The Most Important Amino Acids to Prevent and Treat Hair Loss

If you are having a problem with hair loss, there are several possible causes and solutions. You may be deficient in several amino acids essential for healthy hair growth. Supplementing with amino acids is known to stop hair loss and promote hair strength and growth.

Why Are Amino Acids Important to Your Hair?
 
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Without sufficient amounts of the amino acids essential for hair health, your body cannot keep your follicles healthy and produce the keratin that becomes your hair. Surprisingly, most of the amino acids that are essential for your hair are not essential for overall health.

Methionine for Hair Growth and Strength
 
Methionine is the lone essential amino acid that is tied to hair growth. It has very strong anti-oxidant properties, and contains large amounts of sulfur, an essential element for hair, skin and nail health. Sulfur improves hair strength and appearance, and supports normal growth. Foods containing methionine include Brazil nuts, cereal grains, meat, eggs, fish, meat and sesame seeds.

Arginine For Healthy Roots and Follicles
 
In its active form, this semi-essential amino acid is called L-arginine. Your body usually synthesizes adequate amounts of arginine from food such as nuts, seeds, beef, dairy products, fish and poultry. Stress and aging affect the levels of this amino acid, requiring supplementation. Arginine is a precursor of nitric oxide, which helps the body supply sufficient blood flow to the hair roots.

Tyrosine for Hair Color and Body Metabolism
 
Tyrosine is actually a byproduct of the amino acid phenylalanine, and is naturally produced by the body. It supports thyroid, adrenal and pituitary health and is responsible for the creation of melanin, which gives our hair and skin its color. Stress is a major contributing factor in hair loss, and tyrosine reduces the levels of stress hormones in the body. You find tyrosine in fish, lima beans, dairy, turkey, peanuts, almonds and pumpkin seeds.

Cysteine for a Healthy Growth Rate
 
Cysteine is produced by our bodies and is necessary for hair growth. It supplies sulfur to strengthen hair cells. It also transports minerals, such as zinc and iron, which can reverse hair loss. Food sources include meat, milk, eggs, oats, red pepper, and onions.

Cystine to Treat Hair Loss
 
Approximately 10 to 14 percent of our skin and hair is made up of Cystine. It is formed when two cysteine molecules create a disulfide bond, and provides strength to hair shafts. Cystine has been used to treat hair loss and has been shown to promote hair regrowth.

Taurine for Healthy Hair Follicles
 
Taurine is synthesized in the body from cysteine and is the most abundant sulfur amino acid in humans. It is also found in food such as meat and marine animals. A taurine deficiency can lead to thin, weak hair. It is active in preventing the breakdown of hair follicles.

Amino acids are available in supplement form. If you are suffering from stress or illness or are a senior, you probably need to supplement your intake of amino acids. There are also essential vitamins that help prevent hair loss and regrow hair, so a balanced diet is essential to maintaining the health of your hair and scalp.

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Diatomaceous Earth + Iodine Trial: Day 34

Since I last posted about this protocol, I have stopped taking iodine altogether for awhile. I'm going to start back at one drop a day in 8 ozs. of water, divided into one dose every four hours. For some reason, taking more than one drop a day causes me all sorts of problems. I joined Stephanie Buist's iodine group on Facebook, where someone said the iodine is probably causing side effects because I have adrenal fatigue, so another something to worry about.

All of this is so complicated, and it seems you need to have so many levels checked by doctors all the time that it's nearly impossible for me to follow. Not having insurance or access to free medical care, sometimes I think I should just give up and let myself die. I keep trying to get to the free clinic on Wednesdays, but something always comes up or it's pouring rain or freezing cold, and without a car, that makes it very difficult to get there. I'll keep trying, but it is very discouraging.

I have noticed a few things that I want you to know about.

SKIN

My skin health is improving. Evidently, the diatomaceous earth is rebuilding my skin. I judge by the skin on my arms and hands, because it is so damaged from the parasites that took up residence there for so many years, I can see changes there the best. The skin on my arms is no longer so terribly dry and flaky, and seems to be less dehydrated. I haven't started taking my coconut oil daily yet, and having to wear long sleeves in this cold weather makes it impossible to put the oil on my arms, but it does seem to be improving.

