What Is Hair Made Of
Hair is primarily made of a protein called keratin that also makes nails and forms the outer protective layer of skin. Each hair consists of three layers:
1. The cuticle the outer layer, thin and colourless. It acts as the protective layer.2. The cortex which contains melanin, which is responsible for hair colour.3. The medulla, the innermost layer which reflects light.
Did you knowWhether your hair is straight or curly depends on the shape of the cortex. On average, blondes have more hair and redheads have the least.
Unhealthy Eating Habits Can Cause Unwanted Side Effects & One Frightening Impact Is Hair Loss Luckily Hair Restoration Specialist Dr Chris Varona Shared With Hollywoodlife Exclusively What You Should Eat To Prevent Balding
While there are many factors of poor nutrition that are well known, including weight gain and acne to name a few, theres also another terrifying side effect that many people dont know about hair loss. Dr. Chris Varona, hair restoration specialist, spoke to HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY, regarding how your diet is affecting your hair growth and what you should be eating instead to stop yourself from balding and live a healthier life. Hair loss, no matter what the cause can have a significant impact on peoples lives, Dr. Varona admitted. For women, there are many factors that can lead to hair loss and most of the time there are multiple factors contributing to the loss. Of course, women can have inherited genetic loss, called Female Pattern hair loss. Other factors can include vitamin deficiencies, anemias such as iron deficiency anemia, stress-induced hair loss, thyroid abnormalities, or traction alopecia from tight hairstyles or aggressive processing of the hair leading to superficial burns of the skin, Dr. Varona continued. For women experiencing hair loss, its important to seek early attention because many of these factors can be modified, which can result in the improvement of quality and volume of the hair.
Low Carbohydrate Intake & Thinning Hair
Carbohydrates have a lot of calories, which your body, including your hair follicles, uses for fuel. When you cut your caloric intake to an extremely low level, your liver converts fatty acids and ketones into energy, creating a state of ketosis. With low carbohydrate diets, your body no longer has its preferred source of energy, and instead turns to fat for fuel. If your body doesn’t have enough fuel, your hair follicles may be one of the first organs to shut down to conserve energy.
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Fresh Vegetable Juices & Smoothies
These are among the best way to alkalize your body and provide the necessary micronutrients to support healthy hair follicles.
Micronutrients are the trace minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals that our body needs to carry out its various functions.
These micronutrients are contrasted to the macronutrients that are the large, bulky molecules your body needs in mass, like proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
The general rule of thumb is this: the richer the color, the richer in micronutrients the food. You can find some of the best recipes for hair-growth smoothies here.
Can I Eat Meat While Following A Stop Hair Loss Diet
Before jumping to the fats that are beneficial for your body, I would like to spare a couple of words on the matter of meat consumption.
Many people ask me if they can keep eating it, while following an anti-hair loss diet.
I usually answer that a good steak never hurt anyone, but I would suggest eating it no more than a couple of times per week, provided that you remove the fatty part.
This type of fat is dangerous for your health as well as your hairs, as I just explained.
Beef and Lamb fat is particularly bad for you, while surprisingly pork fat is not bad at all.
To sum it up: if youre suffering from hair loss, you might want to cut on the saturated fat as it is detrimental for your hair follicles.
In fact, when you eat foods rich in this fat, this will make its way, through micro-circulation, to the follicles.
These will get irritated, in the attempt of expelling the fat, and theyll produce excess of sebum this will increase the type of DHT produced in the sebaceous glands causing damage and hair loss.
This is the main concern in an anti-hair loss diet: avoiding saturated fat.
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How To Minimize The Risk Of Hair Loss When Starting Low Carb
First, temporary hair loss is relatively rare after starting a low-carb diet, most people never notice anything like it.
There are no studies on how to minimize this small risk, but its likely helpful not to restrict calories, i.e. dont do a low-carb and low-fat diet . Instead eat as much fat as you need to feel satisfied and not hungry, an LCHF diet.
It may also be helpful to reduce other sources of stress during your first few weeks on low carb. Sleep well, be kind to yourself in general, and preferably dont start an intense exercise program at the same time.
