Nutrition and Hair Loss

Hair loss is a problem faced by many. Here are some possible nutritional solutions. Please consult your doctor before using supplements. They may do damage if overused.

Please scroll down to continue reading.

Also remember that hair fall can have many different medical causes, which need to be diagnosed by a specialist physician. Don’t blindly begin supplementing your diet with the foods below and expect results. Sometimes, dietary supplementation is part of the treatment, but not the whole.

Possible Nutritional Causes

• Supplemental overuse of Selenium [1]
• Supplemental overuse of Vitamin A [1]
• Supplemental overuse of Vitamin E [1]
• Sudden weight loss [1]
• Decreased caloric intake [1]
• Decreased protein intake [1][12]
• Low levels of iron, especially in pre-menopausal women [2]
• Low levels of Linoleic Acid [3]
• Zinc deficiency [5][6]
• Zinc overdose [7]
• Decreased levels of Vitamin D3 in women [8]
• Oxidative stress [10]
• Low folate levels [11]
• Low Vitamin A levels [11]
• Omega 3 & Omega 6 (helps hair density too) [9]
  

Balanced Vegetarian Diet for your Hair

A female weighing 70 kilos needs 56 grams of protein per day [13] along with other micro nutrients, some of which have an established recommended dietary allowance [15]. Based on this, here’s a suggested day chart.

• Breakfast: Suji Upma with broccoli, peas and lentil sprouts
• Lunch: Whole wheat (chakki) rotis, toor dal and bhindi, with raw cucumber as a salad
• Dinner: Choley (with added spinach), gwarphali ki sabzi on a bed of brown rice, with a salad of raw radish.
• Snacks/Accompaniments: Yogurt, carrots, sunflower seeds and milk

The above is a suggestion to complete the daily nutrition of a female weighing 70 kilos and is fully balanced, except for Choline (click to see supplement).

• Your Omegas can be supplemented with Flax seed oil (click to see supplement).
• Add green tea to your day for its antioxidant properties [16]. You can either drink green tea or have it as a green tea extract supplement.
• Applying safflower oil to the affected area on the scalp may help promote regrowth of hair [3].

If you’re a non-vegetarian, adding an egg to your day may reduce or remove the need for a Choline supplement. Vegetarians should note that the protein content in the above chart may not include all essential amino acids. Non vegetarians looking to include meat in their day should consider grilled chicken breast as a low calorie means of satisfying themselves.

Note that nutrition needs vary according to age, gender and body. The above suggestions may not fulfil your needs. Additionally, portion size is very important with respect to nutrient needs (lower end) and weight management (upper end). If you would like to get a detailed chart for yourself, please click here.

I hope this works for you. Please do leave a comment below. It helps me understand what you thought of the article, if it helped and so on.

References

1. Diet and hair loss: effects of nutrient deficiency and supplement use
2. Iron Plays a Certain Role in Patterned Hair Loss
3. Human essential fatty acid deficiency: treatment by topical application of linoleic acid.
4. Oxidative Stress in Ageing of Hair
5. The Therapeutic Effect and the Changed Serum Zinc Level after Zinc Supplementation in Alopecia Areata Patients Who Had a Low Serum Zinc Level
6. Reversal of Hair Loss following Vertical Gastroplasty when Treated with Zinc Sulphate
7. Zinc as an ambivalent but potent modulator of murine hair growth in vivo- preliminary observations.
8. Serum Vitamin D3 Levels and Diffuse Hair Fall among the Student Population in South India: A Case–Control Study
9. Effect of a nutritional supplement on hair loss in women.
10. The impact of oxidative stress on hair.
11. The role of micronutrients in alopecia areata: A Review
12. Alopecia: Possible Causes and Treatments, Particularly in Captive Nonhuman Primates
13. Dietary protein intake and human health.
14. 6 Benefits of Flaxseed Oil – Plus How to Use It
15. Dietary Reference Intakes
16. Antioxidant effects of green tea
17. What are the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) and the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs)?