Earlier this year I applied for some Australian Federal Govt. funding to prove what I have long (anecdotally) known - Alopecia areata (AA) can be caused by food allergies (Gluten - the main protein wheat + Dairy) in greater 90% of young children at first presentation.
I am by nature a very determined person but working through the GOVT. RED TAPE to achieve some funding was a full time job in itself - and something I just could not devote so much time to. My hope now is that parents of children with AA, or AA Support Groups around the country may agitate enough that this devastating condition for parent and child may be looked at afresh.
It wasn’t a totally negative exercise though as it prompted me to write a practical guide of Do’s + Dont’s for parents confronting AA in their children for the first time: Alopecia Areata in Children - a Practical Approach will be soon available at my website.
The following information is included in my new article:
Whilst Alopecia areata is now confirmed as an autoimmune condition that often presents in ‘atopic’ individuals and their families, there must always be a precipitating event, disturbance or deficiency to activate the problem. ‘Stress’ has long been cited as the cause of alopecia areata - but ’stress’ takes many forms. It may (for example) be the physiological stress of Iodine deficiency - the trace element from which thyroid hormone is synthesised.
A 1990’s study of Alopecia areata in Bangladeshi children found more than 90% had antibodies to their thyroid glands. A study of Australian primary school age children found Iodine deficiency in greater than 50% of those tested (Eastman:2008). Vitamin D deficiency - incredibly a regularly-seen problem in Australians now - is known to ‘disorientate’ the body’s immune system so it commences ‘attacking’ vulnerable areas such as the thyroid gland (autoimmune thyroiditis) and the skin (hair follicles are appendages of the skin).
Not infrequently I see children who’ve been referred to skin specialists where they have been subjected to the trauma of scalp biopsies + painful cortisone injections into their scalp. One seven year old girl had had TWO biopsies cut from her scalp on different occasions because the first biopsy was ambiguous.
On occasion, parents of children have told me it had been suggested THEY were to blame for the child’s alopecia because they (the parents) were ’stressing’ the child!?! One can only hope this might be a miscommunication between the Specialist and the distraught parent; it would be distressing enough for any Mother to see their young child’s hair falling out in large patches and amounts let alone being ‘blamed’ for it (for aetiology + symptoms of alopecia areata see my article: ‘Alopecia areata + other Autoimmune Conditions’ within the Articles Page at this website).
Parents inform me they rarely (as in never) are asked about their child’s diet, gut behavior (such as bloating, cramping, or flatulence etc), or whether the child becomes listless after consuming certain foods. Moving from wheat-derived cereals, breads, and pasta - the main Gluten villains in our diet - to Gluten-free equivalents is both non-invasive and will usually reveal health benefits to the child in quick time.
Statistics suggest 1:5000 people develop Coeliac Disease; 1:33 are Gluten Intolerant, but 1:11 are Gluten Sensitive (Baratosy:2005). ‘Atopic’ individuals - those who have an inherited hypersensitivity to their environment - are more likely to be Gluten and Lactose intolerant than non-atopic people.
Malabsorption and ‘Leaky Gut Syndrome’ - where nutrients are actively lost from the body - are strongly associated with Gluten intolerance. For this reason I suggest a ‘molecular nutrition’ grade Vitamin/Mineral + Amino acid supplement at a paediatric dosage to assist the recovery process once the Gluten-free diet has been implemented.
I’m pleased to say this uncomplicated and non-traumatising treatment regime has stabilised and recovered the hair density of every little cherub (that I can recall) who’s been presented to me with first onset alopecia areata.