Every time you make a significant change in your diet, there is a possibility that it affects your overall health. Whether it's your gastrointestinal health, skin or hair, you will see changes after changing your diet pattern.

Keto diet is moderate in protein and very low in carbohydrates and hair loss is quite common in case of low carb diets. High-stress level and Keto diets result in hair loss.

Facts related to hair growth:

Every single hair consists of two main parts. One is the follicular part- the living part under the skin, which is generally the root of the hair and the other is the shaft- the non-living part above the skin, fully keratinized.

There are two types of follicle: the outer follicle and the inner follicle which remains covered by the shaft.

The life cycle of a hair strand:

  1. Anagen phase: This is the active hair growth phase. In the Anagen phase, the hair shaft grows to the fullest. Each day a hair grows by 1 cm.
  2. Catagen phase: This is the phase where the hair stops to grow for a transitional period. This phase lasts for two to three weeks.
  3. Telogen phase: This is the resting phase in the life cycle of a hair. In this period the hair shaft goes for an exact stop in growth. This phase lasts for up to 100 days, where the other hair continues to grow.

Six reasons why you lose your hair during the Keto diet

It is essential to control calorie intake for weight loss. However, excessive confinement of nutrition can lead to hair fall problems. And hair loss is one of the worst side effects of having a Keto diet for two to three months. This condition of hair fall after weight loss is known as Telogen Effluvium.

  1. Large Calorie Deficits: A person taking a low carb diet, or Keto diet regularly goes through a sudden breakage in calorie chain of food. This leads to energy cutoff, resulting in lower hunger for organic food and lack of nutrition cuts down hair growth.
  2. Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies: The importance of minerals and vitamins in cell growth and function is not unknown. For optimal and healthy hair growth, Vitamin D is a common factor. A person on a Keto diet is restricted off certain foods that may lead to Vitamin D deficiency and eventually result in hair loss.
  3. Stress: Stress plays a pivotal role in people's lives and their health. Pressure acts as a barrier to the brighter part of life and may even lead to hair loss. High-stress levels push a tremendous amount of hair follicles into a resting mode. This, in a few months, weakens the affected hair- causing hair loss.
  4. Lack of Biotin: The low carb diet leads to the deficiency of Biotin or vitamin H in a human body. This vitamin is essential for hair growth. Keto diet restricts Vitamin H intake to control weight gain and as a side effect leads to hair loss.
  5. Not enough protein: A standard ketogenic diet only allows food intake with low protein and carbohydrate. Just like excess stress, low protein levels push a large number of hair follicles into the resting phase. Resulting in evident hair loss.
  6. Gut health: The microbes in your gut affect the skin, hair and nails in your body. It leads to hair fall issues during the intake of a low carb diet.

Ways to prevent hair loss:

  • Intake of food having Biotin helps in regaining hair. You can add egg yolk, cauliflower, and Salmon in your diet for restoring your hair. Biotin and other Vitamin supplements can also help.
  • Methylsulfonylmethane: This compound is found in meats, vegetables and algae. This compound is perfect for hair growth. To prevent hair loss balance these food items in your regular diet.
  • Bone broth in a Ketogenic diet can be the right combination for recovering from hair loss. You may lose some hair, but your scalp will keep on producing new hair.
  • Collagen can also help people suffering from the issues of hair loss, hair thinning and hair graying.

Medically reviewed by Rishabh Verma, RP