I loved your Fact or Fiction article and it got me wondering about the fact that my 13 year old daughter is losing her hair. There�s a whole lot more in the tub drain after she showers and her hair has gotten noticeably thinner. She used to have such beautiful hair. We tried something from the doctor, but it didn�t make any difference. My daughter read your article too and says she�ll start eating better and wants to know if she should take any vitamins. Would they help?

This is an excellent question Amy. And, believe it or not, the problem is not uncommon. Your daughter�s diet can absolutely have a big effect on her hair (check out Stage #1 [Diet] of the Six Stages of Nutrition). Our hair, skin and fingernails are all great indicators of our health. They�re �telltale� signs of whether or not we�re getting what we need nutritionally.

These are my suggestions. First of all, have her eliminate refined sugar from her diet and eat more whole grains, fruits, vegetables and complete proteins. Secondly, she can supplement her diet with a good quality vitamin B-complex. (I also encourage other natural whole food supplements, but one step at a time.)

The vitamin B family has 11 members and, in nature, they occur in balanced ratios. This �balance� does not mean equal amounts of each, nor does it mean 100% of the RDA of each. In natural whole food, some of the B�s are present in large amounts, while others never exceed minute quantities. In my opinion, the individual B vitamins should never be taken separately, because that�s not how they show up in whole food. In fact, an over abundance of one B vitamin may cause excessive elimination of the others, essentially depleting the body of the very nutrient it needs. So be sure your daughter gets a balanced natural B complex supplement.

I�ve had great success with these recommendations in both young girls and older women. If your daughter follows my guidelines, I�m sure she�ll have success too. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Note: This information is not intended to be prescriptive. Any attempt to diagnose or treat an illness should come under the direction of a physician who is familiar with nutritional therapy.

Is it possible that my daughter has gotten results from your recommendation already? I got the B vitamins you said to get in you email and started Rebecca on them immediately. She's been trying to eat right, but that's going to take some time. Anyway, I just wanted to share with everyone that Becca's hair has definately stopped falling out and we're so pleased. Thanks! <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />