Alopecia – Can Ayurveda help?

Autoimmune conditions are nothing to fool around with.

Our hair is such an important part of our physical identity. A healthy head of hair is associated with youth and beauty. Taking care of our hair is a significant part of our beautification rituals, which makes dealing with drastic hair loss terrifying and emotionally triggering. What happened at the US Academy Awards (aka the Oscars) last week with the slap heard around the world is an example.

In case you haven’t heard the news… Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in reaction to a bald joke directed at Will’s wife, Jada Pinckett-Smith, who is suffering from an autoimmune condition with drastic hair loss, known as Alopecia.

Jada is not alone in her autoimmune struggle.

Sadly, in the United States, over 100 documented forms of autoimmune diseases exist, mostly affecting women and 1 in 15 people overall are affected, including myself.

What is Alopecia? 

Alopecia is when your body’s immune system attacks the hair follicles, which is where the hair grows. Hair loss can happen anywhere, including the head, beard, armpits, ears, nose, eye brows and even eye lashes. The loss of hair may happen in patches vs an overall thinning. If you suffer from Alopecia, you may also have issues with your nails turning red or brittle. 

Alopecia is classified in three types:

• Alopecia Areata: patchy baldness anywhere on the body
• Alopecia Totalis: full baldness of the scalp
• Alopecia Universalis: complete hair loss across entire body

What causes Alopecia?

Alopecia is classified as an autoimmune disease, which means the body’s intelligence has been disrupted to the point where your immune system attacks a part of your body. In the condition of Alopecia, the immune system is attacking the hair follicles and the process of making new hairs.

Ayurveda and Hair Growth

Ayurveda defines the tissues of our body in two categories: Dhatus and Upadhatus. When we digest food and rebuild our tissues (Dhatus), there is a post-digestive secondary tissue that is formed (Upadhatus) and a byproduct tissue (malas).

Our hair and nails are a secondary tissue or byproduct of our bones and bone marrow. When the health of our hair and nails are not optimal, Ayurveda recognizes its direct relationship to the health of our bones and bone marrow.

Ayurveda and Why AutoImmunity Happens

Your immune system a gift of nature that protects you from diseases caused by viruses, bacterias or other microbes that are harmful to your body. We are born with an inherent or innate immune system and adaptive immune system develops with exposures.

In the SVA lineage of Ayurveda, we look at three systems of the body that support your immune system: The digestive system, liver, and bone marrow. This trifecta of systems are intimately intertwined and impact your immune system individually and collectively. A trouble in one, often leads to troubles in the others.

Here’s how these systems impact your immune system.

Digestive system – Lined with a protective mucosal layer and friendly microbes, your digestive system is the first defense against the ingestion of harmful pathogens through your nose and mouth. When this line of defense is compromised it can cause “leaky gut”. When this happens ingested pathogens and undigested food particles can invade other areas of your bodies, triggering an immune response. You may experience it as food allergies or sensitivities, chronic inflammation and hyperactive immune system response which can lead to auto-immune conditions.

Liver Functions– the liver is possibly the hardest working organ you have. Its role in your immune system is as a rich warehouse of innate immune system cells, called macrophages. These cells in the liver are the first to attack invaders in the digestives system. If the liver is overtaxed with invaders, it can’t keep up. This causes the liver to inflame, overheating the immune system, which can lead to hyperactivity or auto-immune response.

Bone Marrow Production – your bone marrow is the source of new blood cells and new bone, fat and cartilage cells. White blood cells and monocytes (premature macrophage cells) are related to the immune system. When toxins burrow into the bone marrow, this disturbs the formation of your blood and immune cells, and ultimately how they function throughout your digestive system and liver.

Specifically to Alopecia, since hair is a byproduct of bone tissue, which comes from the bone marrow, it is easy to understand that compromised bone marrow could be at the root of the auto-immune response affecting the hair follicle growth cycle. However, we would be remiss to ignore the health of our digestive system and liver functioning as contributors.

Ayurveda’s Healing Approach

Ayurveda is an ancient holistic healing system that dates back over 5,000 years. Respecting our inseparable connection with nature, Ayurveda’s healing approach works with your mind and body’s inherent intelligence to heal. I call this process the enlightened wellness from within.

You can enlighten your own inner healing power using Ayurvedic lifestyle choices regarding food, self-care and routines for the day and changes in season. In disease management, such as autoimmune conditions, you need to identify the root causes to choose the right Ayurvedic lifestyle choices for YOU.

How do you get to the root cause?

Look for the signs.

Ayurvedic signs go beyond identifying symptoms alone. It focuses on what’s causing them.

Here’s a highlight of what you can learn during coaching sessions.

• What energetic forces (doshas) are out of balance and where?
• How healthy is the digestive energy (Agni)?
• What is the health of the body and systems of the body?
• Are toxins (Ama) present and is it digestive, emotional, environmental or electromagnetic in source?
• What daily habits of self-care are practiced?
• What is the health history, including In Utero and generational?

The conclusion is helping you set Ayurvedic lifestyle goals to implement regarding food, herbs, self-care, detoxification and routines.

Whew! That’s a lot to unpack. You’re right, it is.

But, like Jada, you aren’t alone.

What you can do?

If there’s a bit of advice I can share to get you started it’s this – Take the time to tune in with yourself.

• Listen to how your body and mind are feeling.
• Observe how your body reacts after meals.
• How are you managing stress.
• Take inventory of potential toxins hiding in your food and self care products.
• How has your life’s story led you to today.
• Be kind and compassionate with yourself, knowing you are more than a diagnosis.

You also don’t have to try to figure it all out by yourself.

If you feel an Ayurvedic lifestyle can support you or curious to learn more about Ayurveda, let’s chat.

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