Folic Acid and Hair Loss

Can folic acid cure hair loss?

This leads us to the question; if you treat skin disease with folic acid, can folic acid and hair loss work?

Hair loss comes into two distinct categories. The first is hair loss with scaling, or skin shedding, and the other type is hair loss with no skin shedding. Some forms of hair loss are genetic and are inevitable. Other types come from various forms of deficiencies. Often the hair loss that occurs with scaling is a form of skin disease.

Symptoms of Folic Acid Deficiency

There are many benefits of folic acid. Folic acid plays an important roll in proper cell division, good cellular activity and hair growth. Your body uses folic acid to produce the chemical components for a healthy nervous system like norepinephrine and seratonin. With a folic acid deficiency there can be not just inflammation of the tongue, mouth ulcers and diarrhea but also premature graying hair and of course, hair loss also. Folic acid is one of the few nutrient that scientists link to the prevention of thinning hair.

Foods high in folic acid are in all types of food groups. Fruits and vegetables that have high folic acid are beetroot, spinach, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, asparagus, bananas, oranges and peaches. Starches that contain folic acid are whole grain breads, wheat flour, potato and sweet potato flour. Legumes with large amounts of folic acid include dried beans, lentils, split peas, soya products, nuts and particularly almonds. You can also find folic acid in meat sources such as liver, chicken giblets, kidney and egg yolk.

Can folic acid cure hair loss? Only if you have the type that comes with a deficiency. Look for other signs of folic acid deficiency such as a smooth and painful red tongue. A loss of appetite and tiredness also accompanies folic acid deficiency. If you notice scaling skin on your scalp, this also points to the potential that folic acid and hair loss are linked in your case.

Increase your intake of food that contains folic acid. If you have problems with your stomach and take antacids, you may block the absorption of the folic acid, so it is better to take it an hour or so before you take the antacid. Sometimes poor eating habits, taking oral contraceptives, alcoholism or pregnancy may be the cause of a folic acid deficiency. Pregnancy increases the need for folic acid for both mother and growing child.

You can comfortably take folic acid since it is rare that you find any toxicity. Although it not only masks a vitamin B12 deficiency it may make it worse, aside from that and some interference with antimalarial drugs it’s hard to overdose. Folic acid, also called vitamin M, is water-soluble and excess is flushed out of the system. Check with your doctor when you notice the hair thinning. It may be a sign of other serious diseases or simply a genetic trait.

Folic acid and hair loss? Considering that it isn’t harmful to the body and has a potential to stop thinning hair, it’s definitely worth trying folic acid and hair loss.

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