Hair Loss After 40: Causes, Hormones, Thyroid, and Real Fixes That Work - Episode 297 - Sandy K Nutrition - Health & Lifestyle Queen

Episode Transcript
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Sandy Kruse (00:01):
Hi everyone, it's me, Sandy Kruse of Sandy K
Nutrition Health and LifestyleQueen.
For years now, I've beenbringing to you conversations
about wellness from incredibleguests from all over the world.
Discover a fresh take onhealthy living for midlife and

(00:25):
beyond.
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Join me and my guests as weexplore ways that we can age
gracefully with in-depthconversations about the thyroid,

(00:48):
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True Wellness nurtures ahealthy body, mind, spirit, and
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And we cover all of theseessential aspects to help you
live a balanced, joyful life.

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Be sure to follow my show, rateit, review it, and share it.
Always remember, my friends,balanced living works.
Hi everyone, welcome to Sandy KNutrition Health and Lifestyle

(01:31):
Queen.
Today I'm gonna talk to you allabout hair loss for women in
perimenopause, menopause.
So let's just call it 40 andup.
I'm gonna talk to you aboutthis from a very objective point
of view because there are lotsof podcasts out there that talk

(01:57):
about hair loss, but many ofthem are listen, you get a lot
of people who are biased becausethat's part of their business,
that's what they do.
There's nothing wrong withthat, and that doesn't mean that
they're not experts in theirfield, but I am coming at you
about this topic as a55-year-old woman without a

(02:22):
thyroid gland.
Most people know that a lot oftimes thyroid comes into play
with hair loss, but I'm actuallycoming at you from a different
perspective because I have Ihave no skin in the game.
I'm just trying to help you asa woman over 40 who's
experiencing hair loss.
So I'm gonna start with acouple of different types of

(02:45):
hair loss.
You can go and listen.
I have interviewed Dr.
Alan Baumann of Bauman Medical.
I have no affiliation with himexcept that I know him and I've
met him, and he has a fabulousclinic.
I think it's in Boca Ratan inFlorida.
So you can go back and searchmy interviews with him.

(03:05):
He's amazing at what he does.
And I even did one of the hairtests where you he you actually
check the follicles.
He's amazing, you guys.
Um, and what I found with myhair, so as you can see, if
you're looking, if you'rewatching this podcast, please go

(03:27):
on YouTube, by the way, andsubscribe to my YouTube channel
because I am gonna post most ofmy interviews there.
And I have really good hair fora 55-year-old woman.
There have been many times forme where it wasn't so great, and
I've had a lot of shedding andhair loss.

(03:49):
So there's a few things.
There's genetics, there's thefact that you're kind of born
with good hair, and I've beenblessed that I've always had
pretty decent hair.
So there's that fact that I'mfortunate in that way, but there
are a number of things that cango wrong around perimenopause

(04:11):
for women over 40.
I'm gonna go over that, butbefore I start that, I am going
to say that there are differenttypes of hair loss, different
reasons, different types.
What I will say is there is nomiracle supplement that will
work for everyone.
And you've got to figure outwhy it's happening to you in the

(04:35):
first place.
So that's the number one thing.
The number two thing I'm gonnasay that test that I did with
Dr.
Alan Bauman, it was really coolbecause it showed follicles
that are just thinning.
Okay.
And it also showed folliclesthat are like it's it's just

(04:57):
dead.
Like there's nothing you cangive me snake oil of any type of
lotion potion.
It ain't coming back unless youdo a hair transplant.
So that's the case in somepeople, and I I highly recommend
you go and see somebody likeDr.
Alan Baumann who does that kindof investigative work to find

(05:22):
out why you're experiencing thathair loss in the first place,
if it's that severe.
So I wanted to note that rightat the beginning.
I did do that test, and I hadquite a few follicles that were
around the front that were therebut thinning.
So that is very, very common,and there's only one kind of

(05:48):
device that really, really helpsthat.
And I'm gonna say you have tobe very careful.
Everybody's trying to sell youtheir red light device.
So I actually have this writtendown on what you must look for.
Again, if your follicle's deadand it's not just about the
thinning of the hair follicle,if it's just dead, this isn't

(06:11):
gonna help you.
So knowing your whys is reallyimportant.
But red light therapy, solow-level light therapy,
photobiomodulation, can help tostrengthen and thicken that
follicle that's that's there,that's not dead.

(06:32):
Okay.
And when I say can, there issome research.
Dr.
Alan Baumann, and I haveabsolutely no affiliation.
I know he sells like the righttype of power and also the right
nano um nanometers that'srequired to actually make a
difference.

(06:52):
So that's the wavelength ofthat red light therapy.
So you want, I'm gonna tell youthis, so just like write this
down how often you gotta lookfor 650 to 660 of visible red
wavelength, 810 to 850 of nearinfrared, and you want 30 to 60.

