Have you ever wondered that the smoothie you relish with great delight can be the reason behind your hair fall? Or your favorite bowl of yogurt parfait topped with nuts can engender hair loss? You might be engrossed in eating a nutrient-rich diet that you think is beneficial for your hair health without actually realizing the fact that some foods can cause your hair strands to fall. Yes, that’s true! Dairy products, nuts, alcohol, and many other staples can orchestrate hair fall problems.
Before we look at foods that cause hair loss, let's see the root causes of hair loss. Well, popular factors associated with hair fall are:
Heredity or family history
Nutritional deficiencies
Hormonal changes like in pregnancy
Certain medications
Stress
Hairstyling tools and treatments
Birth control pills
Fungal infections like ringworm
According to dermatologists, food habits that can increase your hair fall include:
No matter how big of a fitness freak you are, you are suddenly all ears when someone talks about fried snacks. But there’s a problem. Oil from that greasy food can reach your hair follicles just like it can reach your facial skin. And once loaded with this oil, your hair follicles tend to get clogged. This means either they will fall out or make hair difficult to grow.
The chief staple of every party, i.e., alcohol, is not at all hair-friendly. Reason – it dehydrates your tresses and dries them to the extent that either they fall out or get damaged. Alcohol-laden beverages can also expunge zinc from your body which is a crucial micronutrient for healthy hair.
Excess of everything is bad and nutritional supplements are no exception. No doubt you need a subtle dose of hair-benefitting nutrients like vitamin E, zinc, etc., every day. However, taking supplements more than the recommended dosage can prove to be counterproductive. A scientific report from Dermatol Pract Concept states that excess supplementation of vitamin E can have an adverse effect on hair growth. Similarly, toxicity from excess supplementation of selenium can lead to generalized hair loss.
Fad diets like crash diets are always nutrient-deficit. They lack nutrients like protein, zinc, and others that are indispensable for healthy hair strands. And deficiency of these nutrients can lead to hair loss. Well, the association of hair loss and crash diets has been documented in scientific research of the early 1970s. According to the research, nine people with alopecia experienced profuse hair loss following a strict weight reduction program.
Processed sugar can’t be missed when the talk is about foods that cause hair loss. Processed sugar is not just bad for your skin but your beautiful tresses too. It affects your blood circulation and prevents nutrients from reaching the scalp and hair follicles. Frequent or excessive intake of refined sugar can also cause scalp inflammation and, subsequently, hair loss.
Now you might be wondering - how can nuts rich in healthy fats and proteins negatively impact your hair? Also, some nuts are a powerhouse of nutrients like zinc, biotin, and selenium, all of which are required for healthy tresses. Although it’s a truism that nuts are hair-friendly, this isn’t the case with people who are allergic to nuts. That means your hair can experience an adverse effect if you consume certain nuts or are allergic to them.
Instead of eating foods that can make your scalp and hair reach a compromised state, rely on foods that can help you achieve happy and healthy hair. Some foods you should count on for optimal hair health are:
Fatty fish – rich in omega-3s that is good for skin and hair
Vitamin-D rich foods – like fortified cereals, juices, soy drinks, and supplements can improve hair growth
Eggs – high in protein and biotin
Spinach – a good source of iron that benefits hair
Beans and Legumes – loaded with protein, zinc, and biotin
Vitamin-B6 enriched foods – including banana and potato that are important for hair
Berries – rich in vitamin C that fight free radicals
Vitamin-B12 rich foods – including fish and meat
Nuts and Seeds – Brazil nuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, almonds, etc.
Note: You can also opt for hair supplements that come with the right doses of hair-benefitting vitamins and minerals.
Have you been experiencing excessive hair fall over a prolonged period of time? It could be an early sign of androgenetic alopecia. It is a hair loss disorder common in both genders and can lead to progressive thinning and even baldness in some patients if not caught and treated early.
A head full of healthy hair is a matter of confidence. Hair has its own mechanism of growing and shedding, and it is when this mechanism is thrown off that growth is hindered. Especially in the case of males, hair growth faces a lot of hiccups that can easily be managed.
Have you suddenly noticed an increase in the number of hair strands on your pillow in the morning? Or is your ponytail getting thinner by day? Well, you might be suffering from female pattern baldness. While that does sound scary, identifying it early on is key to treating this condition effectively. So keep reading to know what this is, how you can identify it, and most importantly, what treatments you can avail of to get your beautiful lustrous hair back.
Almost everyone experiences some amount of hair thinning over the years. Shedding around 50 to 100 single strands of hair per day is considered normal. However, losing more than 150 strands a day, experiencing sudden thinning, or developing circular bald patches on your scalp are reasons for concern. Hair loss occurs when new hair doesn’t grow fast enough to replace the amount of hair you lose daily. Hair can fall due to various reasons, with hereditary hair loss and poor nutrition being the most common hair fall reasons.
What can be more debilitating than seeing hundreds of hair strands shedding from your scalp every time you brush your hair? Also, excessive molting occurs during seasonal changes that can be very stressful for you. Although it’s okay to lose between 50-100 strands every day, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, the problem occurs when you start shedding more than normal. But that doesn’t mean you have to feel helpless as there are ways to grow your hair back. Even if you are coping with baldness or alopecia, certain hair growth tips from dermatologists can come to your rescue. Read on to discover how these tips can be your savior when abnormal hair fall problems are in sight.
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