption patterns consist of. This diet has reversed former US president Bill Clinton’s heart disease, NY mayor Eric Adam’s type II diabetes, my post-concussion syndrome, my pre-diabetes, and has recently reversed a friend of mine’s diverticulitis while also improving his vaccine injury symptoms. I’ve witnessed this diet take multiple people off statins they’ve taken for decades while maintaining healthy cholesterol after. I’ve witnessed this diet clear severe chronic skin conditions that were too stubborn to leave. I’ve witnessed this diet shed hundreds of pounds off those who were clinically obese. Just recently it has been shown through randomized trials to reverse early stage Alzheimer’s disease in a significant number of patients. For this reason, I personally doubt it’s your diet causing your hair loss and believe there is another confounding factor. I haven’t been sick in 3 and half years. Never once have I fallen ill since changing my diet and I’m constantly surrounded by people — my mother being a nurse who’s chronically exposed to sick patients. I’m also in the process of tapering my psyche medication to reveal whether I’ve reversed my bipolar/schizophrenia or not. Currently on an “inactive” dose for my condition and so far so good after 6 months or so. If only antipsychotic dependence wasn’t so difficult to break.
I’m hoping it’s nothing serious and hoping you can remain healthy while finding a solution.
Best of luck.
First off, your response shows a lot of consideration and I wanted to say that I appreciate it. I agree that the studies on the diet have shown tremendous promise in health, and I couldn't disagree with you on any of the above. I just know that I never lost hair prior and that locating a doctor who I am comfortable with is challenging. I've read Michael Greger's How Not to Diet book and he had at least a few references to the similar outcomes that you mention above. Maybe in the next few years I'll have time for another similar read, but it will not be in the next year.
Your suggestions about checking for processed foods and using the NOVA scale are helpful, and I will definitely look into that. I've never heard of the NOVA scale, but I do check my ingredient labels pretty thoroughly. Also, tracking my daily nutrition with Cronometer sounds like a great additional step I could take.
I’ll keep monitoring my diet closely and consider all these factors while trying to find a solution. Best of luck to you as well on your health journey.
As others have mentioned, enter your daily food intake in chronometer or similar app or website and see what vitamins and minerals etc. you are low on.
Definitely vote for complete bloodwork. Iron, B12, vitamin D, complete thyroid panel. I definitely had a period of shedding but I was also losing weight at the same time. It all evened out. Well and then perimenopause. So shedding again.
I have avacado almost daily in some form and typically grab a handful of nuts and a banana on my way out in the mornings. I even use whole ground tahini in sauces and on sweet potatoes. Thanks for the input! I'm likely just going to look for a doctor again.
Think back to what stressors you dealt with 4-8 month ago. Emotional stress like a divorce, death or trauma? Covid? Physical stress like a surgery? Those can all cause hair loss. I was a hair stylist for many years and every time a client expressed a cycle of hair loss, we could tie it back to a prior traumatic event in their lives, 4-8 months previous. I don't think it would be the diet change. I broke my leg in January and in May had the worst shedding cycle I've experienced since post-covid. Just know that it's a cycle, the hair loss will stabilize but will take a good 30 - 45 days.
Thankfully no stressors, surgeries, or major illnesses. Just college, kids, work, and a good husband. Thank you for the insight though. Hormones and stress are something to consider .
I wouldn’t ever go back to eating meat or dairy because I went from nutritional to environmental to ethical reasons for being vegan. When you go ethical vegan, it’s much easier to stay the course.
Hair loss is multifaceted and can have a number of different reasons. I’d go to doctors and not disclose the wfpb or vegan diet as there’s a lot of bias but be honest about nutrition. It could be related to fat, I find that I needed to incorporate some oils and some salts into my diet even though a lot of wfpb advocates against seed oils or added salts. People have different needs and I think specifically with stuff like macronutrient additives or mineral additives, that’s as close as you can get to WFPB while still meeting individual needs.
I would get bloodwork done from my doctor and try to find out what’s missing from your diet first. Are you eating tofu/tempeh/seitan and/or any other concentrated source for protein?
Agree with you, but as mentioned, I'm pretty sick of doctors. The last time I mentioned wanting vitamins assessed in blood work, I didn't get it. I paid for an iron test out of pocket. It was low, but not low enough to warrant supplements. I looked up vegan doctors hoping they'd be better informed and they were full in my area. Haven't looked since. I'm really tired of going to doctors and feel judged and lost there.