(07:21):
Um, 30, and I don't know whatthis measurement is.
Sorry guys, 30 to 60, I don'tknow, something centimeters
squared, whatever, at the scalpfor clinical.
Look for clinical setups ofpower because I actually
recorded a podcast about redlight therapy.
You know, there's one thing tohave the right wavelength, but

(07:43):
it's another thing to haveenough power to make a
difference, so it's kind of likeall of those things, and then
there's duration.
You got to do about 20 minutesper session, you gotta do it
about three to five times perweek.
And and you know, maybe you'regonna see a difference.

(08:05):
And if you do, that's great.
So if you are looking for oneof those red light therapy caps,
you you you just need to makesure that they have clinical
evidence because there's so muchof it, you guys, online.
I just don't want you to go outand buy something that's just

(08:26):
you know BS and doesn't have theactual science behind it.
So I have done a little bit ofresearch um in brands.
I'm gonna give you a fewbrands.
I have zero affiliation withany of them.
One is called Current Body, andit's the LED hair growth

(08:46):
helmet.
And remember, I'm not givingyou advice, so you're gonna have
to just dig a little deeper.
One is called Celluma Restore,one is called I Restore,
Professional and Elite Caps.
And then you can also go to Dr.

(09:07):
Alan Bauman as well.
Most of these red light therapycaps are gonna be over a
thousand bucks.
And the fact is, is if youdon't spend the money, you're
probably not gonna get what youneed.
Now let's get back to the restof what I wanted to talk about

(09:30):
pertaining to hair loss forwomen over 40.
So, number one thing is to findout the root cause.
So, again, to do that, it mightbe a little bit tricky, but a
big reason why women start toexperience thinning of the hair,

(09:53):
hair loss, all of that ishormones.
I mean, if you've never had itbefore and all of a sudden
you're entering that, you know,that gray area called
perimenopause or menopause, youcan probably surmise safely that
hormones have something to dowith it.

(10:14):
So I suggest getting yourhormones tested.
And a lot of people are like,well, why?
I don't get it.
And the main reason is becauseestrogen and progesterone start
to decline and they're veryprotective of many things.
Obviously, we know this.
Um, but with hormones, a lot oftimes it's about the balance of

(10:39):
them.
So testosterone, which can comeinto play here.
This this has something to dowith that hair loss if your
issue is hormonal.
Estrogen, progesterone start todecline.
Progesterone's usually first,estrogen comes next,
testosterone is usually the lastone, and so it's those ratios

(11:04):
that can really cause problemswith hair loss.
And the decline of the estrogenand the progesterone, it
counterbalances those androgenhormones.
And testosterone, because it'sdeclining more slowly, it kind
of messes things up.
So, what can happen is DHT canbecome more active, and DHT is

(11:30):
just a very uh active form oftestosterone.
So, signs of this imbalancecould be you're growing facial
hair, you're growing more hairon your body, um, your scalp is
thinning, you maybe have mooddysregulation, you maybe have

(11:52):
acne.
So I suggest you go see yourhormonal practitioner and get
some blood work done, or you cando the Dutch test if your
practitioner does that, and kindof figure out what's going on
with the ratios of yourhormones.

(12:12):
Because sometimes what canhappen is you fix what's going
on over here with thesehormones, and then your hair
stops shedding, your hair stopsfalling out, which is you know
ideal.
But what can happen if youdon't do that, you're going to

(12:38):
keep having more issues, and uhthat's why I'm always like, see
somebody who can check yourhormones first and foremost.
Now, a couple of little thingsthat as a practitioner I would
do with a client.
And remember, I'm not yourpractitioner, I'm not a doctor,

(13:01):
I'm a registered holisticnutritionist, I work very much
more so with supplementation.
But, you know, a lot of peopleare like, no, I wouldn't put
that on me because a lot ofpeople are worried about what
they put on their bodies, whichI am too.
But if I was losing my hair,I'd probably just, you know, and
I knew that my problem was DHT,is I would probably do it in

(13:28):
all honesty.
Because, you know, the factsare I'm I'm vain about my hair.
But if you go to Costco and youbuy Niserol, Niserol is that
dandruff shampoo, it actuallyblocks DHT in the scalp.

(13:48):
So if you have all thosesymptoms I talked about, that
might be a quick fix before yousee your practitioner to say,
all right, let's let's check myhormones.
And the reason is is Niserolhas this like antifungal
ingredient that actually blocksit.
So if you're desperate and youhave those symptoms, you know,

(14:14):
you can do that twice a week.
Typically, what's recommendedis you put the Nizerol on your
scalp, you let it sit for twominutes, then you rinse it off.
And you do that a couple days aweek, and it should kind of get
that problem to slow down atleast until you see your
practitioner as to the rootcause.

