Hair Loss Due To Stress And Diet

By Author: Sana Afrin Shaikh
Total Articles: 10
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Hair loss is affecting most men and women globally irrespective of age and gender. Many myths are associated with hair loss. You won't lose hair if you shampoo daily or wear hats or hairpieces. Well, that's untrue. Losing hair is many a times associated to other factors like one type of hair loss telogen effluvium, can be caused by extreme physical or emotional stress. Many individuals are unaware of hair loss due to stress and diet.

Stress plays a pivotal role in defining the condition of your tresses. Telogen effluvium, which is caused by physical or emotional stress, disrupts the hair's normal growth cycle. Hair has its own programmed growth cycle including the growth phase, resting phase and shedding phase. In extremely stressful condition, the hair shifts from the active growth stage, known as the anagen phase, to telogen phase. Telogen effluvium occurs when more hairs than normal are pushed into the resting phase of growth.

Common Causes
Various emotional and physical factors can cause telogen effluvium such as the death of a beloved or extreme physical stress like a prolonged injury or major accident ...
... can cause your hair to shed. However, it can also be the result of physical stress caused by abrupt weight loss, high fever, nutritional deficiencies, surgery and illnesses such as thyroid disease and anemia. Although, stress affects hair, the hair loss is temporary and once you get over a stressful situation, the hair usually grows back. Other common causes of temporary hair loss are related to fluctuations in hormones caused by pregnancy, menopause and use of oral contraceptives.

Hair Grows Back
The good news is hair that thins out because of stress does grow back, but it can take several months. You might not experience thinning follicles right after a stressful event. Most of the time, there's a three-month delay before you notice hair loss. It may take another three months before your hair begins to grow back. Altogether, it may tale six to eight month or even longer before your hair returns to its former thickness.

Hair Loss Due to Nutrition
One of the best ways to keep your hair healthy is to have a healthy and balanced diet. Hair loss is often a sign of a nutritional deficiency. Crash dieting, improper eating habits, faulty lifestyles and unhealthy foods that don’t provide nutrients and lack of certain food groups, such as proteins, can all lead to hair loss.

Causes
Insufficient protein intake can lead to hair loss in people and so the lack of essential fatty acids. Hair loss can happen due to deficiency in fatty acids like Omega-3 and Omega-6. People who have inadequate iron intakes also suffer hair loss. Lack of iron is one of the major causes of hair loss in many women. Iron is essential for women as they have heavy menstrual periods and become deficient due to blood loss. Fad or crash diets can cause nutrient deficits that lead to hair loss, as can diets that lack proper nutrition, such as those high in processed and fast foods. When a deficiency exists, the body will send nutrients to vital organs first and to the hair last.

Symptoms
People who have nutrient deficiencies that lead to hair loss often also have brittle hair and dry skin. Lack of iron can even turn some hair follicles off. A deficiency in protein that causes hair loss also can lead to frequent fatigue, poor immune function, colds, poor recovery from workouts and anemia.

Solution
In order to get your hair back, it is important to rectify your eating habits. Hair will grow back when nutrient deficiencies are corrected, but it may take months. The body requires several nutrients to maintain hair health, especially B vitamins. Folic acid and zinc is also essential in order to boost the hair growth. Include loads of fruits and veggies in your diet. Go for salmon, chicken and beef as they can also help you in acquiring desirable tresses.