HAIR & NAILS

My hair seems to be getting thicker at the roots and on the edges. This has to be from the DE, because I haven't been putting castor oil on my scalp. I can see some tiny hairs about 1/4 inch long on the top of my head, and some peach fuzzy type hair coming in on the edges. When I pull my hair up, I can definitely see a very narrow line of darker hair at the roots. I don't color my hair, so the DE seems to be making my hair darker. I'll be getting my hair cut soon, so it can grow out thicker in the altogether in time.

My fingernails are growing like mad! It takes awhile for them to grow completely out to the newer, stronger nails, and I'm impatient to see how that works. I have always had weak nails that curve under when they get too long. I'd love to have stronger nails that grow out straight. On the other hand, my toenails don't seem to be growing any faster at all. I damaged my toenails when I was moving last May, and lost the nail on my right big toe. It has just about grown completely back out, except for one corner which is still black. A few other nails have ridges at the end that I would like to see grow out faster.

ENERGY LEVEL

My energy level is higher, but I'm having a harder time concentrating. I'll be taking my CoQ10 and L-Tyrosine to try to combat that, because it makes it difficult to work. I felt energetic enough to start riding my bicycle last week, and to give the house a really good cleaning, which I haven't done in a long time due to lack of energy.

I'm setting up a schedule today to start taking my supplements again on a daily basis. It's complicated, because they have to be taken either once, twice or three times a day, so I have to set up an hourly schedule on when to take what. I have my spreadsheet done with all the supplements and how many times a day they are taken, so I just have to do the schedule now.

Well, I have to get back to work, so I'll leave this here. I hope this is helping someone. Please leave comments if it has helped you in any way.

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Diatomaceous Earth + Iodine: My 30-Day Trial Day - Day 30

Here's the wrapup of this 30 day regimen. I've not seen a whole lot of change, but there have been some, so here is what I experienced.

The diatomaceous earth made me feel better at first, until I added the iodine. The iodine caused a lot of problems, so I had to quit taking it for a few days. I'm not taking two drops of 5% Lugol's in 8 ozs. of water drunk throughout the day. I think taking it all at once was what caused most of the problems.

I am beginning to see a difference in my skin from the DE. It seems a little softer and not as dry. I'm going to add some Vitamin C serum to my protocol next month to see if that speeds things up a little.

I've been slack in taking my vitamins and supplements this month, and I'm beginning to see that I need to get back on them. I had read that the diatomaceous earth removed good things too, like iron, copper and zinc. I really need to get on a strict protocol to replace those. I read that you should take the DE in the morning and take your supplements about 6 hours later, or at night. Or you can take your supplements in the morning and take the DE at night. I think that might be the best way for me, since my supplements give me energy and may disturb my sleep.

Speaking of sleep, all my reading says that DE helps you sleep better, and I have found that to be true. When I forgot to take it for a few days, I had insomnia.

As for my hair, I can see a tiny bit of difference in the thickness, but I do think I still need to do the castor oil treatment at least 3 times a week, because it seems to help keep the hair from falling out. I believe I will need at least another month to really get a full idea of the benefits of DE.

So, wrapping it up, this is what I'm going to do for next month:

• Start back on all my supplements
• Add Vitamin C serum to my skin care regimen
• Continue to take 1 tablespoon of DE a day, but switch to taking it at night
• Take iodine in 8 ozs. of water drunk throughout the day. Try to increase by 1 drop a week.
• Add my borax back into my regimen at 1/4 tsp. in 1 liter of water drunk throughout the day
• Do a castor oil treatment on my hair three times a week
• Start back taking my coconut oil daily. 

 So a lot going on next month. Subscribe to find out how it goes. Thanks for reading!

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Diatomaceous Earth + Iodine: My 30-Day Trial Day 21

I've been having some bad detox symptoms from the protocol. I've stopped taking iodine completely for awhile, because I believe it's responsible for the symptoms. I'm up to 1 tablespoon of the diatomaceous earth every day, and have had no noticeable side effects or detox symptoms when taking it by itself.

