Sadly many of us start facing excessive hair fall from as early as the thirties or at times even late twenties. Although it is normal to lose around fifty to one hundred hair strands per day, anything more than that can be termed as hair loss. Men are more prone to baldness than women, mainly owing to hereditary hair loss, known as male pattern baldness and also due to having more amount of testosterone (male sex hormone), which is known to damage hair follicles. But leaving out these two reasons, a third reason which might be a luring culprit behind those falling strands of yours could be a nutrient deficiency. Some nutrients like vitamins, iron, and protein are essential for a good and healthy hair growth. So if your diet is lacking the vital nutrients, this would show up in your comb as well!
So let's see, what are the 5 significant nutritional deficiencies that lead to hair loss:
1 Iron: Iron deficiency, especially which makes you anemic, may cause hair loss. This is because iron plays an essential role in transferring oxygen from the lungs to the tissues. So if there is not enough iron, your hair follicles will not get enough oxygen, which is required for them to survive. Since the human body doesn't produce enough iron on its own, we need to get it from food sources like spinach, lentils, beans, nuts, and seeds, which are rich sources of the same.
2 Protein: Our hair is made up of a protein known as keratin. So it is but obvious that a diet deficient in protein does lead to hair loss. Protein deficiency has a direct impact on our hair, skin, and nails. When our body faces protein deficiency, the body tends to save the little amount of protein that is left, thereby pushing your hair, which are in the growing phase, into a resting phase.
3 Biotin or Vitamin B 7: Biotin is a type of Vitamin B which plays an important role in our body, of converting food into energy. Although rare, a deficiency in biotin leads to brittle hair as well as alopecia. Biotin is also used as an alternative hair loss treatment but works best for those who suffer from a deficiency of the same. You can get enough biotin from sources like eggs yolks, almonds, cauliflower, cheese and mushrooms.
4 Zinc deficiency: Studies have found that men who are suffering from androgenetic alopecia, also known as male pattern baldness, are usually deficient in zinc. Zinc is believed to be working as an inhibitor blocking the production of DHT, a male sex hormone linked to hair loss in males. Therefore, having an adequate amount of zinc in your diet is very important, especially if you're suffering from hair loss. Important sources of zinc are meat, sell fish, beans, seeds, and nuts.
5 Vitamin deficiency: Vitamin A, B, C D, and E all play an important role in hair growth. All cells need vitamin A to grow, which includes our hair as well, which is one of the fastest-growing tissues in the human body. Vitamin B helps create red blood cells, which carries oxygen and essential nutrients to the scalp and hair follicles. On the other hand, while Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that helps protect your hair follicles from free radicals, Vitamin D plays a vital role in hair growth by helping create new hair follicles. Vitamin E is an excellent antioxidant that helps assist and maintain hair growth. Important sources of Vitamins are carrots, sweet potatoes, fish, eggs, nuts, and vegetable oil.
