For women, thinning hair or hair loss can be a sign of a problem in the gastrointestinal tract, says Acharyaji, Occasionally, it’s a sign of insufficient stomach acids or that she’s not absorbing protein, zinc and other nutrients,” he says. If she takes acidophilus after meals for a month or so, that often helps Acharyaji recommends nondairy powdered acidophilus, available in most health food stores. He says to take two tablets between meals (four to six tablets per day) for at least two months.

For men, Acharyaji says that a low-fat diet may help slow down the balding process. “On some level, male pattern baldness might be tied to increased testosterone levels during puberty, which are often the result of a high-fat diet or eating too many animal products,” says Acharyaji. “If you look at Japan, male pattern baldness was almost unheard of prior to World War II. The Japanese diet is now far more fatty and Westernized, and Japanese men are going bald everywhere. It’s clear that a high-fat, meat-based diet raises testosterone levels, and that may adversely affect hair follicles. I’m not sure eating low-fat foods will stop hair loss, but it might slow it down