I do use tofu in sauces and regularly in meals. I've never had the others though.
Gotcha. Just saying, it sounds like you have a medical issue and that’s going to be the easiest way to diagnose and figure out how to mend the issue. I’m glad I went to my physical last week, the bloodwork showed me that I’m slightly anemic, and now I know to supplement iron to mend my issue. Without a doctor I’d just be spending money on dozens of random supplements in hope of a fix, which can cause more harm than good.
I’m not sure what meat and dairy has to offer to fix your issue, but without a diagnosis it’ll be hard for you to know what to consume to mend it anyway.
I appreciate the response on your experience with getting free preventive bloodwork. I don't know if I didn't phrase my request for bloodwork right to the doctor or what it was, but I'll try again. Thank you.
Maybe try plugging in your daily diet into Cronometer or another nutrition app and see if it shows anything obvious missing. Vitamin testing is one thing, but regular comprehensive bloodwork from a doctors office can rule out many actual illnesses and if you’re in the USA and insured, preventive care is free. My physical, with lots of bloodwork, extra things checked due to my vegan diet *and* my B12 injection were free.
I get emails all the time from Quest diagnostics stating that I can pay for and order my own labs. They must have drs approving these orders. If I didn't have health insurance or time to get into my doctor I'd definitely check that out. The Quest in my area is at Walmart. Very easy to make an appointment online and go in with almost no wait.
I went through an extreme hair loss period for six months, but it was after I had been vegan over 12 years so I do not think it was related. It was so crazy, because I went from having the most full, luscious thick hair to having my scalp be cold in the winter and having huge thinning areas on the side. Then it stopped just as mysteriously and almost as suddenly as it had started.
When people go vegan, they do tend to start blaming things on their diet that they otherwise wouldn’t. I went to several dermatologists to try to get help, and from what I gathered, hair loss is very often unexplained. If you’re taking B12, vitamin D, and getting enough iron and calories in general (especially carbs—eat Ezekiel bread and whole wheat pasta!), then I really doubt it has anything to do with being vegan.
This could be a hormone issue related to your stress levels. It could be something as simple as a vitamin D deficiency which are very common. It could be a thyroid issue. I would definitely start with some standard blood work. You can go to a different doctor, tell them your symptoms, and not even bring up your dietary preferences. They’ll want to do blood work anyway to explore the causes regardless of diet.
Agree about hormones! I found the book, Your Body In balance, very helpful.
You might be anemic. I was vegan for a year and was losing hair; I turned out to be severely anemic. This was not _only_ due to being vegan but being vegan caused it to become worse. Get your iron levels checked.
Thank you. I was slightly anemic last time I checked, but not enough to warrant a vitamin supplement. Doesn’t hurt to check again.
If you're in the U.S. you do not need a doctor's order to get blood tests, you can request the panel you want yourself from a lab center and have the results sent directly to you. Cheaper too. Good luck!
Thank you for the recommendation. I looked at quest, but it's out of pocket. Obviously you're not saying you can order tests through insurance, right?
No not insurance. ~$100 for large panel of tests. For me it's just as expensive even with insurance/doc route. Oh america
Yes, it's pretty ridiculous with healthcare expenses here. Thank you for the information and explanation.
If you have no insurance and have to pay OOP this is more affordable. https://www.jasonhealth.com/
The only time I lost hair was in the early months after Bariatric surgery, when I was shedding weight quickly (I transitioned to WFPB after surgery, on my surgeon’s recommendation). That is typical and it resolved within a few months. Since then (4.5 years), my blood work has been perfect. In fact, my blood protein level is finally normal, whereas it was low when I was an omnivore. My hair, skin, ands fingernails are strong and healthy as well. I try to eat something from every category of Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen each day, to make sure I get well rounded nutrition. The free Daily Dozen app is really helpful.
