By Julian of Guyanesesista.blogspot.com

Are  you suffering from hair loss? Have you found out the source of your hair loss from a professional? You may want to go this route. I was talking about the cause of hair loss with a trichologist a few years ago and I was also thinking about other ladies suffering from hair loss and trying things that just aren’t working.What I found out was that although many lose hair from traction alopecia that is not the only cause.  A poor diet can also cause the hair not to grow back and will cause even more hair to fall out.  Just like iron deficiency, poor diet can wreak havoc on hair if prolonged. You can become deficient in one or more nutrients and be left with the task of figuring out what went wrong.  This week we will focus on protein and amino acids.

Protein Deficiency Hair Loss

According to Everyday Health, hair loss may be caused by lack of protein. “Protein Malnutrition” may be caused when people go on crash diets where protein is excluded or have poor eating habits. The body will then start to conserve protein by “shifting growing hairs into the resting phase” with shedding occurring 2 to 3 months later. I can attest to the above mentioned when I had extremely poor eating habits due to stress. When I found this article I analyzed my eating habits and realized that I did notice hair loss during my most stressful times. It’s funny how when we are going through certain things in life we never realize how our bodies may be affected and we certainly never think that something simple like hair would be affected until it shows up on the bathroom floor. The condition however, can be treated by eating an adequate amount of protein and watching protein intake when dieting.

Amino Acids in Aloe Vera

Protein is composed of the amino acids essential for the building of new cells, including hair. There are five amino acids that are relevant to hair growth which are methionine, cystine, cysteine, arginine and lysine. Aloe vera has four of those amino acids. So while being able to balance hair’s pH therefore reducing single strand knots, aloe vera also contains four out of the five amino acids needed for hair growth. Oh yea, AND it is a natural digestive aid. We require 22 amino acids and the body will make all of them except for eight essential amino acids which our body gets from food. All of the essential amino acids are available in aloe vera and they are isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, valine, and tryptophan. Some of the other non-essential amino acids found in aloe vera include alanine, arginine, asparagine, cysteine, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, proline, serine, tyrosine, glutamine, and aspartic acid. So for hair growth aloe vera contains lysine, methionine, arginine, and cysteine. So as you can see, I chose to focus on aloe vera because it has everything needed in the amino acid area. It is recommended to use the leaf by scraping the gel out and blending in juice. It could also be added to your green smoothies.

Here is a list of High Protein Foods from About.com
Beef
Hamburger patty, 4 oz – 28 grams protein
Steak, 6 oz – 42 grams
Most cuts of beef – 7 grams of protein per ounce

Chicken
Chicken breast, 3.5 oz – 30 grams protein
Chicken thigh – 10 grams (for average size)
Drumstick – 11 grams
Wing – 6 grams
Chicken meat, cooked, 4 oz – 35 grams

Fish
Most fish fillets or steaks are about 22 grams of protein for 3 ½ oz (100 grams) of cooked fish, or 6 grams per ounce
Tuna, 6 oz can – 40 grams of protein

Pork
Pork chop, average – 22 grams protein
Pork loin or tenderloin, 4 oz – 29 grams
Ham, 3 oz serving – 19 grams
Ground pork, 1 oz raw – 5 grams; 3 oz cooked – 22 grams
Bacon, 1 slice – 3 grams
Canadian-style bacon (back bacon), slice – 5 – 6 grams

Eggs and Dairy
Egg, large – 6 grams protein
Milk, 1 cup – 8 grams
Cottage cheese, ½ cup – 15 grams
Yogurt, 1 cup – usually 8-12 grams, check label
Soft cheeses (Mozzarella, Brie, Camembert) – 6 grams per oz
Medium cheeses (Cheddar, Swiss) – 7 or 8 grams per oz
Hard cheeses (Parmesan) – 10 grams per oz

Beans (including soy)
Tofu, ½ cup 20 grams protein
Tofu, 1 oz, 2.3 grams
Soy milk, 1 cup – 6 -10 grams
Most beans (black, pinto, lentils, etc) about 7-10 grams protein per half cup of cooked beans
Soy beans, ½ cup cooked – 14 grams protein
Split peas, ½ cup cooked – 8 grams
Nuts and Seeds
Peanut butter, 2 Tablespoons – 8 grams protein
Almonds, ¼ cup – 8 grams
Peanuts, ¼ cup – 9 grams
Cashews, ¼ cup – 5 grams
Pecans, ¼ cup – 2.5 grams
Sunflower seeds, ¼ cup – 6 grams
Pumpkin seeds, ¼ cup – 19 grams
Flax seeds – ¼ cup – 8 grams

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