Gray Hair

[Leanna]

Does anyone else with gray hair find the color comes back after being on a Gluten free diet? This seems to be happening to me and I am ecstatic!

[ravenwoodglass]

This has happened to some extent with me also. I don't think I will ever get back to all brown but any is an improvement. I have noticed also at times when I get glutened and have a lot of hair loss it seems much of it grows back in brown not white. I also started going gray really young, like under 18.

[Joni63]

Oh my, yes! I've only been gluten-free 4 1/2 months and I have new hair growth sprouting on my head that is NOT gray. Usually the new ones are all wirey and white, but now there are dark ones coming in.

I thought it was my imagination, LOL!

I also started using John Freida shampoo, cream rinse and glaze and those seem to be lightening up the rest of my hair.

How long have you both been gluten free?

[WW340]

yes, I have definitely noticed this. I was almost white headed, now I have color again. My color does not have as much red as it used to, but at least it is color.

[marklen]

As a grey-haired celiac man, surely you are just pulling my leg? There goes my George Clooney-like appeal!!

[Nyxie63]

Graying hair has been associated with B-vitamin deficiencies, particularly B12, although there's no solid proof. It wouldn't be surprising tho, considering how most of us have had problems absorbing nutrients. Once we start absorbing nutrients again, the deficiences can be resolved, along with the problems that go with them.

As a grey-haired celiac man, surely you are just pulling my leg? There goes my George Clooney-like appeal!!

[hayley3]

I've been researching Indian food (not native Americans) and noticed that Indian men have a lot of hair although it's grayed somewhat. They do eat a lot of beans (lentils esp) even grinding the beans into flour. So I would assume they don't eat as much wheat as Americans do.

I'm still waiting for my gray hair to reverse. I have Auburn hair color and have few gray hairs but my hair is not the color it used to be. More of a faded color. I also have a thyroid problem and have lost a lot of hair. It's still falling out. I do take sublingual B12 and B complex. Maybe I should up the dosage.

I had neighbors who were in their 30's who both turned almost white-haired all of a sudden. You knew it was their diet for them both to go gray at the same time.

[Ken70]

I have a small patch that used to be gray. I just noticed that it came back this week. Coincidentally I got glutened sometime in the past two weeks. I think you are onto something

[lonewolf]

I wish this worked for me! I have just a little gray hair, but am definitely getting more. I've been fanatically gluten-free for quite a while now (as well as soy and dairy free). In October, I had a TON of blood tests to see if I had any nutritional deficiencies that could lead to thinning hair. Every test came out perfect - apparently, except for my thinning hair, I am the picture of health. So, maybe some people do have diet/nutritional problems that lead to gray hair (or thinning hair), but not all.

[sneezydiva]

Yes! I swear that my sporadic gray hairs have come and gone, and come back again in the last 7 years. Looking back, I think my experimentation with South Beach diet caused my remissions of gray. When it happend, I swear I would pluck hairs that were dark at the root and tip, yet white in the middle. Proof that they went gray and wnet back.

Now I've been on the gluten diet since August, but with a few challenges and boo-boos. I haven't noticed any less gray yet, but I was thinning really bad at the temples and getting a horrible widows peak, and now there is a lot of baby fine new growth there.

[Gemini]

I wish this worked for me! I have just a little gray hair, but am definitely getting more. I've been fanatically gluten-free for quite a while now (as well as soy and dairy free). In October, I had a TON of blood tests to see if I had any nutritional deficiencies that could lead to thinning hair. Every test came out perfect - apparently, except for my thinning hair, I am the picture of health. So, maybe some people do have diet/nutritional problems that lead to gray hair (or thinning hair), but not all.

I must admit I have trouble believing this one! There is a genetic marker for people who grey early and it also can be caused by a shock to the system, like having a stroke. Thinning hair can be caused by a number of factors but once you get into your mid-40's and are gearing up for menopause, your hair will thin somewhat and you'll never have the hair of your youth again....period. Very few people on the planet have hair that remains thick and lustrous into old age. It's another one of those things that people have a hard time believing until it happens to them.

I could see slowing down the greying process if you discover nutritional deficiencies early enough but re-growing original hair color after going gluten-free, once your hair has gone grey, seems a little far reaching. Hair color changes with age and I'm not talking just about grey. Hair color will dull and it happens all too soon.

I am 100% grey and started going seriously grey in my late twenties. Undiagnosed celiac was probably a contributing factor but genetics plays a large role also. I have been gluten-free for 2 1/2 years and my bloodwork comes back with extremely low numbers every time so I am not being glutened. Hair is still grey but it doesn't matter....that's what hair color is for!

[hayley3]

Did you see what tests they performed and the results? I thought all of my vitamin levels were fine, well that's what they told me anyway, and now all of a sudden I have a vitamin D deficiency. Also, my thyroid levels are normal one minute and abnormal the next. I'm not sure what's up with that either, and I am losing hair so bad that I have to unclog my drains way too often.

