"High-salt diets cause excess sodium accumulation around the hair follicles, preventing the absorption of vital nutrients required for healthy hair. This, in turn causes hair loss. Increasing potassium intake will remove excess sodium and eliminate the potassium deficiency and resulting hair loss"
The Sodium & Potassium Relationship
Too much sodium STRIKES AGAIN! Very interesting that I should come across this article when trying to research reasons and solutions for this stupid hair thinning that I've been experiencing. I was recently given a blood test at my doctor that revealed that all my hormones were "in check", but I was potassium deficient and Vitamin D deficient. My potassium levels were quit low.I will admit, that my diet in the past few months has been less than......well it's been very bad.
No excuses......well, maybe just one....I have been really stressed out. Okay, so I have no excuse to let my eating habits fall so badly, but now I am really concerned. My blood levels are showing that this is more than likely a nutrition problem and it can be corrected just as easily by eating better (and maybe taking supplements).
So, after hearing this news, I began to change things around a bit. I began taking a Vitamin D Supplement and eating more potassium rich foods (not tons, but more than before). However, I was still wondering why my hair was still thinning after changing my diet to incorporate more potassium and vitamin D.
Then, coming across this article this evening, I think I may take a different approach and re-evaluate my eating habits again. YES, I know that my normal intake of Sodium is horrible. But little did I know that high-fat and high-sodium diets can very much cause hair thinning/loss (along with other horrible things).
I fear that I have been taking in WAY more sodium than my body is able to counteract because of my lack of potassium; ie. too much sodium, not enough potassium.
By increasing potassium in my diet and LOWERING THE SODIUM, I may can stop this hair thinning. I have seen this on many other medical websites after I first saw this one. CLICK HERE
"High-salt diets cause excess sodium accumulation
around the hair follicles, preventing the absorption of vital nutrients
required for healthy hair. This, in turn causes hair loss. Increasing potassium
intake will remove excess sodium and eliminate the potassium deficiency and
resulting hair loss....The sodium-potassium pump in the kidneys
allows potassium to replace sodium when ingested and therefore reduce or
eliminate the problem of hair loss."
Doctor OZ, and other physicians, recommend 4,700 mg of Potassium daily. Most people associate bananas with potassium. Although they are a good source, they only contain 350-450 mg of potassium. You would have to eat 10 bananas a day to get the potassium that you need. So, I have compiled a list of other potassium rich foods. I have found that my favorites include spinach and apricots. I throw some spinach (1 cup) in with my eggs in the mornings and make a trail mix with lots of dried apricots.
I would love to know if anyone else has made this connection with high-sodium/low-potassium and it's effects.
POTASSIUM LIST: (From WebMD)
Other Lists:
