Are you worried about hair loss? If yes, up to what extent, is it necessary to be concerned?

Today is the last day of August 2021. In the Geographical West, the month of August is appreciated as 'National Hairloss Awareness month' to expand the consciousness over the issue that more than 56 million adults (including 35 million men and 21 million women) around the world are affected diversely by hair loss.

Another side of the coin mentions, that it is considered NORMAL by experts to lose around 50 to 100 hairs a day. EXCEPT When you experience - Telogen effluvium (Excessive Hair Shedding). Read the source here.

As mentioned by the American Association of Dermatology, Excessive hair shedding is common to those people who have experienced one of the following stressors:

Lost 20 pounds or more
Given birth
Experiencing lots of stress (caring for a loved one who is sick, going through a divorce, losing a job)
Had high fever
Undergone an operation
Recovering from an illness, especially if it included high fever
Stopped taking birth-control pills

As the body regains its normal fullness, within 6 to 9 months, the excessive shedding stops right away.

So the crucial fact is to be understood that Hair-loss is a common term to every one of us. And it's not an individual's problem. If somebody claims "zero hair fall" on some product advertisements, they simply deny the science of mortality of the human body. So, all we can do is, take maximum precautions and safeguards to aid and adore the health of our hairs.

My point of discussion stands firm with Prevention. Remember the statement? -'Prevention is better than cure.' So if you are experiencing an issue on a serious note, recommend yourself to see a Dermatologist. Now, let's see a few major "role-players" in the Hair-fall theory.

1. Pollution

I believe you aren't doubting the fact that pollution in terms of dust, smog, mud, etc. around you is constantly harming your health, whether by breathing and taking the carbon pollutants inside the body or by external contacts like deposition of the dust on the scalp of your hairs.

Now, what can we do about Pollution?

I have an Idea. Let's get together and revolt against the world, condemning the 'emerging Industrialisation and the nonstop deforestation'. Together we will bring this Nature abusing cruelty down on its knees.

Relax. You may consider that a joke. So what you primarily must do, is PROTECT YOUR HAIR FROM POLLUTION during your daily activities. Whether by a cap or something or just use a piece of cloth comfortable to your fashion, that is up to you.

2. Stress

The most crucial factor. If you doubt it, here is evidence by a 2018 survey that how stress and hair loss are interrelated. Stress molecules like 'cortisol' can target and damage the hair follicle

Each of us has his/her own struggle of 'needs and desires' which also brings undesired calamities like Stress. Just observe the idea of "Excessive Hair Shedding" that is mentioned above which defines its core cause - Stress.

But here is the good news. Study shows that stress and hair loss don't have to be permanent. If you get your stress under control, your hair might grow back. The most efficient way to avoid unnecessary stress is to replace your unproductive time, with something that is joyful and learning to you. For example, a hobby of playing a musical instrument or anything.

Yoga is a benefitting and worthy preventive measure. Look at the video attached here for some common Yoga postures to do:

3. Protein deficiency

The consumption of good protein is essential vital for hair growth and a healthy scalp(root structure of the hair). However, you cannot force yourself to eat more than your body allows. In that case, get an Idea of why exercising is important, as it helps in eliminating more of the 'roughage quantity' and bring more essential components in our food like protein, primarily.

Also, regular exercise can prevent some form of hair loss by improving blood flow to your scalp. Some other essential components are Vitamin D & Vitamin B12.

4. Hormone deficiency.

Mostly in women, the reproductive hormone "Estrogen" is responsible as it increases(during pregnancy) the amount of time that hair spends in the growing phase, so when estrogen declines(during menopause), hair loses these protective effects, mentioned by Dr. Kate Placzek in Hormone Lab, UK.

5. Genetics & Aging

Yes. Don't be confused about it. Genetic heredity is sadly not a joke.

Have you heard about a Country - "Czech Republic"?

This country has almost half of the men population(around 43 percent, according to source), affected by baldness, maximum in the world, making it a 'Baldness Capital' worldwide. But why? Stress or pollution or something else?

As per studies, our hair follicles are sensitive to a hormone called DHT(Dihydrotestosterone), which makes them shrink and collapse. In a child, this hormonal sensitivity may come from his/her parents. The thickness and amount of hair you have on your body and head are also determined by your genes. In short, Genetical Heredity. (read here)

On the other hand, hair fall with aging is completely normal. Our Hairs are made of many protein strands and a single hair has an average life of 2 to 7 years. Nearly everyone has some hair loss with aging and the rate of hair growth also slows down with it.

Some possible home remedies

1. Aloe vera

Aloe vera is good for both skin and hair. In simple terms, Aloe vera has :

Vitamins A, C, E & B12
Folic acid

All of them are important components that promote healthy hair cell growth and shiny hairs.

