I have noticed lately when I brush my hair that a lot falls out. I have been on a low fat diet since the end of March, I have been feeling great, BUT I do not want my hair to continue to fall out. Does anyone have any suggestions or has anyone experienced this. It just started about 2 weeks ago.

You are not getting enough fat. It can make you very ill, besides the hair falling out. Some of our vitamins are fat-soluable and if you aren't getting enough fat, your body can't process them. It doesn't take much but you need to add the equivalent of 3 teaspoons per day of good fats...olive, canola, soy oil, nuts, olives, etc.

How many grams of fat should I be eating?

You may want to start taking an EFA (Essential Fatty Acid) oil rather than regular cooking oil.

Many people use flaxseed oil, which you can get in most health-food stores. A good brand of EFA is Udo's Choice Perfected Oil Blend which you can get at www.netrition.com among other places.

Trader Joe's also sells one called "The Total EFA" that is good as well.

I usually take 1 tablespoon twice a day (morning and night). The catch is, you can't heat it up - you lose the effectiveness of the EFAs that way - so I mix mine with my meal replacement shake. Some people like to make a salad dressing with it.

I lost 97 pounds on the Atkin's Diet, and experienced hair loss as well, at right around the 50-60 pound mark. It lasted a couple of months, but did go away. My advice would be just make sure you're taking your vitamins. I was told, and did a little research on the internet, that it's not so much the diet itself, but your body adjusting to the weight loss.

I went on a "no" fat diet a few years ago (about 5, I guess) and I eliminated every fat I could find. If it had fat, I didn't eat it! My hair dried out real bad and fell out. I couldn't eat any fat after awhile, because I would get horrible diarrhea (there's too much information!!!) and my face would break out. It got to the point that if I even chewed a piece of gum with fat in it, I would break out. I couldn't concentrate for nothing. The brain is like, what, 65% fat? The efa (essential fatty acids) cannot be produced in the body. You have to consume them. So, I ended up adding flax seeds back into my diet. And then walnuts and other nuts. It was horrible. The hair, the skin, the lack of concentration. Read up on the essential fatty acids. They are very important. The Omega-3's especially. And the balance between the 6's and the 3's.There are some great books out there and some websites, too, that will help you. I have lived the no-fat way, and it was hard. I guess it has been awhile longer than that that I started, because I did it for about 4 years, from the time my son was 2 until he was 6. Good luck! Take care of that hair! I think when we do things that we aren't supposed to do in our diet, then there are telltale signs that most of us don't listen to. You are one of the lucky ones that has caught on early!

According to my dietician who really knows her stuff, we need 20 to 30 grams of fat per day to maintain hair and skin and make effective use of vitamins and minerals, both in food and in supplements.