(14:34):
Now, a few things that you candiscuss with your practitioner.
Hopefully, they are.
Remember, if you're going totalk supplements, make sure that
they understand them.
They're trained in therapeuticgrade supplementation.
Typically, that would be anaturopath doctor, a registered
holistic nutritionist, somebodylike myself, uh, functional

(14:58):
medicine doctors are oftentrained in supplementation, but
a few you can discuss with themis uh Saw Palmetto is one.
Green tea is another one.
Uh, they help to kind ofredirect that five alpha
reductase pathway, which cancause that hair loss.

(15:21):
Zinc is another one and nettleroot.
So I will get into nutrientdeficiencies as well.
But the main thing is, isyou're gonna want to check
what's going on.
Why is this happening?
Don't run to Costco and buythat hair supplement thing that
they have there, because unlessyou know why this is happening,

(15:46):
you know, a lot of people justprobably see that it doesn't do
anything.
Now, along with this hormonetesting, I'm gonna say, make
sure that you check yourthyroid.
And the reason I say that isthyroid, if you're under or
overactive in your thyroid, thattoo can cause a lot of

(16:11):
shedding.
I've been there myself, myfriends.
I've been very hyperthyroid andI have clumps of hair in the
shower, and I've been veryhypothyroid.
I've been to differentextremes.
So thyroid is really important,but not just TSH.
By the way, I wrote theEssential Thyroid Guide.
It is on Amazon.

(16:31):
It's just a guide.
It is not clinical, it is not aclinical book.
I want to make sure I stressthat.
It's just for those of you whojust want to understand a little
bit more about this thyroidthat we have.
I don't have one.
I had thyroid cancer at age 41,and I'm thriving in menopause.
So there you go.

(16:51):
Um, but it's not an easy feat.
So when you do check yourthyroid panel with your
practitioner, make sure theycheck TSH, free T3, free T4, and
antibodies.
Those are the most importantparts of the thyroid.
There are other tests that youcan check, but those are
critically important.
So make sure you can rule outthat thyroid isn't the problem.

(17:17):
So another reason why we couldexperience hair loss is stress.
Stress, stress, stress.
Stress is always a factor ineverything.
And with stress, I think I'llhave to do a separate show on
that altogether because thereare so many things that you can

(17:39):
do for managing stress,including lifestyle,
supplementation, that sort ofthing.
So if you're going through avery high stress period in your
life, um, you're gonna want towork with a practitioner who can
kind of help you mitigate thoseeffects of stress.
Um, another thing that couldcause hair loss is medications

(18:05):
that you're on.
So check very carefully on sideeffects and see if that is a
side effect.
And if it is, find out why thatmedication can affect your
hair.
And the reason I say that islet's say, I don't know, you're

(18:26):
on some blood pressuremedication, and you find out
that that particular bloodpressure medication can deplete
B vitamins, then you might know,hey, since I'm taking this
blood pressure medication, Ibetter be taking a high-quality

(18:47):
methylated form of B complexvitamins to try to counteract
those side effects.
So you see what I'm saying?
You have to be your own healthdetective, my friends.
And this is why, you know, youhear stuff on social media, and
this person says, do this forhair loss.

(19:09):
Well, it's not so simple.
And a lot of it falls into yourown detective work because
nobody will know your bodybetter than you do, my beauties.
So, okay, I talked aboutstress, medications, thyroid,
hormones.
Now, another thing that couldcause hair loss is a

(19:34):
dysregulated blood sugar.
So, again, go back to yourpractitioner, make sure they
check fasting insulin, fastingglucose, make sure they check
your HBA1C, which is athree-month snapshot on how much
sugar is basically sittingthere and wreaking havoc on your

(19:58):
bloodstream, on your bloodsugar.
So those metrics are reallyimportant to understand.
And I do work with nutrients.
I am a certified metabolicbalance coach as well, but there
are certain nutrients that arebig helps with this blood sugar

(20:23):
dysregulation and insulinsensitivity.
When you are working with yourpractitioner, speak to them
about orthomolecular products.
This the two that I swear byare CM core and diaxinol, and I
have zero affiliation with them.
They're just great formulationsthat include cinnamon and

(20:46):
chromium and berberine.
And it's never just aboutberberine.
Everyone hears about berberine,berberine, berberine.
And yes, berberine iswonderful, but berberine alone a
lot of times doesn't do thetrick.
Those are the facts, and that'smy experience.
So nutrients, I'll I'll shiftover to nutrients because I

(21:09):
think it's really important.
If you eat a diet that is notbalanced, if you eat a lot of
sugar, um, if you are on avegetarian or vegan diet, your
hair loss could be a cause ofthat diet.
So ensuring that you haveproper nutrients.

