02/27/2020 / By Ralph Flores
It’s normal for a person to experience hair loss: On average, a person can lose up to 100 hairs from his scalp every day. However, while most people grow them back, those with alopecia experience extreme hair loss, either due to diseases like lupus, thyroid issues or diabetes; environmental exposure; medication; or even poor nutrition. In their study, a team from the University of California, Irvine investigated whether alternative treatments can help relieve the condition.
“Multiple factors contribute to hair loss, including genetics, hormones, environmental exposure, medications, and nutrition,” they wrote in the study. “Treatment of hair loss requires a multimodal approach and the use of [complementary and alternative medicines] may provide added benefits,” the researchers said.
The UC Irvine team reviewed existing studies regarding the use of natural products as adjunct therapies for hair loss. According to the 2012 National Health Survey, around 17 percent of Americans reported using natural therapies such as vitamins and minerals, herbs and botanicals, and probiotics, among others. In their study, the team gathered up past research for 16 alternative hair loss remedies to test their effectiveness and found some standouts:
The research team did not rule out other remedies like curcumin, garlic oil and vitamin D. However, they did note that more work should be done to understand their effectiveness. For instance, while early studies have shown that topical vitamin D can potentially help with hair loss, most of these studies had small sample sizes, provided inconsistent results or did not have appropriate controls. (Related: Study reveals fermented water chestnuts help with symptoms of balding, hair loss.)
“There are a variety of complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) on the market for alopecia; however, only a few are backed by strong clinical evidence,” explains lead author Anna-Marie Hosking. “Clinicians should be aware of these products, the marketing strategies used to promote said products, expected clinical outcomes, and side effect profiles to ensure accurate patient [counseling].”
AlternativeMedicine.news has more stories about natural treatments for hair loss.
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Tagged Under: alopecia, alternative medicine, caffeine, food cures, food is medicine, hair loss, natural cures, natural medicine, Natural Treatments, nutrients, phytonutrients, remedies, Rosemary Oil
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