My Goal: Cure Alopecia Universalis Naturally

I’m on day 28 of the Whole30 diet. No, it did not produce any Alopecia Universalis regrowth. Nothing substantial. I do have some clear eyelashes, but I have seen those come and go over the years. There is a patch of vellus hairs on my head that never get longer than 1/16 of an inch. It is super disappointing.

I have tried a variety of diets. I usually last about 3 months on a diet before I throw in the towel. I usually give up when I have had a seizure or there is a major holiday or social event. I haven’t given up on diets healing my body, I just haven’t really stuck with them long enough to see results.

My hair does grow back with drug therapy. I did it once with progesterone. The problem with adding that hormone was that it lowered my thyroid hormone. To test my thyroid hormone levels, I had to come off of it for two weeks and then everything that grew back just fell out. It was unnatural and wouldn’t last.

The autoimmune paleo diet

I lasted three months on this diet. I did not see any regrowth. It was difficult, but not impossible. The thing that I don’t like about AIP is giving up eggs and dairy. It does allow for sweet potatoes and olive oil, which can be quite tasty.

I have read about people who had Alopecia Universalis having success after about eight months on this type of diet. Eight months is a long time because you have to get through multiple holidays to be successful.

 

Picture of sweet potato fries.
Sweet potato fries are allowed on the AIP diet.

The paleo-ketogenic diet

I lasted three months on this diet. I even tried it twice. My biggest problem with this diet is that it doesn’t improve my vitamin D levels. I had two seizures on the diet the last time I tried it. Dr. Zsofia Clemens had me get blood levels tested. I started out with only a vitamin D deficiency. I ended three months later with a slightly lower level.

While the diet is super restrictive, I didn’t feel terrible while I was on the diet. But I didn’t see any alopecia Universalis regrowth. I think the biggest benefit of doing that diet with the Paleomedicina group is clueing me into the vitamin D deficiency. I think that may have been my problem all along.

Picture of a steak.
Steaks are a staple on the paleo-ketogenic diet.

The GAPS diet

This is the most complicated diet with the most promises for healing autoimmune and neurological conditions. It has so many steps and requires supplements. One of the recommended supplements that I took inconsistently the first time I tried the diet was cod liver oil. I think that this is the supplement that has actually helped me the most in the last three months. I think had I taken the recommended dosage consistently the first time I tried the diet, I would have been successful.

The GAPS diet is complicated. You are encouraged to take probiotics and start with an introductory diet that consists of boiled meats and meat stock. Then you add in certain vegetables in stages. It is mentally challenging to figure it all out. I know that hair grows so slowly that it will be difficult to test out foods to see exactly what is causing the hair to fall out or regrow.

Picture of a pot of soup
Soups are a staple for the GAPS diet

Topical remedies

I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I did buy an expensive topical cream online. It was a few hundred dollars. I spent that about 2-3 years into my hair loss. It produced no results.

I have tried rubbing onions on my head. That was supposed to trigger something in the hair follicle and make it grow. It didn’t. I gave up on it quickly.

Right now, the topical remedy that I am trying out is Emu oil. Why? Because it has vitamin D and K in it. I know that I have been deficient in vitamin D for many years. Most of my symptoms are correlated with a vitamin D deficiency. I have raised the levels to about 49 ng/ml and feel so much better than when it was at 29. I think this will be the key to curing Alopecia Universalis naturally.

I must be honest, I haven’t been consistent in applying emu oil to my head. I have been able to get an application a day in for almost a week. I need to make it a habit for it to actually produce results.

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Conclusion

The Whole30 diet will not cure Alopecia Universalis in a month. You may need about 8 months of an elimination diet AND vitamin D to cure your autoimmune condition. I will be doing a version of GAPS/AIP in March to try to cure my autoimmune condition, Alopecia Universalis.

This will be a tiny bit different than the Whole30 diet. I will need to give up potatoes. I may need to eliminate all nightshades as they are triggering to people with autoimmune conditions. That stinks. I was hoping to grow tomatoes this summer, but we’ll see what happens.