Vitamins For Your Hair To Prevent Baldness
Lets consider now the most important vitamins and minerals that your diet should contain, starting from vitamins.
Vitamin A.
This vitamin is important to prevent skin aging as it controls the negative effect of free radicals, which are the molecules responsible for cellular decay, bringing benefits to the scalp.
This nutrient can be found in cod-liver oil, eggs, tomatoes, carrots and peaches.
Next we have the B Complex Vitamins: they are extremely important for your hair, especially B5 that provides flexibility, strength, and brightness.
B6 vitamin fights dandruff, while B8 helps preventing seborrhea, which causes excess sebum on the scalp.
These vitamins are contained in the following aliments: liver, kidneys, heart, egg yolk, beer yeast, eggs, cereals, whole wheat bread, fish, beans, royal jelly and parsley.
Lets now talk about Vitamin C.
This well-known vitamin contributes to hair growth and its a powerful, natural anti-oxidant.
Its contained for the most part in citrus fruit, spinach, cucumbers, onions, avocados, parsley and cabbage.
The next vitamin that is important for our hairs health is Vitamin D.
This vitamin has a key role in the anagen process which is the phase of follicle growth, and several studies show that a deficiency of Vitamin D can cause hair loss.
Vitamin D increases immune functions by a factor from 3 to 5.
Sun exposure stimulates the production of this vitamin, which is known to reduce respiratory infections and other pathologies.
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What Types Of Articles You See In Mainstream Media
In mainstream media you often see clickbait articles blaming meat for hair loss.
I file these under the same heading as meat makes you impotent. That file is called BS only worthy of the bin. In these cases, I imagine a Peta brainstorming meeting.
Sarah: Right everyone, what can we blame meat for this week?
Jeff: No one likes being impotent.
Sarah: Excellent. So lets say meat causes impotence. Anything else?
Jeff: No one likes being bald.
Sarah: Amazing. You are just earned yourself a bonus carrot for lunch.
The funny thing is meat is often the way to help the very thing they say it causes!
And they are not the only ones at it!
The Belgravia Centre believes regularly eating red meat could increase the chances of hair loss.
Why? People who eat higher quantities of red meat are more likely to develop diabetes. Say what!
Meat helps cause Diabetes, really? ermmm nope as the last doctor I got info from said thats probably not a true statement.
In fact, people with agendas regularly cherry-pick data for their cause and use faulty epidemiology to get a conclusion they want. Check out this article which shows how they do it:
And while we are talking about doctors you need to know about this guy, Dr. Shawn Baker.
He wrote The Carnivore Diet and if you are new to the meaty way of eating you need to get that book.
Makes sense.
What Nutrients Are Important For Your Hair
As with any function in your body, you need key vitamins, minerals, and nutrients for everything to work well. Your hair is no different. Specific nutrients are essential for healthy hair growth and to prevent hair loss.
With the emphasis on high fat, low carb foods, some key nutrients may be less abundant if youre following a keto diet and trying to stay in a state of ketosis.
To protect the health of your hair, you may want to look at ways to add more of the following vitamins and nutrients to your diet.
If its hard for you to get these nutrients through food, consider adding them as supplements to make up for any deficiencies in your eating plan.
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Can Poor Diet Cause Hair Loss
- 28-09-2018
- By Sehat
An individualâs appearance does not merely speak about him or her, but such appearance often bolsters the inherent confidence within the individual. Hair seems to be one important aspect of oneâs appearance. While fairy tales and ideal drawings always place dark black, soft & shiny hair on all the images, in the real world most of us are suffering from problems of hair such as Hair thinning, hair fall, and hair loss, often leading to a situation fearing baldness. So what cause such hair problem? It can be stress, use of multiple hair products, prolonged medications or can it be some other reason? Can poor diet cause hair loss?
Why Malnutrition Can Cause Hair Loss
Hair loss is typically inherited as a condition called androgenetic alopecia. In less common cases, non-genetic factors may cause hair loss as well. Underlying medical conditions like diabetes, lupus, anemia, or thyroid disease may thin out hair. Female patients may also blame low estrogen levels too, which is why temporary hair loss occurs after giving birth or during menopause.
