Hair loss while dieting
August 25th, 2007 by Y.G.Here’s a little something that could be of interest to the readers of this blog. After all, it has been of interest to me, and I’m now pretty confident that I’m far from being the only person who, while trying to manage her weight, has run into a trivial enough problem, but one that can still plague our minds: hair loss.
First, it seems that low-fat diets can trigger it more often and more easily than other diets, so keep this fact in mind, and make sure to incorporate enough healthy fats, such as the omega-3 and 6, in your daily eating. If on top of your hair loss, your nails become brittle and grow more slowly than usual, this could be a sure sign that you’re not getting enough of such nutrients.
Second, hair loss can be triggered by body stress. Any body stress. And starting a new diet, doing a 180 with your eating, can be enough of a stress–which is something I didn’t know (or that didn’t dawn on me?) until quite recently, I admit.
I’ve also been directed to that interesting article: Changes in diet can sometimes lead to hair loss, which isn’t a very recent one, but can be enlightening nonetheless. Here’s a little peek into it:
Hair loss can be triggered by a variety of factors including pregnancy, stress, surgery and age-related hormonal changes, to name a few. But few people realize that weight loss can also cause hair to shed, likely due to a nutritional deficiency. Although iron deficiency is often associated with diet-related hair loss, a range of nutrient deficiencies can result in thinning hair, dermatologists say. Changes in levels of zinc, magnesium, protein, essential fatty acids and vitamins D, B and A can all trigger episodes of shedding hair. The problem affects both men and women, but women are more likely to notice it and seek treatment, say doctors.
Unfortunately, the only thing to do is to wait patiently for one’s body to adapt to to the new stressor(s). Nevertheless, a healthy diet, enough sleep, and taking a multivitamin, can and will already help a lot.
We don’t want to be thin but half-bald, now, do we?