I started this to get my thinning hair to grow back, and I'm beginning to see some progress on that front. I've discontinued using castor oil on my scalp, and am beginning to see some short new hairs coming out on the top of my head. I'm not seeing as much hair loss in my brushes either, but I know that my hair cannot truly thicken until that stops. No doubt, the hair that is still weak will eventually fall out. If I hold my hair up to the side, I can see where it is getting thicker near the scalp, but overall, it is still painfully thin.

As for the iodine, the detox symptoms included severe swelling in my throat and lymph glands, especially on the right side; pain in my sinuses and strange pains in my gut as if something was boring  through my intestines. My shoulder and neck on the right side were also painful, and I had pain going from my left elbow into my hand. My joints were so painful yesterday I could hardly finish my shopping, although I had taken three naproxen tablets. I also had shooting pains (neuralgia) all over my body and my left hip had severe pain that felt like a slipped disk. That hip has been giving me trouble for awhile, so it may be unrelated.

The reason I believe it is the iodine causing this is because these are pretty much the same detox symptoms I had when I did an iodine protocol without DE a couple of years ago.

I've decided to finish up the 30 days with the diatomaceous earth only, and to do a 30-day iodine treatment next.

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How to Take Bentonite Clay for Healing

Originally published 9/19/11
 
First, I want to say that you should NEVER take Sodium Bentonite clay. Yes, it is cheap, but it can build up in your intestines and cause blockages. Sodium Bentonite is used to stop leaks in industrial piping. Think about it. 

How do you know what kind of Bentonite you have? Put a tablespoon of clay into an 8 oz. glass of water and leave it for a few minutes. If it expands to 15 times its size, it's Sodium Bentonite. If it only expands to about twice its size, it's Calcium Bentonite.

You can read all about the benefits of using calcium Bentonite clay here. It isn't a commercial site, just a lot of information.

Start Slowly

Calcium bentonite clay contains silica, and some people are sensitive to it. The best way to start taking it for cleansing and healing is to dilute it and build up slowly. Always drink calcium Bentonite clay on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning or two hours after your last meal at night.

Add 1 tablespoon of calcium Bentonite to 8 ozs. of distilled water. Let it sit for 24 hours. Mix it well, and take out one teaspoon of that mixture and place it into 8 ozs. of distilled water. Drink that once a day for three days. On day four, you can drink the same mixture twice a day, once in the morning on an empty stomach, and once at night two hours after your last meal. Do this for four days, to make one week.

On week two, up the dosage to two teaspoons of the mixture once a day for three days, then twice a day for four days. Keep upping the mixture by one teaspoon every week until you get to the point where you are using 18 teaspoons (6 tablespoons) a day. At that point, you can simply mix 1 tsp. of  calcium Bentonite into 8 ozs. of distilled water and drink that every day on an empty stomach. Add 1/2 tsp. weekly until you work up to 1 tablespoon of calcium Bentonite in 8 ozs. of distilled water every day.

Drinking Additional Water and Fiber Requirements

Everyone knows that water is good for you. You need to drink at least half your body weight in ounces every day, which is difficult, no doubt. Caffeine drinks don't count as water, because they are diuretics that dehydrate you.

Calcium Bentonite can bind your intestines unless you drink enough water. It is recommended that after you drink your 8 ozs. of calcium bentonite mixture, you should drink another 8 ozs. of water or juice, then continue to drink your recommended amount of water during the day.

If you still get constipated, try taking some fiber with the Bentonite. Some people like to mix it with applesauce instead of drinking it. Some people eat oatmeal right after a dosage. You will read about what is called a P&B shake, which is calcium Bentonite and Psyllium husks. The problem with this is that Psyllium husks can rob your body of vitamins, and cause laxative dependence, so it's best to avoid this whenever possible. I've found that eating a bag of popcorn every night helps keep me pretty regular when I'm using the Bentonite. I haven't tried the applesauce, but many people find this works very well.

Where to Buy Calcium Bentonite Clay


I buy my clay on Amazon from Aztec Secrets. I suggest that if you are new to using Bentonite, you buy a small size first. If you don't like it, it can be used externally as well for masks and to draw impurities from your skin. It's a little over $10 + postage (free shipping with a $35 purchase or with Amazon Prime).


Aztec Secret - Indian Healing Clay, 1 lb clay

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