Weight Loss and Hair Loss – two sides of the same coin.

Ayesha, a 24-year-old college going girl, very conscious about her looks, had put on weight after shifting to Mumbai for higher studies. Thanks to the drastic change in her lifestyle, diet, city, and routine, she accumulated 16kgs within a span of 4-5 months! From a girl being called ‘sexy’ and ‘fit’ was now often called ‘cute little panda’ by her college-mates. But, she took it as a challenge and started dieting. The way she was going with her diet, she lost around 12kgs in 7weeks! Little did she knew, that her weight loss regime is going to hit her rock bottom. She started losing hair in clumps.

Her ponytail was going thinner. She could see her hair all over the place, in the drain, while taking shower, and on the pillow. This time, she was clueless – what to do about hair loss now as she never dealt with this condition or imagined losing hair like this.

Don’t be surprised if you too lose your hair while losing weight like Ayesha as weight loss and hair loss are two sides of the same coin!

Losing hair while losing weight

In order to lose weight, we forget that our body needs certain nutrients and vitamins to function adequately. Diets, especially ‘crash’ or ‘fad’ diets results in a lack of vital nutrients causing malnutrition. Hair loss can result from a diet that lacks protein, iron, and other dietary requirements.

For example, a fasting diet, the most common example of this diet is the “Juice Fasting” – an individual following this diet wound not consume any solid food. They would only consume fruit and vegetable juices through the day, which may cause a lack of protein and hence may lead to hair loss condition.

Also Read: Your Low-Calorie Diet May Crash Your Health

Another example is Keto diet. While a normal diet contains high carbs, less fat and protein, keto diet contains low carb, high fat, and moderate protein. Such extreme changes in diet can affect your body and hair in one way or another. With low calories, the body reduces the number of calories used in reproduction as well as hair growth.

Emotional and mental stress also causes the same chemical imbalance and result in hair loss while you are on a diet to lose weight. Because when you are on a diet, you can’t take off your mind of losing weight, which could activate your stress hormone, cortisol levels. Chronic stress pushes a large number of your hair follicles into a resting phase and within a few months, those hair can fall out (this type of hair condition is called Telogen effluvium).

Therefore, weight loss should be done in the right way. It may take a little time, but it will leave you with a healthy body and a sustainable lifestyle.

Here are important tips to help you lose weight as well as keep your hair healthy:

• Protein is a major component of hair. Hence, include an adequate amount of proteins in your daily diet. It will help to keep your stomach full for a long time and help you gain lean muscles while keeping your hair intact. Pulses like whole moong dal, rajma, chickpeas (kabuli channa), soybeans, nuts, grains, soya, fish, eggs, and dairy products are few examples of protein-rich foods.
• Eating enough calories for the day is very important. Eating fewer calories means eating fewer nutrients which may eventually cause hair loss.
• Some other vital nutrients for hair growth are vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E, iron and zinc. These vitamins have been seen as significant contributors to weight loss and hair growth.

Also Read: 5 important nutrition choices to prevent hair loss

If you are still suffering from hair loss, then consult a doctor to rule out the cause of hair loss other than your diet. The right treatment depends upon the correct diagnosis. If your doctor suspects a nutritional deficiency, tests can determine what you need to become healthy again.

You can consult our expert doctors for individualized treatment. Successful programs for weight reduction and maintenance at Dr Batra’s® include homeopathic treatment along with an exercise schedule and a diet plan specially prepared by our qualified and experienced nutritionists. You can book an appointment with us https://www.drbatras.com/book-an-appointment