Dr. Antonio Alvi Armani

Diet-related hair loss

You probably understand that a poor diet that lacks in essential nutrients can negatively affect your overall health.  What you may not know is that deficiencies of particular vitamins or other substances can cause you to lose your hair. 

Hair loss that is caused by a nutritional deficiency is usually slight and temporary, with the exception of some extreme cases where the hair loss becomes chronic and results in permanent damage to the density and strength of the hair.  These kinds of hair loss occur because your hair’s structure or hair cycles are affected.
 
Protein deficiency is one of the most common causes of diet-related hair loss.  Your hair is composed mostly of proteins, the same materials that your nails are composed of.  If your food does not provide you with enough protein then both your nails and your hair may be negatively affected.  Proteins are found in common foods like meats, poultry, fish, beans and dairy products.  If a protein-deficient diet persists than your hair will go into a premature resting stage and will start to fall out within a few months. 

Another possible cause of diet-related hair loss is low levels of iron in your blood, which might result from an inadequate amount of iron in your diet.  Foods that are common sources of iron include potatoes, dried beans, liver, beef, fortified cereals, raisins, spinach and broccoli.  An inadequate amount of iron in your blood may also result from some difficulty your body has in absorbing iron, which is commonly associated with the condition anemia. 

Vitamin A can also affect your hair.  But both an inadequate and an excessive amount of vitamin A can cause hair loss.  Too little of this vitamin can result in a condition called hyperkeratosis.  It occurs in your hair follicles and in the sebaceous glands (the small glands in your skin that secrete oil into your hair) and it can complicate hair growth.  Conversely, too much vitamin A can prevent proper keratinisation (the process by which a protein called keratin builds your hair and nails), resulting in a kind of hair loss referred to as ‘toxic alopecia’.  Vitamin A can be found in whole eggs, milk and liver.

Other nutritional deficiencies that can affect your hair growth include deficiencies of: essential fatty acids, zinc, copper and vitamin C. 

Fortunately, the damage done to hair by this type of diet-related hair loss is only temporary and can be corrected by simply improving your diet.  It is important to maintain a balance of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients in your diet for the betterment of your hair’s health as well as your overall health.  If you allow poor dietary habits to persist, your body may suffer many possible consequences including varying degrees of hair loss.