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5 Common Causes for Hair Loss in Teenage Girls

Addressing a medical condition not ordinarily spotlighted by media, Fox News is highlighting five reasons why teenage girls lose their hair. Whether it’s simple thinning or all-out hair loss, the causes range from poor nutrition and medicines (such as birth control pills) that the girls might be taking to over-styling and normal hormone changes. Excessive hair loss might also signal serious medical conditions that need attention, such as diabetes or an overactive or underactive thyroid.

Human hair growth cycles between active and resting phases, and is often affected by your overall health. Whether you’re turning prematurely gray or losing hair, it’s a signal as to other things that may be going on in your body. For example, weight gain, hair loss and fatigue are symptoms of low thyroid.

Since every cell of your body uses thyroid hormones, balancing your metabolism, while interacting with all your hormones, it’s important to consider a thyroid imbalance if your hair is inordinately thin, or suddenly begins to thin. Hypothyroidism, when your thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormone, is often linked to iodine deficiency, with symptoms that include hair loss.

This is why iodine and selenium are so important for your thyroid. Good sources of iodine include sea vegetables, organic, grass-fed yogurt, raw and grass-fed organic cow’s milk, Celtic sea salt and eggs. Selenium, which helps decrease inflammation, regulate immune responses and prevent chronic diseases, is found in wild-caught Alaskan salmon, Brazil nuts, dairy products, garlic, onions, tomatoes and sunflower seeds.