One question we get asked a lot is whether we have anything to help them get healthy hair. The answer we tend to offer is that we have a choice of three things – all for slightly different problems.
For those suffering with badly falling hair, which may have resulted in small bald patches or where the scalp itself has become visible, we tend to suggest a supplement called pil-food. We have had some great reports on this over the years, with many women and even a few men telling us that it has really helped them and that after 3-6 months they have healthy hair. We have also had a few hairdressers send people in to buy pil-food as they have seen some good results on their clients.
For those worried about brittle hair, which breaks easily, maybe accompanied with breaking or brittle nails, we suggest the mineral Silecea. Silecea is involved in supporting the strength and structure of hair, skin and nails. Therefore supplementing with it should help to strengthen the hair and nails and reduce breakage. Again we have had some great reports from this, with a number of the girls who work in the shop also using it and saying that they do think it has helped them get stronger healthy hair.
The final remedy we look at is one I used personally last year when I noticed that my hair was thinning and my hairbrush filling – a supplement called Florisene.
Based on research into what causes hair loss in women specifically, Florisene contains good doses of iron, l-lysine, vitamin C and B12. It was developed after looking at research into the main causes of hair loss in women aged 18-50. It has been shown that iron losses every month during their period causes many women, whilst not actually anaemic, to end up with low iron stores. Low iron stores are thought to play a role in hair loss in women. However the people developing Florisene knew that iron was not the whole solution on it’s own as many women suffering with hair loss had been given iron supplements which had not really helped.
The developers then discovered that there were two additional factors to take into account:
The absorbability of the iron. Many people do not want to take iron supplements because they fear they may upset their stomach or cause constipation. The answer here was to ensure that they used a really absorbable iron, combine it with vitamin C to really boost absorption and divide the required 72mg dose between 3 tablets rather than taking it all in one hit. These measures ensure that even the most sensitive sort should not get upset by the iron in Florisene.
The fact that many women do not eat a lot a red meat. Low consumption of red meat does contribute to low iron, but it can also mean low levels of B12 and l-lysine and it was apparently the addition of these two nutrients which made the difference. Taking the combination of nutrients used in florisene was shown to be much more effective than using any of the same nutrients individually, in fact in one trial 95% of women who tried Florisene saw significant improvements.
These points particularly rang true for me, I do not eat any red meat and have not done since I was a teenager, I also exercise regularly therefore it was highly likely that as a menstruating woman I would have low iron stores.
One of the other key factors though is time and patience – it can take up to three months to get your iron store back up to where they should be and to start to see results. Patience when you are worried about hair loss and trying to achieve healthy hair is not always an easy thing to find. I would say though that it is definitely worth a try for those who are worried about this hair and who do not eat red meat regularly. I certainly saw an improvement in my hair, after two months the amount coming out in my shower and my hairbrush had significantly reduced. After six months I stopped taking it as my hair was back to its usual good thickness and was growing really well again.
If you would like to try some florisene for yourself
“click here”
Category: General Information
Time to Circulate – can you boost circulation?
Have a good look at this picture. This is really clever and interesting stuff! What you can see here are before and after pictures of somebody’s circulation!
This is from a study done using A.Vogels Ginkgo Biloba extract. They had a look at the circulation before (the first picture) taking Ginkgo and then again, in the same place (the second picture) after 30 days using Ginkgo daily.
What you can see is fantastic for two reasons in this writers opinion –
1. The simple fact that they can take these pictures in the first place is so clever and fascinating.
2. You can see for a fact, that the circulation in the second picture is better – there is significantly more blood in the blood vessels pictured than there was previously. This shows that those with poor circulation could really benefit from taking a good quality Ginkgo supplement.*
QUALITY IS THE KEY
I have use the phrase ‘good quality ginkgo’ for a reason – there are different quality products available, as there always is. I remember well, years ago a woman came in to our store to complain to my father that the ginkgo she had taken had not helped her. As she did this she held out the offending product. It was not one of ours! We then explained to her why the product she had taken was very different from the one we had suggested she try. Here are the reasons why:
Some herbal products are just dried, powdered up herbs. These may contain a good amount of dried herb and could look good on the label. BUT, they may not have been tested to ensure they contain any active components or even to ensure that they are what they claim to be! When buying a herbal supplement look to see if it has been standardised and whether you have a guaranteed potency. Even better go for fresh herbal tinctures – we all know from our experiences in the kitchen, that fresh herbs are more potent than dried.
* It is very important to note that those who are already on anti coagulants or medications which affect their circulation, should always check with their doctor or practitioner BEFORE starting any herbal medicines like this*
By Jenny Logan
Don’t criticise what you don’t understand!
The health food industry is often attacked by people working in mainstream medicine. They claim that there is no science in what we do and that they outcome of clinical trials to try and prove that certain nutrients will cure certain ailments are inconclusive.
My argument is this – we do not claim that certain nutrients will always cure certain ailments, but rather that certain nutrients may be helpful for certain PEOPLE.
We are all INDIVIDUALS, with a different genetic make up, a different medical history, a different upbringing and a different diet. Therefore surely it stands to reason that different people could be helped by different nutrients, when ALL these factors are taken into account.
I see this a lot with people that come in to see me. When I have a consultation with someone, I will ask to see a food diary and speak to them about their medical history and any issues they may be having. This will help me decide what course of action I may suggest for them. For example if someone comes to ask for something to aid their constipation and we find that they also drink a lot of tea and suffer with cramp, we will often suggest they try magnesium. This is because magnesium is depleted by tea (also coffee and cola) and the signs of low magnesium can include cramps, restless legs or spams. We have also found that people who are low in magnesium can struggle with constipation. Therefore supplementing magnesium can be helpful for all their issues. However this approach would not work for someone who was showing no signs of low magnesium.
Equally anyone who joins our weight loss scheme will have their diet and metabolic issues dealt with on a one to one basis. This is because we understand that people have different metabolic problems and emotions around food and dieting and a simple approach ignoring these things will often fail.
This then is what these commentators from mainstream medicine cannot get their heads around. We deal with each INDIVIDUAL and their lifestyle, not with a symptom. Because we embrace everyone’s individuality rather than looking for a one size fits all ‘cure all’ we will always be criticised for being inconsistent. But I guess we will just have to learn to live with that.
By Jenny Logan
Welcome to our World!
Morecambe Health Foods is an independant retail shop in Lancashire. We have always prided ourselves on service and value. We are now trying to bring our approach of information and advice to help people take control of their health and wellbeing to the internet.
We welcome any questions you may have about your health and wellbeing. We also welcome feedback as we try to build you a website which is easy to use and informative.