Another common cause of hair loss is a dietary factor: crash diets, lack of protein, unhealthy eating, sudden weight loss, or eating disorders. In cases like this, hair loss happens due to nutritionally insufficiency your body is signalling a problem.
On average, a healthy person may shed 50 – 100 hairs per day but a malnourished patient may observe their hair thinning and the hair-shedding process accelerating. Aside from shedding, the hair also grows weak and brittle while the skin goes dry. According to biology, these are the symptoms of protein deficiency.
As the protein stores of the body are depleted due to improper nourishment, the body has to take care of essential organs and muscle tissues first. And because hair is made up of proteins, your follicles will suffer because the body is reallocating its remaining protein supply to support life-sustaining organs. Aside from hair loss, you may also observe symptoms like:
- Frequent colds
- Poor recovery from anemia or workouts
- Significant weight loss
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Starchy Whites And Sugars And Hair Loss
Starchy whites and sugars need to be avoided just as much as artificial sweeteners. I know, bummer! But if you want your hair to stay strong and healthy, these items should be avoided. Protein is extremely important for your hair, but sugar hinders the absorption of it. So although those sugary treats we know and love are delicious, your hair doesnt agree with them. Same with starchy whites. Foods like white bread, cakes, pastries, or other over-processed starches are converted into sugar.
Sugar promotes inflammation, which floods the blood, causing a spike in insulin and androgens. It then binds to our hair follicles causing hair to thin and fall out. Its not a fun time. Consider consuming foods that are whole wheat whenever possible.
Losing Hair With General Anesthesia And Surgery Is Temporary
If you had major surgery and experienced excessive loss of hair about three months later, the anesthesia combined with the surgery itself may be to blame for your hair falling out. This is because general anesthesia and major surgery put your body under physical stress, which can alter the life cycle of the hairs on your head, and cause excessive loss of hair that shows up several months later. Still, hair loss related to major surgery is temporary, and your hair will grow back over time.
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Connection Between Aspartame And Hair Loss : Avoid Hair Loss By Reducing Diet Drinks
If you are a fan of diet colas or shakes, you may want to consider reducing your intake or stopping your consumption of these beverages due to the aspartame content. Your motive for doing so should not only include hair loss, but other health risks as well.
Many people have become aware of the potential dangers of aspartame. The Wall Street Journal and other sources have reported that the sale of diet soda has dropped well below their regular counterparts. At the same time, many new low-calorie artificial sweeteners are being developed instead. However, no one knows for sure if these too carry negative health effects like Aspartame.
Again, break down products may entail adverse consequences to the hair follicles, which are very sensitive organs that often react to stress by going into a resting phase where hair stops growing. This is one way to help them conserve energy for recuperation purposes instead of manufacturing new hair shafts. Hair loss typically occurs about three months later.
Targeting external factors leading to hair loss may simply reduce the rate of shedding. This is likely to be an effect in those who are genetically predisposed to pattern baldness . Or it may offer a more permanent and complete solution in others.
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The Best Foods You Can Eat For Healthy Hair
When hair looks limp, dull and lifeless, people often turn to new shampoos and conditioners for that extra oomph. But really, a poor diet could be the culprit for lackluster locks.
is usually coming from the inside out, says Michael Stranko, a hair stylist at Hair Designs by Karen Greb in Pittsburgh.
Stranko notices that when a clients hair changes, many times diet is to blame. One woman was on a doctor-ordered, low-fat diet and even two month after it ended, the stylist saw a difference.
Her hair turned very thin, very brittle, and there was no life to it. When you aren’t getting a proper nutrition it comes out through the hair, Stranko says.
Though there is a limited amount of science to back up Stranko’s observation, eating protein and certain fats is said to help give you lustrous hair.
If you dont have enough protein, you can end up having hair that is dry and thinner. Protein is the building block for … keratin, says Dr. Debra Wattenberg, a New York City dermatologist at NY Skin Rx.
Meat, fish, beans, and soy will arm the body to make keratin, a fibrous protein that builds hair and nails. While omega-3 fats, found in fish, walnuts and flaxseed, help make hair shine.
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