It’s already been proven by nutritionists and scientists all over the world that, in fact, you really are what you eat. Therefore, if you are depriving your body of the nutrients that it needs to properly function and remain healthy, you are running the risk of damaging your body’s systems in a myriad of ways. One of the most basic signs of a poor diet is hair loss, or Telogen Effluvium. Though weight loss diets or crash diets may seem like a good idea at the time, not following a diet plan that includes the vitamins and minerals that your body needs can very well trigger Telogen Effluvium. Here are a few things that you should keep in mind in terms of diet induced Telogen Effluvium.
Avoid diets that are too high in Vitamin A. Though it’s always a good idea to get plenty of vitamins and minerals in your diet, consuming too much Vitamin A can actually trigger hair loss, especially if you take Vitamin A supplements. The recommended daily dose of Vitamin A is around 5,000 IU daily, and anything significantly more than that can be toxic for the body and hair growth.
Stray away from low protein diets. You should know that your hair, skin and nails consist of protein. Thus, denying your body that protein that it needs to keep ensure healthy hair growth will lead to TE. In order to reserve it’s protein store, the body will shut down the production of new hair follicles in order to keep other bodily functions running. Food items such as: meat, poultry, beans, eggs, nuts, and soy products are all typically high in protein.
Never crash diet. Despite the fact that going on a crash diet may help you to shed those unwanted pounds, it can lead to a variety of health problems, one of them being hair loss. Telogen Effluvium can be brought on by not providing your body with the vitamins and minerals that it must receive in order to function. Your hair growth is not considered to be a necessary function. Therefore, your body utilizes the minimal nutrients that your crash dieting is supplying it with to carry out more important tasks, such as keeping your heart running properly or aiding in lung function.
Avoid iron deficiency. Iron deficiency is one of the most common diet triggers of TE, and a leading cause of hair loss in pre-menopausal women. It can lead to diffuse hair loss and typically occurs when the iron store within the blood and/or liver are depleted. Essentially, if you do not include iron in your body, your body’s systems will begin to divert the energy that it utilized to maintain healthy hair growth to more vital functions. Red meat, eggs, green leafy vegetables and nuts are great examples of foods that contain iron.
Make sure to intake enough calories. Though decreasing your caloric intake minutely (possibly by 500 calories a day or so) may be able to help you lose weight, reducing your daily calorie count by any more than that could lead to diet induced TE. This is due to the fact that you are depriving your body of the vital energy that it needs to run, and are interrupting the hair growth cycle as a result. So, be sure to intake enough calories to keep your body functioning properly.
Extreme Exercising. Yes, exercise should be a part of any healthy diet, but exercising to the extreme can cause TE. This is due to the fact that burning too many calories on a daily
basis (more than you are taking in) will cause your body to divert its energy away from healthy hair growth. So, make sure to avoid exercising to frequently or strenuously.
Drink plenty of water. Water and fat are used by your body to create sebum. This sebum ensure healthy hair growth, and protects the hair follicles and scalp. Dehydration or inadequate water intake can lead to dry, brittle hair, and can even affect the hair growth cycle itself. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to get your recommended 8 glasses of water each and every day to keep your hair growth cycle on track.
If you are planning on going on a diet for any reason, it’s best to do your research, so that you can formulate a diet that will help rather than hinder your body’s systems. Placing stress upon your body by depriving it of the vital nutrients that it needs is a surefire way to induce Telogen Effluvium hair loss, and can potentially lead to even more serious health problems as well. It’s also important to remember that many instances of diet induced Telogen Effluvium can be reversed by simply changing your diet and including the nutrients that is is lacking.
Keep in mind that while telogen effluvium can be quite perturbing, the hair follicles are not unchanged indefinitely. Once you correct the original trigger your hair growth cycle will resume back to normal. The best way to accelerating the regrowth process and to slow down the shedding is by utilzing Nature Crazy’s Daily and Nightly TE scalp tonics while following our top 5 tips tips for reversing telogen effluvium.