In a healthy body, allergic response serves to protect against invasion by harmful agents. Secretions and inflammation help our immune cells get into affected tissue, dilute toxic agent and help wash it away. "Allergies" become a health problem when an excessive and unwanted allergic response occurs to particles that are part of our normal environment and are not actually dangerous to body.

Some individuals are born with allergies, and have a genetic susceptibility to them. However, most allergies are acquired after birth. While inborn allergies can often be helped by measures discussed in this article, acquired allergies are generally more responsive to such behavioral approaches, and are main focus of this article.

The Main Cause of Allergies Although pollen, dust, dander, trees and other allergens are trigger for allergies in susceptible people, they are not underlying cause. Many people are exposed to these substances every day without developing allergic reactions. Rather, it is inner condition of body that determines whether an allergic response results from exposure to an allergen.

According to Maharishi Ayurveda, allergies result when body has accumulated excess wastes, toxins and impurities. How does this happen? According to Ayurvedic theory, improperly digested foods (called ama), and impurities, such as chemical additives, are absorbed into body, travel through circulation and lodge in respiratory tissues, skin and other tissues prone to allergy. These accumulated wastes and toxins block channels, trapping toxins inside tissues, and activating immune system. When additional allergens such as pollen or dust arrive on scene, already irritated immune system goes into “high gear,” creating symptoms of an allergy attack.

Symptoms will vary depending on tissue that has accumulated toxic waste (ama visha.). If tissue involved is digestive tract, diarrhea can result. If in skin, a rash or hives may occur. And if respiratory tract is involved, sneezing, inflammation and mucous drainage will occur.

Since source of allergies lies with our diet and digestion, adopting a proper diet and improving digestion are “job one” in fight against allergies. Next, it is valuable to use internal cleansing regimens to reduce clogging and accumulated impurities.

Recommended Diet for Allergies

The main dietary and eating guidelines for allergies are as follows.

1. Eat largest meal of day at lunch, between 12:00 and 1:00 PM, when your digestion is strongest. The sun-- heat element in nature-- enlivens agni, fire of digestion and metabolism, making our digestion strongest at height of day. Ayurveda recommends eating largest meal when you are most capable of digesting it.

2. Avoid eating heavy meals in evening. The single biggest contribution to toxins and clogging in body comes from eating heavy evening meals, particularly after 7 PM. Since digestion is much weaker in evening, it is vital to eat lighter, more easily digested meals at that time. Eat a warm, freshly cooked vegetarian evening meal without fried foods, desserts, cheese, yogurt or other curdled products, since these are heavy for digestion and cause more blockage, congestion and mucous.

3. Eat warm food. Warm food is much easier to digest than cold food. Ayurveda recommends we eat fresh warm food, freshly prepared. Avoid micro-waving, which has been shown to destroy over 90% of protective antioxidants in food. Also, avoid cold drinks, ice cream, frozen yogurt and other cold foods.

Should these sufferers just grin and bear it? No, they should not because there are a number of potentially effective treatments they could utilize, depending on nature of their hair loss. In this article I will outline some of most popular hair loss treatments currently available in order to reinforce fact that hair loss can be treated. The next article in series will look closely at treatment regimes best suited to specific ailments such as alopecia areata and telogen effluvium.

At present only two medications have been approved as hair loss treatments by FDA. These are minoxidil, better known as Rogaine, and finasteride, better known as Propecia. Several other drugs have proven to be effective in combating hair loss, dutasteride for example, but have not yet been approved for this particular use.

Finasteride was originally developed to treat enlarged prostate conditions but a low dose version was subsequently approved for treatment of hair loss in men. It tackles causes of male pattern baldness by preventing conversion of 5-alpha-reductase into DHT. Given that DHT is main male hormone linked to hair loss, reducing its production by two thirds has a major impact on controlling this type of baldness.

Research has shown that 83% of men studied were able to maintain their hair count and 64% experienced regrowth by end of a two year period. It should be noted that finasteride is approved for use by men only as drug can have serious effects on unborn male fetuses. Women should therefore only consider using this drug under strict supervision of a physician.

Dutasteride (Avodart) is a new medication for use in treating prostate conditions and, although not yet approved for treatment of hair loss, it does offer exciting possibilities. It works in a similar way to finasteride but reputedly reduces overall DHT production by over 93%. As is case with finasteride, women should consult their physician before using dutasteride.

Minoxidil (Rogaine) is other hair loss treatment approved by FDA and it is only anti-baldness drug approved for women. Applied topically, its main benefit is its ability to stimulate regrowth thus reversing effects of pattern baldness. Many users combine application of minoxidil with other hair loss treatments like Propecia to achieve maximal results, but others experience satisfactory outcomes using minoxidil on its own.