December 10 2009, 10:33 am PT | Posted in: Hair Loss Causes
Dear DR. Rassman
i started eating high amounts of soy per day (6 soy bars per day) for about 3 months ago. - i have been shedding my eyebrows for two months. they still look full. i just read this article about soy and the new research saying that soy is not as healthy as we all think. HealingCrow.com
Do you think that the side effects of Soy could lead to hair loss?
There is not enough data and clearly not a focused study to connect hair loss and soy intake. I suspect if you had an allergy to soy, hair loss wouldn’t be a total surprise. But for those without a soy allergy, I can’t make the leap to connect it to your thinning eyebrows.
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I also noticed that when i started eating soy burgers 3 plus a day. and it was especially evident on the outer 1/3 of my eyebrow towards my temple.
Soy can cause problems with your thyroid which can in turn cause your eyebrows to thin. Google it.
I’ve been studying soy extensively for over a year now, and the thinning of the eyebrows, particularly the outer third, is a well-known symptom of low thyroid/hypothyroidism. Soy is not bad, but too much soy definitely is. Everything in moderation is the key, and moderation means 1-2, maybe three servings a day maximum, if even everyday. The best source for soy information on the internet is http://www.soyinfocenter.com. The whole Weston A. Price Foundation’s view of soy having antinutrients and being horrible for you unless it’s fermented is completely false, as they’re funded by the dairy industry. Although their view that fermented soy is good for you is true.
In early April 2008 I thought my hair was thinning, and thought it might be related to my high consumption of dairy milk and whey protein, so I stopped both. About six weeks later I started drinking soymilk and soy protein. I started downing as much soy as I could, trying to replicate how much dairy milk I’d drink. I drank dairy in order to get calcium in order to get taller, or so I thought, and when I stopped I felt like something was missing from my life. I drank about two large Silk soys a day as well as Whole Foods soy protein shakes, with Silk soymilk. I’d also switch back and forth with EdenSoy soymilk. Essentially, I’d be consuming about 20 servings of soy a day, which sounds like a lot, but is doable, especially if you’re like me and work out a couple hours a day.
Anyway, within a few days I noticed a marked side effect of slow speech, which I found out much later is a symptom of low thyroid hormone. I also experienced intolerance to cold, especially in hands and feet, but the speech side effect stood out so much. My mouth felt like it lagged behind my mind, which felt fine per usual. My typing and writing was fine and if I had a converstaion in my mind or whispering, that was fine, but speaking aloud made me sound choppy and generally retarded. This occurred within 3-4 days of starting soy.
To sum up, I was on this high soy kick until summer 2009. In early 2009 I came across information that made me think I might be iodine deficient, so I started a high potency iodine supplement called Iodoral, and took 50mg iodine for 5.5 months and 150g iodine for 2.5 months. This did nothing to help my slow speech, and in fact when I upped the dose, I felt like I would occasionally have trouble breathing unless I lifted my neck up. And I was on soy as well for a good period of this time. So I’ve been off both as of October 16, 2009 — 55 days ago, and no real difference so far. Instead of waiting this out for the next few months, I’ve read up a lot on desiccated thyroid gland (Naturethroid, Westhyroid) and am looking to take that, at least until my regular thyroid hormones come back to normal.
There is a great site called http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com for more information.
I am a vegetarian and eat a lot of soy products does this apply to women as well? I would not like to be dealing with hair loss in the next 20years as Im really health conscious and go to the gym often.
Eyebrow hair growth is not something that you can turn on and off, even if you want to. If you are experiencing hair loss due to Alopecia or for another medical condition, it will take time for your hair to re-grow and there is little that you can do to make it happen any faster.