Let’s be honest. Hair thinning or hair loss feels pretty awful.

Many of our patients come to us as a last result because the doctor has told them that it’s just part of ageing growing old.

There are a several primary drivers for hair loss, here are the most common ones we see in the clinic:

– Hypothyroidism
– PCOS
– Low Iron
– Nutritional Deficiencies

Today I wanted to take a moment to talk further about the reasons for hair loss.

1. Hypothyroidism
Many patients that are diagnosed with hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s can be on medication to stimulate their TSH, such as thyroxine; however, despite taking it, still experience hair loss.

Most of the patients we see in the clinic are experiencing subclinical hypothyroidism. Their blood tests don’t reveal a dangerous enough TSH, Free T3, or Free T4 reading to be put on thyroid medication.
Both kinds of patients can still present issues with hair loss.

They often say that their hair seems to be coming out more when they brush or wash it or thinning in the front of their head.

We find that may women suffering from thyroid-related hair loss need gut support and hormone balancing nutrients to enable to the body to support itself to come back into balance and bring healthy thyroid function.

2. PCOS
Conventional medicine often treats patients that are suffering from PCOS with birth control medication.

Patients suffering from PCOS often experience hair loss and may suffer from excessive hair growth on their face, arms, or legs.

The challenge many of our patients face with PCOS is self confidence and infertility. ��We’ve helped many women with PCOS fall pregnant. It takes time as the body needs to resume normal function after coming off the pill.

But, PCOS often is a hormonal issue that points to hormone imbalance and nutrient deficiencies.

�Once we get to the hormones in balance, the body is a stronger vessel for implantation.

3. Low Iron
Iron is a big reason for hair loss.

We had a 24 year old patient come in and her iron count was within 3% of normal range. That’s 3% out of 100%. She came in thinking that her hair loss was because of her thyroid, as her mum suffers from hypothyroidism.

She was on a vegetarian diet for years, with her favourite foods being cheese, bread, and pasta. She consumed very little foods high in iron.

She only weighed 45 kilos, so the diet seemed to be working, but her she had incredible hair loss.

Her hair was starting to thin so much you could see her scalp at the front of her head.

She was very upset sad and couldn’t understand how her diet could possibly be a bad thing.

Few women realise how important iron is in our diet and it often gets missed as a factor for hair loss.

4. Nutritional Deficiencies
Nutritional deficiencies are common in nearly every patient with hair loss.

Every body absorbs nutrients differently. The modern Australian diet has changed over the last fifty years, and as such, what our bodies receive and what our mums passed to us in utero consequentially effect our bodies.

Hair and weight are two great indications that there is some kind of nutrient deficiency in the body. ��Many women come into the clinic after taking some supplements to help support hair growth, yet haven’t had much of an effect on it.

Taking something to support hair growth doesn’t always mean it’ll work for you if there are other factors going on.

In fact, most of the patients that experience hair loss have a combination of two or all four of the above factors.

Conventional medicine is fantastic at helping us with various conditions, but sometimes our external self-conscious challenges, like hair loss or weight, are not supported by the medication.

This is why we love naturopathic treatment.

Our goal is to deal with the root cause behind the hair loss, so that we remove the problem and nourish the body with the nutrients it needs to thrive.

If you’d like to get help with your hair growth or hormones, we’d love to support you.

Simply book a free introductory consultation here: https://calendly.com/sutherlandshirenaturopath/introductory-naturopathic-health-assessment

The digestive system is the chemical response system for the body.

Often what presents as a hormone imbalance in the body, is bacteria overgrowth in the gut lining masked as hormone imbalance.

What if I told you that there are two common gut bacterias found in people of healthy weight?

Several years ago an athlete required a faecal transplant from a family member for medical reasons.

She was at the top of her game before her health declined.

She was fit and healthy in terms of her body weight.

She had a problem in her colon that the doctors determined the best correction required a compatible faecal transplant.

About three months after her faecal transplant, she started putting on weight.

You see, her faecal donor was about 15 kilos overweight.

So she started training, and eating just like before the surgery to prepare for her next sports season, but she kept putting on weight.

Eight months after the transplant, she was 15 kilos overweight, despite her excellent diet and exercise.

She’d never been overweight before.

It was an anomaly that led a team of medical scientists to do a clinical study with obese mice by transplanting faecal matter from healthy, fit mice to obese mice.

What they found was amazing and supported many of the people in the clinical study to actually easily lose weight.

There were 2 key bacteria overgrowths found in lean people:

– Christensenella, and
– Akkermansia

By taking healthy faecal matter and transplanting it into an obese body, these two bacteria took harvest and supported weight loss in the obese bodies.

So let’s look at these two bacterias…

Christensenella is associated with your genetic makeup, meaning that to some extent, you have higher chances of finding this bacterium in your gut if your relatives have them too.

And akkermanisa is abundant in the microbiomes of lean people. Scientists think it could be promising for preventing obesity, which is now considered a global health epidemic.

Many of the symptoms associated with weight gain also come with hormone disruptions.

The trouble is that when the gut lining and hormones are out of balance, it’s very challenging to lose weight.

So why would someone not have enough christensenella and akkermanisa bacteria?

Believe it or not, antibiotics actually strip the gut lining of these two bacteria species.

Genetics also play a part.

But if you have ever taken antibiotics and found six months later that you started gaining weight, there’s a chance that the good bacteria may have been stripped out of your gut.

Combine that with normal chemical changes over time and an imperfect diet, and you may find yourself struggling to shed weight.

Getting your gut bacteria in balance is important for a multitude of reasons.

One of the assessments we do at the clinic for our patients suffering from stubborn weight gain, and especially from fatigue or brain fog, is a Gut Dysbiosis Map.

It helps us see if the bacteria levels are good or bad, and helps us map out a restoration of healthy gut function.

It also is very insightful if there are parasites, worms, or candida overgrowth, and provides insight into the level of damage and inflammation to the gut, a well as if there’s leaky gut and any resistance to any antibiotics.

Hormones often naturally come into balance as a result of treating the gut, because the chemicals in the body naturally are supported with the restoration of bacteria.

Pretty fascinating, right?

If you’d like to see how we can support your gut or support you in finally shedding kilos, please book in a Free Introductory Consultation with us here: https://calendly.com/sutherlandshirenaturopath/introductory-naturopathic-health-assessment

Laura has joined the clinic as a highly respected Naturopath. Laura has been working in the industry for several years and achieved distinctions in her naturopathic degree. Laura replaces our beloved Deb who has gone back to full time social work. Laura is available for consultation throughout the week. She hopes to meet you soon!

We would like to welcome Chiara as our new receptionist. Chiara joins our precious Lisa. These two girls are our amazing reception team, a team that we could not do without.

Chiara is a 2nd year naturopathic student and loves working in the Naturopathic field. Chiara replaces Jen who has moved on to full time grandmother duties. Chiara is friendly, enthusiastic and tech savvy. We feel she will be a wonderful addition to our administration team.