[ravenwoodglass]

I have DH and I lose a lot of hair when glutened, and a lot that grows back in is brown. Not all but a great deal of it. Some do have a genetic predisposition to male pattern baldness and early greying but there are a lot of us that have been balding, thinning and greying due IMHO not just to nutritional deficiencies but also due to the autoimmune process. If being gluten free could put my severe autoimmune arthritis into remission I do not think it that far fetched that the same sort of autoimmune process that is causing early greying and hair loss could be reversed also. Once the hair root is destroyed though it won't grow back so I think recovery could have a lot to do with catching it in time.

Haley, I don't know how long you have been gluten-free but it took about 3 to 6 months for my hair loss to stop and start the regrowth process. It also took being a real bear about any source of gluten and eliminating it from all toiletries and drugs. In addition after having a severe reaction to a drug a doctor giving me 'triggered' soy reactions (both allergy and intolerance) I found that soy was also a problem for me in my shampoos, I don't know if it contributed to the hair loss but it made my scalp itch really bad. Pay close attention to how your scalp feels after you shampoo and if possible be gentle with your hair as far as styling, etc goes. Also if you color you hair be aware that many haircolors are not safe for us. I also take a vitamin that is formulated for hair by Country Life, that seems to help me also.

[Leanna]

I am so happy to hear that others have had the same experience with their graying hair coming back. I had started to get gray at 6 years old. People could not believe it could happen to someone so young. I have always had many health issues like underactive Thyroid, hypoglycemia, Vertigo, sinus, you name it I've had it. So this is another positive that gluten free is working for me! I don't expect for it all to come back but every little bit helps. It makes sense that if you don't absorb nutrients it will show up on the body somehow. I have been gluten free for 1 year. I also have Dermatitis Herpetiformis and it has also disappeared.

[hayley3]

I just started being gluten-free after Thanksgiving.

It's good to know that it helped your hair loss. I did read that deficiencies in protein, vitamin a, d, and iron can cause hair loss. I will continue to hope that there is hope!

[dlp252]

Can't help with this one...haven't seen my natural hair color in YEARS, except for the roots that is. Roots still look pretty gray, but then I'm old.

[lonewolf]

Did you see what tests they performed and the results? I thought all of my vitamin levels were fine, well that's what they told me anyway, and now all of a sudden I have a vitamin D deficiency. Also, my thyroid levels are normal one minute and abnormal the next. I'm not sure what's up with that either, and I am losing hair so bad that I have to unclog my drains way too often.

I think you're addressing this to me. I saw the tests that the doctor ordered, but can't remember all of them. Vitamin D was on there - I had been deficient and have been taking large doses for the past 6-7 months. They tested several things- B12, D and other vitamins, ferritin, estrogen, and several other things. My thyroid is already tested at least once a year and it's fine too - I'm on Armour Thyroid. My doctor is a naturopath and is extremely diligent. I didn't actually see the results, but she called me herself to tell me that everything was fine and that my Vit. D was finally high enough for her to stop worrying. The only thing that they didn't test, that I wish they would have, is zinc.

"Once the hair root is destroyed though it won't grow back so I think recovery could have a lot to do with catching it in time."

This makes sense. In my case I think this must be the problem with my thin hair - it's always been a bit on the thin side. My guess would be undiagnosed Celiac/Gluten Intolerance. My roots were probably destroyed years ago. A 9-1/2 month long round of prednisone 4 years ago made more fall out and I am getting to the over 40 pre-menopausal age where I'm even more doomed. I've never colored my hair, but I'm thinking of coloring it and trying Rogaine.

[RollingAlong]

check this out

reversal of grey hair in adult celiac

[darlindeb25]

Clicking on the link in Rollingalong's post cause's me problems for some reason. So I researched this myself and I found this, very interesting:

Open Original Shared Link

❑ Dry skin, eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis herpetiformis, and acne rosacea are some of the dermatologic effects of celiac disease. Deficiency of sulfur-containing amino acids may cause generalized fine, sparse, prematurely gray hair; brittle nails; and localized hyperpigmentation on the face, lips, or mucosa.

I found this very interesting:

Celiac disease affects 1 of every 133 people in the United States and results from environmental factors and a genetic predisposition, but the exact mechanism is unknown. A strong association exists between the disease and two human leukocyte antigen haplotypes, DR3 and DQw2. It may also be autoimmune in nature. It affects twice as many females as males and occurs more commonly among relatives, especially siblings. This disease primarily affects whites and those of European ancestry.

I never read that celiac disease effects twice as many females!

[RollingAlong]

Let's try that again:

Open Original Shared Link

[ericajones80]

I am so happy to hear that others have had the same experience with their graying hair coming back. I had started to get gray at 6 years old. People could not believe it could happen to someone so young. I have always had many health issues like underactive Thyroid, hypoglycemia, Vertigo, sinus, you name it I've had it. So this is another positive that gluten free is working for me! I don't expect for it all to come back but every little bit helps. It makes sense that if you don't absorb nutrients it will show up on the body somehow. I have been gluten free for 1 year. I also have Dermatitis Herpetiformis and it has also disappeared.

good to hear! being gluten free can have some positive effects