2. Cereus Grandiflourus Cactus:

The research paper from Madridge Journal of Dermatology & Research, shows, that usage of herbal hair oil containing the 'Cereus Grandiflora' (cactus) flower extract is safe and effective in terms of hair loss prevention

3. Ayurvedic Tamil plants.

A Study was investigated in Madurai District of Tamil Nadu which, mainly focused on the prevention of hair fall and whitening hair by medicinal plants. See the list of plants by clicking here.

Content

Role of Oxygen and Oxygen Saturation.
Symptoms of Poor Circulation
Remedies.

Oxygen is a subject under trend in 2021. For the first time in the history of India, we have needed medical oxygen in such an abundance quantity. Apart from that Oxygen is needed to survive and everyone knows the basic theory. Today's piece of advice is to take enough from the natural oxygen so that one may not need a medical oxygen supply. Let's go.

What is the role of oxygen in breathing air?

Oxygen means energy, the source of life. Not just important to keep us alive, but it also immune us to defend against threats like covid 19. This Oxygen is carried to our cells through blood.

Roughly 21% of that air is oxygen which is absorbed by the body in each inhalation. When we inhale, our lungs extract the oxygen through air sacs, which later pumped by the heart into blood vessels. The blood carry oxygen that is delivered throughout each and every alive cell present in our body, allowing cellular respiration .

Mitochondria(a part of the cell itself) after mixing glucose with oxygen produces ATP(Adenosine Triphosphate) in the cell, which is the prime source of energy in our body.'

Using a 'Pulse Oximeter', you might have come across the term 'SpO2 percentage' that tells us the Oxygen levels. Let's understand.

What is Oxygen Saturation(SpO2)?

We know that our blood consists of Haemoglobin. A fraction of this haemoglobin is called Oxygen Saturated Haemoglobin which carries and regulates the precise amount of oxygen in the blood. Normal O2 Saturation levels in Human are 95-100%. This is measured by the device - Pulse-Oximeter.

If the person's SpO2 level drops below 85% because of dehydration or a lower oxygen saturation level, the person will probably blackout(Case of Hypoxia).

How better circulation helps to increase the Oxygen Saturation levels?

Circulation is the flow of blood via arteries and veins in our body to almost every corner when the heart pumps and beat. The normal heart rate lies between 60 to 100 beats per minute. This blood that carries oxygen has some saturation levels that can be improved by ways discussed in this article.

Poor blood circulation is one of the causes of low blood oxygen levels in the body. There are symptoms that show poor blood circulation in a person where blood oxygen levels fluctuate often.

Symptoms of Poor Blood Circulation

Digestive System at unrest.
Numbness/Tingling (unusual sensations, sometimes unable to sense pressure or texture on the skin.)
Cramps on muscles and joints.
Cold hands/feet
Swelling and fatigue
Loss of memory & lack of concentration power
Changing skin colour
Constant foot pain

These symptoms may not be obvious, however, still makes the immune system volatile to viruses and diseases.

Remedies

There can be a lot of ways to re-establish healthy circulation in mild cases and you really don't need to see a doctor.

Provided below are 5 very fundamental ways that can be practised by any age group of people. These, not only best for your blood oxygen but also enhance your mental and physical performance in key areas.

Stretching

Remember one line - Stretching is always better than you think.

It causes pulls and tugs between muscles and connecting tissue, allowing better blood flow. Here are some more benefits:

Shortens the muscle recovery time
Increases flexibility and balance.
Prevent injuries, back pain, joint pains etc
Reduce stress and brings positivity & much more

Last but not least, 'Stretching' or 'Warm-Up' is for more than just athletes, it is for everyone.

Walking

If you're ready to try some physical activities for the first time in life, start now with walking at least 30 minutes a day. If you're stuck in lockdown, use your lawn or terrace. Prefer walking over vehicle use when you get out of your house every day for essentials.

Walking lower downs the blood pressure increases the blood flow. Data says that walking 10000 steps (or more) a day reduces blood pressure and is effective in dealing with mild hypertension.

Yoga

Yoga has everything a body needs.

Not just burning calories and toning muscles, but each and every organ refines & workout, including the brain, has a slice of the cake. Stretching, Strengthening, and breathing practices combine in various ways in this ancient discipline.

Yoga relieves stress and that control blood pressure. High blood pressure is associated with low metabolism and poor blood circulation.

'All breathing exercises' in Yoga improve blood oxygen level, hormonal functions and stabilizes against Parasympathetic Dominance. It roughly means 'a slowed down body metabolism responsible for an under-functioning immunity system, frequent illness, lethargy, and of course, poor circulation. Read the research abstract here.

Few asanas for better circulation :

Adho mukha svanasana(Downward-facing Dog)
Viparita Karani (Legs up the wall)
Sukhasana (Seated twist pose)
Vajrasana(Thunderbolt Pose)
Balasana (Child Pose)

Drinking-Water

Frequent hydration keeps accelerating the blood flow. Doctors keep recommending warm drinking water in this time of pandemic because it warms our body and lowers down blood pressure by expanding the veins, allowing more space for blood to flow.

