Hair growth and traditional foods (Paleo/primal/WAPF)

Does anyone here follow a Paleo/Primal/WAPF (Weston A. Price Foundation) type diet? Have you noticed any hair changes?

I've been transitioning slowly to a WAPF-style diet (emphasis on raw milk, grassfed proteins, healthy fats, fresh veg, traditionally prepared grains, nuts and beans, cultured foods, natural sugars in moderation, etc). I started this journey three years ago and have enjoyed the path so far. I've noticed a few excellent side effects, like weight loss, gradual disappearance of my hypoglycemia, and thicker, stronger fingernails.

I have only recently realized that my hair has grown thicker and longer than ever before in the past two years. I was wondering if it's simply an effect of careless neglect, or if it is related to diet.

No difference in my hair at all. My fingernails have always been uber-strong. I do feel better eating this way, but sadly I have also had some major shedding anyhow. I don't think the shedding is related, probably just a natural hair cycle, but it sure would have been nice to have thicker hair growth!

I think the recipe I got for bone marrow soup was from a paleo website. It was about boiling marrow bones for long periods of time to make soup stock. Calcium and other trace minerals are leached out of the bones and are very nutritious.

I am halfway transitioned to raw paleo, but have not been doing it long enough to notice anything.
I still eat some not so great foods, but that is because a) I am breastfeeding and don't want to detox through my breastmilk, so I go very gradual b) I have to be very careful NOT to lose weight. Thats why I added raw butter to my diet even though it would fit the primal diet better.

However, I did notice not being sleepy at all anymore. I usually never feel rested in the morning and now I often feel too rested too soon :lol:
Someone on another forum noted it is the fat from the butter.

My auto immune diseases also have bettered and I don't need medication right now. I originally quit them towards the end of my pregnancy so I can breastfeed and now it turns out my levels are okay.

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Originally Posted by Chromis

No difference in my hair at all. My fingernails have always been uber-strong. I do feel better eating this way, but sadly I have also had some major shedding anyhow. I don't think the shedding is related, probably just a natural hair cycle, but it sure would have been nice to have thicker hair growth!

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I forgot to mention the pregnancy hormones, I have fantastic pregnancy hair. Now that my littlest has begun weaning, I'm shedding quite a lot. It's so sad.

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Originally Posted by swearnsue

I think the recipe I got for bone marrow soup was from a paleo website. It was about boiling marrow bones for long periods of time to make soup stock. Calcium and other trace minerals are leached out of the bones and are very nutritious.

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Yes, we've eaten a lot of bone stock this winter, I started getting into making it and having soup each day. The first time I made some with enough gel to set up firm in the fridge I was stoked. Apparently gelatin is supposed to be great for the hair and nails.

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Originally Posted by Emichiee

I am halfway transitioned to raw paleo, but have not been doing it long enough to notice anything.
I still eat some not so great foods, but that is because a) I am breastfeeding and don't want to detox through my breastmilk, so I go very gradual b) I have to be very careful NOT to lose weight. Thats why I added raw butter to my diet even though it would fit the primal diet better.

However, I did notice not being sleepy at all anymore. I usually never feel rested in the morning and now I often feel too rested too soon :lol:
Someone on another forum noted it is the fat from the butter.

My auto immune diseases also have bettered and I don't need medication right now. I originally quit them towards the end of my pregnancy so I can breastfeed and now it turns out my levels are okay.

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That is amazing! Wow! Congratulations on getting off your medication. I love how clear-headed and energetic I feel nowadays. I wake in the morning with the energy to get up and make the kids breakfast with a minimal coffee input and I feel like I'm winning. :)

I believe my hair grows faster when I eat more meat, but that's even with a college-student-cafeteria type diet.

I am experimenting with Paleo, but it's mostly to keep my figure and not feel so damn hungry in the process. That's one good thing about Paleo, you're never starving, even when you're not eating a ton of calories.

My hair became finer on the paleo diet. (Individual coarse strands started to grow in medium or fine.) For a while I had lots of shed hairs that were part coarse near the end, and part fine near the root.
I have been on the paleo diet sine December 2009 and plan to continue it pretty much permanently ... it had tons of health benefits for me.

I'm so fascinated by these accounts. I wish I had paid more attention to my hair in the past.

nerdymomma

Yeah, more energy is unbeatable! So funny this fixed it for me when years back I was wondering if I have chronic fatique syndrome :lol:

Btw. pregnancy hair:
Mine was 'less good than usual' during pregnancy and I had a shed starting 4months postpartum, lasting until April '12.

Funny, I was just noticing that I have a significant halo of regrowth all over my head of about 4 inches. (They suddenly became noticeable today because we are having a very humid spell and so it's all fuzzy and sticky-uppy.)

I thought for a second, hmmm, my hair grows about 1/2 inch a month so that sure seems to correspond with...yup, went primal last fall. I'm shocked. There's a lot up there!

Go protein!

I did paleo for about a month and I noticed my hair seemed to fall out more blergh

To be honest I don't think 1 month is long enough to know if your body will benefit from the paleo diet. At the one-month point my acne was better, but that was all. It took 3 months for me to notice other changes in my health (more energy, more alert with less sleep, no more depression/anxiety, etc)

^^ I felt fine but gave up because I missed dairy/oats/quinoa :)

Your diet sounds awesome!

I did moderate low-carb for two years straight - with healthy fats and lots of protein. My nails grew like crazy! I never really paid attention to my hair growth, but I knew I had to shave my legs everyday lol!

