Autoimmunity & Inflammation
- Home
- Autoimmunity
Is Your Immune System Sabotaging Your Hair Growth?
Autoimmunity and Hair Loss: What’s the Connection?
These conditions can :
• Trigger chronic inflammation that damages hair follicles.
• Disrupt nutrient absorption, depriving follicles of essential growth factors.
• Affect hormone levels, disrupting the natural hair growth cycle.
Recognizing the Patterns of Autoimmune Hair Loss
Autoimmune-related hair loss can appear in different forms:
• Patchy Hair Loss: Smooth, bald spots (e.g., alopecia areata).
• Diffuse Thinning: Even thinning across the scalp (e.g., thyroid-related or lupus-related hair loss).
• Scarring Alopecia: Permanent hair loss where follicles are replaced by scar tissue (e.g., lichen planopilaris).
How Autoimmune Conditions Cause Hair Loss
Hair follicles are normally “immune-privileged,” meaning they’re protected from immune attacks. In autoimmune conditions, this privilege breaks down, leaving follicles vulnerable.
Autoimmune Diseases That Can Cause Hair Loss
- Alopecia (areata, totalis, universalsis)
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Celiac Disease
- Pernicious Anemia
- Vitiligo
- Type 1 Diabetes
- Crohn's Disease
- Scleroderma
- Ulcerative colitis
- Grave's Disease
- Lichen Planopilaris
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Hashimoto's
- Lupus
- Psoriasis
- Telogen Effluvium
- Covid
Autoimmunity Often Comes in Multiples
Possible Triggers
Autoimmune diseases have a strong chronic inflammatory component – the result of the immune system revved up to respond to what it considers a threat.
We all know that chronic stress, sleep deprivation and a poor diet can weaken our immune system, but there are other factors that might cause the immune system to act in such a misguided fashion.
Autoimmunity does not happen over night. It is a result of a unresolved stresses on the body and a failed attempt to return to homeostasis. Each attempt creates inflammation which leads to tissue destruction that can lead to the body tagging that tissue as harmful. This is where we roll up our sleeves and do heavy duty detective work to identify the challenges that led to such a damaging immune response.
- Nutrient Deficiencies
- Hormonal Imbalances: Thyroid dysfunction, adrenal fatigue, and high cortisol from chronic stress.
- Food Allergies, Sensitivities, and intolerances trigger systemic chronic inflammation
- Toxins: Exposure to heavy metals, mold, pesticides, and environmental chemicals.
- Chronic Infections: Persistent infections (viral, bacterial, or fungal) can confuse the immune system into attacking healthy tissue.
- Overuse of Antibiotics/Medications
- Increased Intestinal Permeability (Leaky Gut Syndrome)
- Poor Gut Health Issues: Up to 80% of the immune system resides in the gut, making conditions like dysbiosis a contributor.
How we can help
Like other health conditions, there are so many protocols, nutritional and supplement plans online that all this information can be overwhelming and paralyzing. Our approach figures out which one is best for you. By incorporating our detailed intake questionnaire, nutrient assessment, personalized protocol, customized food plan and targeted supplement program, we’ll provide you with actionable steps you can take to support and rebalance your immune system to get your body’s defense force back into action.
- Labwork Functional lab testing to dig deeper to understand exactly what is contributing to your immune dysregulation.
- 5-R Program Determine your triggers and work together to strengthen your body’s recovery by working through each phase.
- Personalized Protocol Connecting the dots between your symptoms, history and lab results is key to creating the best protocol tailored to your body, needs and goals.