An interview with Dr. Jonathan Wright for Natural Solutions on Hair Loss and Weak Nails

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Suzanne's Blog - Health and Hormones

 

 

Honey, I Shrunk My Ponytail! – An interview with Dr. Jonathan Wright

for Natural Solutions on Hair Loss and Weak Nails

March 1, 2010 4:22 PM

 

 

I had the pleasure to interview Dr. Jonathan Wright for my last two

books, BREAKTHROUGH and KNOCKOUT. Subsequently he has agreed to do a

series of interviews on my blog to provide vital information for many

of the issues women face today. The first was on Vit K and its

benefits to help menstrual clotting. Today we will tackle the issue

of thinning hair and weak nails.

 

 

SUZANNE: Hi, Dr. Wright. Thank you for continuing this important

series for my readers. I meet so many women who are complaining they

are losing their hair or have weak nails. What causes this?

 

 

DR. WRIGHT:There are several conditions which cause women to lose

their hair. First we have the relatively rare condition called

“alopecia areata”, in which an entire “patch” or even multiple

“patches” of hair fall out, surrounded by entirely healthy scalp with

lots of hair. Secondly, we have even more rare “alopecia totalis” in

which all the hair—everywhere on the scalp—drops out. But the much

more common condition I want to discuss today commonly begins at peri-

menopause (and sometimes even before then!) and is just “thinning out

all over”, when we find too much hair in the shower or bathtub drain

type of hair loss. A typical observation about this kind of hair loss

is “Gee, when I put my hair in a ponytail, the ponytail is getting

skinnier and skinnier!”

 

 

SUZANNE:This is a big problem for women. I remember when I was young

there was a certain age where women just didn’t wear their hair long

anymore because it got too thin. Everyone got those “mom” cuts by age

40. And also I hear a lot of complaints about nails getting weaker

and weaker.

 

 

DR. WRIGHT: Some women will tell me their nails have been in poor

condition for years, while others will say they are gradually getting

worse and worse. Even adding gelatin or calcium – the nails

chronically chip, peel, crack, “layer back”, are too thin and break

way too easily.

 

 

SUZANNE:Do thinning hair and weak nails have same cause?

 

 

DR. WRIGHT:Yes, they do have the same cause, but surprisingly, even

though both problems have the same underlying cause, I’ve very rarely

heard, in 37 years of natural medicine practice, from one woman who

has both problems at the same time.

 

 

SUZANNE: So what is the cause?

 

 

DR. WRIGHT:Recent research has established a link between low levels

of iron and relatively uniformly distributed female scalp hair loss.

 

 

SUZANNE:So if we supplement with iron will it help our hair and nails?

 

 

DR. WRIGHT:It goes deeper than that. Finding the connection to

“thinning all over” hair loss and low iron levels is progress, but

surprisingly, low iron levels, hair loss, and poor quality nails all

have the same underlying cause for women of all ages: it’s “gastric

hypochlorhydria”, translated into English: low stomach acid.

 

 

SUZANNE:Most people would never link low stomach acid to these other

issues. How does low stomach acid cause iron deficiency, hair loss,

and nail weakening?

 

 

DR. WRIGHT:If stomach acid is low, protein isn’t efficiently digested

– and hair and nails are made up of… protein! If we are deficient in

protein, our bodies know that we can live without hair or nail

proteins, but we can’t survive without heart muscle proteins or other

important body proteins. So if we are short in supply of protein, the

hair or nails are the first to go. Optimal stomach function—which

includes optimal stomach acid—is also key to optimal digestion and

absorption of iron, many other minerals, and at least two key B

vitamins. It’s no wonder hair or nails “go bad”! If a woman in her

twenties or thirties is losing a lot of hair, we now know it’s from

too little stomach acid and pepsin. This can be replenished with

Hydrochloric Acid with Pepsin capsules. (HCL-pepsin). With women in

their forties who are losing their hair, often it’s a combination of

low stomach acid, low thyroid, and sex hormone loss – mainly estrogen

and progesterone. In this case we replace missing hormones with

bioidentical estrogen, progesterone, and thyroid. Then we also

replace the missing or low hydrochloric acid. But there is one more

key element on the outside track – DHEA. Sometimes DHEA is the key

missing element.

 

 

SUZANNE:That’s your cocktail for hair loss, I love it. How great to

have a natural remedy to replace what’s missing rather than a drug to

put a Band-Aid on things. So in women losing their hair, you would

look for a doctor who specializes in anti-aging medicine and ask for a

gastric analysis?

 

 

DR. WRIGHT:And from my experience, I would say it will probably reveal

low stomach acid for sure, and/or low thyroid, and/or a lack of DHEA

and/or natural sex hormones. Once those are replenished, the hair and

nails get thicker and stronger.

 

 

SUZANNE:I have a friend who was very upset that she was losing her

hair. She started taking 3-4 Hydrochloric Acid with Pepsin (HCL-

pepsin) capsules (available at health food stores) with each meal and

her hair is coming back and her bloating is subsiding. She’s

thrilled! I’ve been taking HCL-pepsin for several years, and I’m

happy to say, my nails and hair are both in great shape. I’ve

covered many of these topics in my book, BREAKTHROUGH. If my readers

want more extensive information on low stomach acid, hair loss and

nail weakening, where should they look?

 

 

Dr. WRIGHT:For a brief review of low stomach acid and related

problems, you might see my recently published book Stomach (Praktikos

Books, Mt. Vernon, Virginia, 2009) or the older book Why Stomach Acid

is Good for You (M. Evans & Company, New York, 2001) written by Lane

Lenard, Ph.D., and me.

 

 

SUZANNE:

 

 

Thank you, Dr. Wright.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suzanne Somers

 

 

 

 

Susan Siegel

 

 

 

 

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