(21:33):
And then what I will also say,for example, B complex vitamins.
You always see biotin in allhair formulas.
Biotin is really important tosupport the integrity of the
hair.
So B vitamins, just to explaina little bit about how they're
so important.
B12 is one of the family of Bvitamins that's really hard to

(21:59):
get in non-animal foods.
So a lot of times, if you're avegan, you need to supplement
with B complex B vitaminsbecause of that factor.
You can get B12 in like dairyand cheat, you know, those kinds

(22:20):
of foods.
But what I will explain is howthere is this domino effect.
So let's say you are goingthrough a very stressful period
in your life.
What can happen is you aredepleting those B vitamins very
quickly.

(22:40):
And perhaps under such stress,you're not eating a balanced
diet.
So you're not replenishingthose B vitamins.
B vitamins are water-solublevitamins.
And the best way to think aboutit is they're easy in, easy
out.
And some of the things, even ifyou're exercising a ton, if

(23:03):
you're under a lot of stress,you could be depleting those B
vitamins and then experiencehair loss.
You see how there can be adomino effect.
So you really need to be yourown health detective to figure
out what's going on and why.
And take the time to examinewhat's your why in this reason.

(23:25):
So B vitamins are veryimportant if you are still
menstruating because chances ofbeing really low in iron or
ferritin are less as you getolder and as you stop
menstruating.
But I always had an issue withlow ferritin as well as thyroid
in my 40s.
I believe in taking either aniron bisglycinate or a heme form

(23:52):
of iron and take it withvitamin C if ferritin and iron
are your reasons.
So again, you got to get bloodwork with your practitioner to
find out what's going on there.
Because you can experience hairloss if your iron levels are
normal, but your ferritin isnot.

(24:13):
I've been there.
So that's another thing tocheck.
And then I always say, youknow, look to healthy essential
fatty acids for healthy hair.
That's also very important.
So the last thing I'm going totalk about, I'm going to call
this my bonus.

(24:33):
Okay.
And again, I do want to saymake sure you work with a
practitioner because I don'tknow you.
And I'm not giving you anyadvice because I don't know you.
I'm just giving you thesebreadcrumbs for you to go and
speak with a qualifiedpractitioner who understands the

(24:54):
stuff I'm talking about.
Because a lot of cases, yourgeneral physician will not.
So the last thing, and this isa bonus, and this is something
that I've been using for yearsnow.
And it's called black cuminseed oil, or I think it's
Nigella something.
I had to look it up, Nigellasativa.

(25:18):
I always think of weed when yousay sativa, so that's why I
wasn't really sure.
Anyway, with black cumin seedoil, there are you can either
ingest it or you can use ittopically on your hair.
I ingest capsules.
And what's really interestingabout black human seed oil is

(25:40):
there's a lot of differentthings it can do for the body
that are good for the body.
But again, check if it's rightfor you.
One is remember, I was talkingabout DHT, which is that form of
testosterone that can be very,a very powerful form of
testosterone.
It modulates that.
So it kind of helps keep it incheck, especially during that

(26:02):
time when you're inperimenopause or menopause and
your hormones are kind of allover the place.
The other thing is that it'santi-inflammatory.
Inflammation is always going tocause problems, and hair loss
might be one of them.
It's also an essential fattyacid, it's also an antioxidant,
and it supports insulinsensitivity.

(26:22):
And there has actually beensome research to compare it to
minoxidil, you know, the rogain,and its effectiveness.
So this is kind of that, youknow, that secret that not many
people, unless you're apractitioner, um, even know
about.
So I hope this was helpful.

(26:44):
And I would love for you to goahead and rate and review my
podcast with a few kind words.
So you can do this on Spotify,you can do this on Apple.
Make sure you're actuallysubscribing to my podcast and
follow me on all of my socialmedia channels.
It's Sandy Knutritioneverywhere where you're going to

(27:08):
get authentic content withintegrity.
That's the key.
So do that.
And then the last thing I amgoing to say is I have actually
sent out my information to a fewvery targeted companies that I
would love to work with.
I'm like, you know, I have hadsponsors in the past, but I

(27:33):
don't believe in one-offadvertising.
I really don't like thatpersonally.
So if you are a business thatis looking to partner with me on
all of my social mediachannels, including my podcast,
get in touch with me, Sandy atsandyknutrition.ca.

(27:53):
Thank you, thank you, thankyou.
Share this and thank you forbeing here.
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(28:15):
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Hair Loss After 40: Causes, Hormones, Thyroid, and Real Fixes That Work - Episode 297

Episode Transcript

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Hair Loss After 40: Causes, Hormones, Thyroid, and Real Fixes That Work - Episode 297