Folic acid for hair regrowth/thinning/hair loss??

[Crystal22]

http://lynncapehartwellness.com/2011/01/15/blog-2-hair-loss-thinning/

What do you guys think of this? She claims folic acid is really the precursor to hair growth Seems like alot of folic acid to be taking in addition to support vitamins, as she calls them.. ( b complex 100,(not 50) biotin and silica). If you read through to the comments she goes on to explain how taking any b vitamins alone actually throws your other b vits into deficiency (which i already knew) inadvertently affecting your hair growth negatively....so taking silica or biotin alone is actually not good. What say ye??

I figured a good multi or hair vitamin has the b vitamins covered so I shouldn't really worry. I choose not to take biotin separately bc it breaks me out but she says the reason for this is bc you aren't balancing your other bs well enough....you shouldn't break out from biotin....What do ya'll think? is this formula extreme?

 

[faithVA]

The formula does look extreme since the recommended amount per day is 400 mcg and she is recommending 8000mcg+. Folic acid is water soluble so the body will release a lot of the extra. From what I have read is that the risk of taking too much folic acid is that it may hide a deficiency in b12.

Before even considering any of this you should get bloodwork done to see where your current levels are.

I agree with taking a balance of b-vitamins and if taking biotin take them with the b-complex. I do think for some people taking individual vitamins throws things off. Taking biotin and silica within a blend will probably work better for most people than individually.

The thing is all of this is based on where your levels are. That is why one person can take mass doses of biotin and it works and the next person breakouts with no positive results. They aren't starting from the same levels of vitamins/minerals/etc in their system. Their bodies also don't process things the same.

I wouldn't follow her regimen because she set that up specifically for them. After you get your levels checked you could always try smaller doses of folic acid to see if you see any result.

I'm not a big fan of mega dosing anything.

 

[Crystal22]

That is so true faithVA. I would definitely get my levels checked before trying this out but then I wonder if folic acid is water soluble wouldn't your body just flush what it doesn't need? I know vits ADE and k are water soluble. She states she had to up her dosage for herself to get the results she wanted....does that mean her levels were so low she had to take way more than the recommended amount? I obviously don't know her diet but lots of common foods are fortified with folic acid nowadays.....i dont see how anyone should be that deficient...with an American diet atleast.

 

[faithVA]

That is so true faithVA. I would definitely get my levels checked before trying this out but then I wonder if folic acid is water soluble wouldn't your body just flush what it doesn't need? I know vits ADE and k are water soluble. She states she had to up her dosage for herself to get the results she wanted....does that mean her levels were so low she had to take way more than the recommended amount? I obviously don't know her diet but lots of common foods are fortified with folic acid nowadays.....i dont see how anyone should be that deficient...with an American diet atleast.

I'm no where near an expert. What I did read is that some people can only use the folic acid in a supplement and their body ignores the folic acid in foods.

The body is complicated. Because it is supposed to do something doesn't mean it will do it. The body is supposed to flush things but when you give it large amounts it can flush part of it and then store part of it in areas it shouldn't store it. So her body may flush the excess but my body may store it and then my organs try to go into over drive. One person's body can flush it and another person's body sees the excess as toxic or it doesn't know what to do with it so it stores it in organs and tissues.

From my reading even if it does flush out, it can cause some type of issue with B12 readings.

You may want to do more reading on your own on high levels of folic acid.

 

[Saludable84]

Folic acid helps your body to produce energy and helps with metabolism.

Taking it in high doses with a prescription can be a recipe for disaster. It can be toxic in high doses. I take 4mg of FA now and that's because I'm pregnant. Otherwise when I wasn't preggo my maximum had to be 1 mg. it also bothers the stomach.

 

[snoop]

Folic acid helps your body to produce energy and helps with metabolism.

Taking it in high doses with a prescription can be a recipe for disaster. It can be toxic in high doses. I take 4mg of FA now and that's because I'm pregnant. Otherwise when I wasn't preggo my maximum had to be 1 mg. it also bothers the stomach.

Do you take 4mg or 4mcg? My prenatals have 1000mcg (1mg) which is higher than a lot of seen on the market. 4 mg would be high, but as you said you're pg ...only using that to compare to 8000mcg (8mg) which as you pointed out would be crazy!

 

[Saludable84]

Do you take 4mg or 4mcg? My prenatals have 1000mcg (1mg) which is higher than a lot of seen on the market. 4 mg would be high, but as you said you're pg ...only using that to compare to 8000mcg (8mg) which as you pointed out would be crazy!

4 mg because I am high risk. But that's from doctors orders. My prenatals have a 800mcg also.