Finding hair on your pillow, covering the shower drain and filling your hairbrush can be daunting, but don’t panic yet. Yes, you are losing hair, but how much is normal?
Most of us are born with about 100,000 hairs and 90% of those hairs are in a constant growth mode. Some follicles will go into a resting or dormant phase and shedding hair simply allows new hair to take its place, so its fair to say losing 50 to 100 hairs is considered normal.
Folic acid, one of the vitamin B complexes has been shown to play a role in keeping skin and hair healthy and thanks to a veterinary study, noted that folic acid was instrumental in improvement of the calf with significant hair loss. A three week old Charolais calf presented with hair loss was given a daily oral dose of 1mg/kg. The results were substantial, starting with a gradual decrease in tiny crusts that had formed on the skin. And his hair back to a normal state within 8 weeks of treatment.
Deficiency in folic acid has the potential of causing hair loss and/or slow regrowth due to lack of oxygen and blood flow to the cells responsible for growth. We can derive that taking folic acid may eliminate the deficiency of hair loss, although it has not been demonstrated in humans, we have Mr. Calf to thank.
Studies show that folic acid in the B vitamin family is essential for the generation of new cells and the recommended dose for humans is 400 micrograms per day. Prefer to get your vitamins via food groups, try dark leafy vegetables, spinach and greens. Asparagus and broccoli are also rich in folic acid and citrus fruits, especially oranges, papaya, grapefruit, bananas and strawberries are rich in this needed acid.
Since hair growth relies on frequent cell regeneration as well as a consistent supply of folic acid, a supplement and or food sources are excellent options. A physician may prescribe folic acid in addition to your diet, however, if you choose a route like a vitamin shop or herbal store, do your research on the purity of the product as all products are not created equal.
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