I'm almost full Paleo, but I couldn't give up dairy, so I guess it's a modified Paleo diet. Anyway, I've been eating this way for two years, and honestly, as far as hair goes, haven't noticed a difference. But I was also still bleaching my hair up until about six months ago or so. I have a lot of new baby hairs now, but I'm pretty sure that's due to giving up the bleach, not the diet. And my fingernails have always grown ridiculously fast, so it didn't affect that either. It has been great for my overall health though, I have way more energy, have lost 80 lbs (I also exercise a lot though, that's not all diet), and my diabetes is totally under control without any insulin or other medication.

We've been WAP for five or so years now. The more bone broth I eat the healthier my hair seems to be. I notice it is shinier when I eat more oily fish as well.

It's interesting to hear everyone's experiences...I never thought about my leg hair. I hate shaving and try to put it off as long as possible, but gah it grows fast!! I'm thankful for my nice long skirts...also the children. Having them makes me not really care about hairy legs. :)

My hair grew 1.5" last month. I couldn't believe it! I have no idea how that relates to diet, or if it's hormonal. I know I measured properly. I wonder what the results will be next month.

My hair is growing like crazy now that I take vitamin D (max dose you can find), omega 3 and a multivitamin. I get almost an inch a month - its crazy! My hair has never grown like this.

Hmm, yes I think so. I eat a modified paleo diet too, with some dairy. I have a halo of 5 inch long frizz on my crown, and baby hairs at my hairline which I've never had before. I started taking D vitamin and omega 3 supplement at the same time so its hard to tell which one to blame ;)

I eat mainly raw, organic grass fed meats and lots of nuts, seeds and healthy oils.
I very rarely bread or dairy
I have not noticed any difference with my hair.

How can you tell if meat is grass fed? Does this make it a lot more expensive? Sorry it's probably off topic a bit but it sounds really interesting, except that I'm a student with a limited food buget. I am trying to loose weight. Does anyone have a link to a description of this kind of diet?

I buy mine from a organic butchers which specify its grass fed, they also have all the farmers details and you can go see their farm or see it onlne and they only are grass fed with no grains.
I also buy organic free range eggs from chickens, which are only grass fed too and also chicken.

It is VERY expensive, however, I would rather cut back on other things and know my food is 'clean' and how nature intended it to be...

Here is some information, if you search the net, you will find lots..

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/welco...#axzz1wVAvwwJA
http://thepaleodiet.com/

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Originally Posted by FireFromWithin

How can you tell if meat is grass fed? Does this make it a lot more expensive? Sorry it's probably off topic a bit but it sounds really interesting, except that I'm a student with a limited food buget. I am trying to loose weight. Does anyone have a link to a description of this kind of diet?

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I've been primal since 1999. I haven't noticed any real connection between my hair and how I eat, but I admittedly had a lot of other things going on, so that wasn't my focus. My hair has been much thinner since 2003 or so following the birth of my first (late 2002.) I certainly didn't notice hair LOSS with the way I eat, and if I didn't eat this way I suspect I'd be much worse off, honestly.

I think my hair health is very thyroid related. Being off grains/gluten/sugar only helps my thyroid!

Grass-fed beef can be pretty pricey. If you can find a local farmer to purchase beef from it can be less expensive that way. Our farmer charges 4.25 per pound for grass-fed ground beef, just as a comparison. I think he's very reasonable as far as grass-fed meat goes. We also get pastured chicken, eggs, and turkey from him, and joined a herdshare for raw milk. I found this guy through our local WAPF chapter.

http://www.westonaprice.org/

In the sidebar on the right there is a link "Find A Local Chapter." Local WAPF chapters usually have lots of connections for grass-fed meat and eggs and possibly raw milk, depending on the laws of your state.

Interesting to read about the varied experiences re: diet. My middle son (almost 32) has gone to a paleo diet as much as possible, and he's noticed a huge reduction in hair loss, as well as regrowth. He had been losing his hair for a few years now in the typical male pattern baldness areas. He says he has a better sleep pattern, too.

We switched to cooking mostly home-made, as natural-as-possible food over the past couple of years, both for health and financial reasons. We cut out artificial sweeteners, coloring and preservatives as much as we could, and would love to buy organic and grass fed if money would allow.

I want to do better with carbs, as that makes me feel better, gives me lots of energy, and I lose weight like crazy. But we do the best we can for now. :)

I've been mostly paleo with the odd bit of dairy, whey protein, sugar, corn & potatoes since Feb 10th 2012. So right at almost 4 months. I used to get 5/8" of growth, at least since I started measuring obsessively after joining LHC. But since February, I have been getting 1" a month. I attribute this to the large amounts of protein I'm now eating, in the absence of wheat, rice, processed foods and anything with soy in it (bad, thyroid wise). It might be the absence of soy that perked my thyroid up? Not sure, haven't had it re-tested yet.

I had a large shed last Fall due to forgetting to take my thyroid meds and getting sick. So I'm glad for the length-spurt, so that those baby hairs/halo can hurry up and join the rest.

I've been eating primal for about 20 months now.. I do fall off the wagon a lot (mmm cake).. but I've at the least always been at 80%. I haven't noticed any changes.. but now that my hair is short I may be able to tell.. so far it seems to be slow growing, but that may just be me. :/

It's so funny how LHC is always a step ahead of me on my discoveries. :) Before I can share I always find a thread here...

I'm looking into going primal as soon as I'm in control of my diet again (currently living with a host family, a living situation that unfortunately entails all meals included, which means lots of pasta), and I've added fish back into my diet for that reason. It's kind of hard because sometimes I still feel a little weird about eating a dead creature, after being vegetarian for so long. I don't have any immediate plans to add any other animals into my diet, even though I understand the health benefits, which is why I think primal (with the allowance for dairy) is a better fit for me than full paleo.