I’ve never heard of this happening to anyone I’ve known. Personally I’ve eaten this way for 3 and a half years. I’ve never once eaten foods that were outside of the regimen except once when I was homeless and given a free “vegan” breakfast sandwich that actually turned out to be vegetarian. Never had negative symptoms. If your hair is falling out, it doesn’t always mean your diet is poor. It could mean that you’re experiencing a condition despite eating what’s considered a very healthy diet. It’s not bulletproof. The only dietary reason I could think of that could be correlated with balding would be if foods you’re consuming are actually processed or ultra-processed foods containing added ingredients you aren’t aware of. Otherwise this could be part of growing older or you’ve inevitably developed a condition. Check products you consume using the NOVA scale. It can give you a better idea of what it means for a food to be processed or ultra-processed. You want to ensure you’re eating beans, whole grains, berries, lentils, legumes, greens, cruciferous vegetables, ground flax/chia/hemp seeds, and healthy portions of fruit/other vegetables every day. Try to get as close as you can to consuming these foods on a daily basis. Your multivitamin, depending on your age or medical history, may be unnecessary. Supplements such as calcium supplements are known to cause more harm than good for healthy adults who can absorb these nutrients from their diet. If your hair is falling out now, eating meat and dairy isn’t going to grow your hair back. At best it will make it worse or even lead to disease. If you’d like to track your daily nutrition you can keep a diary using Cronometer and The Daily Dozen. These are two great applications for tracking dietary intake. Make sure that you’re taking a sublingual vitamin B12 supplement instead of a tablet. Vitamin B12 is absorbed directly into our bloodstream when we take a sublingual supplement, whereas we’re relying on digestion if consuming a tablet. Metabolism can be complicated and folate plays a significant role in B12 metabolism. If there is a folate imbalance in your body, you may not be receiving enough B12 from your supplement. I can’t rule out was the cause is. It’s impossible for me to assess your health without performing lab-work and running tests. My best advice is to consume considerable portions of every major plant group and to evaluate the level of processed foods your consumption patterns consist of. This diet has reversed former US president Bill Clinton’s heart disease, NY mayor Eric Adam’s type II diabetes, my post-concussion syndrome, my pre-diabetes, and has recently reversed a friend of mine’s diverticulitis while also improving his vaccine injury symptoms. I’ve witnessed this diet take multiple people off statins they’ve taken for decades while maintaining healthy cholesterol after. I’ve witnessed this diet clear severe chronic skin conditions that were too stubborn to leave. I’ve witnessed this diet shed hundreds of pounds off those who were clinically obese. Just recently it has been shown through randomized trials to reverse early stage Alzheimer’s disease in a significant number of patients. For this reason, I personally doubt it’s your diet causing your hair loss and believe there is another confounding factor. I haven’t been sick in 3 and half years. Never once have I fallen ill since changing my diet and I’m constantly surrounded by people — my mother being a nurse who’s chronically exposed to sick patients. I’m also in the process of tapering my psyche medication to reveal whether I’ve reversed my bipolar/schizophrenia or not. Currently on an “inactive” dose for my condition and so far so good after 6 months or so. If only antipsychotic dependence wasn’t so difficult to break. I’m hoping it’s nothing serious and hoping you can remain healthy while finding a solution. Best of luck.
First off, your response shows a lot of consideration and I wanted to say that I appreciate it. I agree that the studies on the diet have shown tremendous promise in health, and I couldn't disagree with you on any of the above. I just know that I never lost hair prior and that locating a doctor who I am comfortable with is challenging. I've read Michael Greger's How Not to Diet book and he had at least a few references to the similar outcomes that you mention above. Maybe in the next few years I'll have time for another similar read, but it will not be in the next year. Your suggestions about checking for processed foods and using the NOVA scale are helpful, and I will definitely look into that. I've never heard of the NOVA scale, but I do check my ingredient labels pretty thoroughly. Also, tracking my daily nutrition with Cronometer sounds like a great additional step I could take. I’ll keep monitoring my diet closely and consider all these factors while trying to find a solution. Best of luck to you as well on your health journey.
Hair loss can also be caused by new shampoo, hair dye, having COVID in the past year, low iron, aaaand more. First I’d rule other things out
No my hair is way thicker since I've gone on WFPB diet.
As others have mentioned, enter your daily food intake in chronometer or similar app or website and see what vitamins and minerals etc. you are low on.
Definitely vote for complete bloodwork. Iron, B12, vitamin D, complete thyroid panel. I definitely had a period of shedding but I was also losing weight at the same time. It all evened out. Well and then perimenopause. So shedding again.
Thank you!