This is just the opposite when we take a shower or bath. Expert recommends cold water shower that helps to fasten the circulation deeper inside our body organs when the cold water restricts blood flow on the skin surface. The body, in order to maintain ideal body temperature, increases the heart rate, and so oxygen intake.

Green Tea

Green tea, enriched in Anti-Oxidants is associated with preventing coronary artery diseases(source). It also expands the blood vessels, allowing more room for flow.

It's important to understand that caffeinated drinks like tea, coffee, etc have severe side effects n your body like Anxiety, Insomnia, Blood pressure and more if consumed too much out of your regular tea habit.

Green tea is comparatively low in caffeine and far better when taken in moderation(not more than 5 cups a day). It has numerous health benefits and also known best for fat controlling diets.

Ever heard the 80% Nutrition 20% Exercise rule? In other words, keeping a schedule of monitoring your food in 4 to 6 planned meals a day with a couple of hours exercising, which applies to both weight-gaining and losing strategies.

It becomes a little easy while gaining because regular exercise can boost body metabolism and hunger, resulting in eating more, to sum up, calories. However, most of us want to primarily lose some of that stubborn fat deposits at the stomach or elsewhere. And this is where the concept of calorie management is very important to understand.

Because, unless you take good command of your diet, it's nearly impossible to achieve the weight losing hustle just by exercising.

What is a Calorie?

Calorie means Energy. Just like Oxygen(which provides energy in the form of ATP), every living creature needs a certain amount of calories(energy in the form of heat) to sustain life. And those calories come from the nutrients present in our food.

In other words, a calorie(or kilocalorie) is a unit of heat energy(Cal or kcal) needed to raise the temperature of 1 unit .kg water by 1 degree Celsius. You might have heard about 'joule', another unit of energy that is used in physics. They keep a relation in between which is -

1 calorie = 4.18 Joule

A normal adult's body (male or female) requires a certain amount of calories from his/her food for proper body functionality and it also impacts our growth with unplanned gaining or losing weight. That's right. Too many calories in your diet increase the risk of gaining weight and won't let your belly fat go away until you control over it.

Further ahead, we are going to discuss how many calories you should consume in a day by understanding the concept of BMR(Basal Metabolic Rate).

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

It is the amount of energy or calories needed in a day when the body is at complete rest with the digestive system fully inactive, which means if you don't eat anything all day, your body still needs these many calories for all the primary organs to function and keep you alive.

An adult male has a BMR of 1500 to 1800 calories per day whereas a female adult requires about 1400 to 1600 calories. According to the Harris-Benedict formula published in 1919 by the Carnegie Institute of Washington -

Put your values herein required units as mentioned :

Gender :

Age (in years) :

Height (in cm) :

Weight (in kg) :

Result :

For example, I am a 26 years old male, with 5'11" height and 72 kgs of weight. So putting my details on the above formula, I get a total of 1783 Kcal which is my body's minimum energy requirement for a day when I don't move a muscle for the whole long day.

However, apart from anybody laying alone on a hospital bed, we people perform various jobs in a day including the basics like walking, talking, eating and much more. All these activities need some extra amount of energy in the form of calories to burn, from the food we consume.

How BMR helps you determine your Daily Calorie Needs?

After getting an idea of our BMR, we can averagely or dedicatedly control the required amount of calories we need for weight gaining or losing goals just by consuming more or fewer calories in a day than we burn in total. In the next part of the study, we shall observe and understand more about calculating calories in our food.

Afterward, we know the BMR value, the next step is to determine how many calories we burn in a day. That will help in evaluating the total energy expenditure by multiplying the BMR with a PAL factor (Physical Activity Level), suggested by Harris-Benedict duo -

Sedentary Active - Minimal or light exercise, multiply your BMR by 1.25

Moderately active - Moderate exercise schedule, 3 to 5 days a week, multiply your BMR by 1.5.

Very active - Tough exercise six to seven days a week, multiply your BMR by 1.75

Unstoppable - Extremely hard exercise, 7 days a week, multiply your BMR by 1.9.

Or you can simply use this equation -->

[Total Calorie Expenditure = BMR + Calories you burn in a day - total calories in your food/day ]

If the value comes positive, you are on a calorie deficit diet(you're consuming lesser calories than you burn in a day), which is going to help losing weight

If the value comes negative, that means you are bulking up, consuming extra calories that may increase your weight.

In the next part, we will be discussing how many calories are subjected to how much bodyweight gain or loss. In addition, we will go through a full diet plan with calorie deficit and bulking goals and their effects on time, and the amount of dedication we decide to put in the process.

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