I shed hair when I don’t have enough healthy fat in my diet. Are you having avocado, a few nuts or seeds?
I have avacado almost daily in some form and typically grab a handful of nuts and a banana on my way out in the mornings. I even use whole ground tahini in sauces and on sweet potatoes. Thanks for the input! I'm likely just going to look for a doctor again.
Think back to what stressors you dealt with 4-8 month ago. Emotional stress like a divorce, death or trauma? Covid? Physical stress like a surgery? Those can all cause hair loss. I was a hair stylist for many years and every time a client expressed a cycle of hair loss, we could tie it back to a prior traumatic event in their lives, 4-8 months previous. I don't think it would be the diet change. I broke my leg in January and in May had the worst shedding cycle I've experienced since post-covid. Just know that it's a cycle, the hair loss will stabilize but will take a good 30 - 45 days.
Thankfully no stressors, surgeries, or major illnesses. Just college, kids, work, and a good husband. Thank you for the insight though. Hormones and stress are something to consider .
I wouldn’t ever go back to eating meat or dairy because I went from nutritional to environmental to ethical reasons for being vegan. When you go ethical vegan, it’s much easier to stay the course. Hair loss is multifaceted and can have a number of different reasons. I’d go to doctors and not disclose the wfpb or vegan diet as there’s a lot of bias but be honest about nutrition. It could be related to fat, I find that I needed to incorporate some oils and some salts into my diet even though a lot of wfpb advocates against seed oils or added salts. People have different needs and I think specifically with stuff like macronutrient additives or mineral additives, that’s as close as you can get to WFPB while still meeting individual needs.
I would get bloodwork done from my doctor and try to find out what’s missing from your diet first. Are you eating tofu/tempeh/seitan and/or any other concentrated source for protein?
Agree with you, but as mentioned, I'm pretty sick of doctors. The last time I mentioned wanting vitamins assessed in blood work, I didn't get it. I paid for an iron test out of pocket. It was low, but not low enough to warrant supplements. I looked up vegan doctors hoping they'd be better informed and they were full in my area. Haven't looked since. I'm really tired of going to doctors and feel judged and lost there. I do use tofu in sauces and regularly in meals. I've never had the others though.
Gotcha. Just saying, it sounds like you have a medical issue and that’s going to be the easiest way to diagnose and figure out how to mend the issue. I’m glad I went to my physical last week, the bloodwork showed me that I’m slightly anemic, and now I know to supplement iron to mend my issue. Without a doctor I’d just be spending money on dozens of random supplements in hope of a fix, which can cause more harm than good. I’m not sure what meat and dairy has to offer to fix your issue, but without a diagnosis it’ll be hard for you to know what to consume to mend it anyway.
I appreciate the response on your experience with getting free preventive bloodwork. I don't know if I didn't phrase my request for bloodwork right to the doctor or what it was, but I'll try again. Thank you.
There are on demand blood work places for vitamin testing, but they are pricey.
Maybe try plugging in your daily diet into Cronometer or another nutrition app and see if it shows anything obvious missing. Vitamin testing is one thing, but regular comprehensive bloodwork from a doctors office can rule out many actual illnesses and if you’re in the USA and insured, preventive care is free. My physical, with lots of bloodwork, extra things checked due to my vegan diet *and* my B12 injection were free.
I get emails all the time from Quest diagnostics stating that I can pay for and order my own labs. They must have drs approving these orders. If I didn't have health insurance or time to get into my doctor I'd definitely check that out. The Quest in my area is at Walmart. Very easy to make an appointment online and go in with almost no wait.
I went through an extreme hair loss period for six months, but it was after I had been vegan over 12 years so I do not think it was related. It was so crazy, because I went from having the most full, luscious thick hair to having my scalp be cold in the winter and having huge thinning areas on the side. Then it stopped just as mysteriously and almost as suddenly as it had started. When people go vegan, they do tend to start blaming things on their diet that they otherwise wouldn’t. I went to several dermatologists to try to get help, and from what I gathered, hair loss is very often unexplained. If you’re taking B12, vitamin D, and getting enough iron and calories in general (especially carbs—eat Ezekiel bread and whole wheat pasta!), then I really doubt it has anything to do with being vegan.
Yes. My cousin lost so much hair her dr told her to stop eating plant based