Research has proved that people low on protein may suffer from hair loss. It is common to see people on crash diets suffer from severe hair fall. Also, people who are not particular about their eating habits may find their hair falling in abnormally large numbers.
According to doctors, when you are low on protein, your body perceives it as an “emergency situation,” so it has to do something. In order to save protein, it shuts down other not-so-important body functions such as producing hair. This is a gesture to make you survive the “emergency.”
As a result, follicles go in the dormant stage and stop producing hair. Now, the hair that completes their life cycle begins to shed. They are not replaced with new hair. That’s why you see a lot of shedding 2-3 months after your protein reserves go low.
What to do?
Hair loss due to low protein can be reversed by eating a protein-rich diet. So, as per doctors, this isn’t some serious problem. It’s only your body’s mechanism to survive. Once you correct your diet and replenish the protein, your hair growth becomes normal.
Protein deficiency can become severe when left unchecked. In this case, you begin to get other symptoms too, apart from hair loss. A few of them are muscle wasting, lack of concentration, fatigue, and others.
How much protein to take per day?
The Dietary Reference Intake report says that 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight for an average adult is ideal per day. It amounts to 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight.
Best sources of protein
Protein is abundant in meat, chicken, eggs, fish, cheese, yogurt, tofu, cottage cheese, dried beans, lentils, legumes, grains, and nuts.
Check your diet. Does your diet contain any of the above mentioned foods on a daily basis?
How to treat hair loss due to low protein?
First, you must start eating a protein-rich diet. This is the only true solution for such type of hair loss, say doctors. Other treatments come later. You may use reputable hair loss shampoos and conditioners to revive volume and beauty of hair.
As you change your diet, you would find that your hair loss is reduced.
Hair is made of protein, so it is natural that a diet low in protein will affect hair severely. Low protein diet also leads to lackluster and rough hair texture. All this can be corrected when you include protein-rich foods in your diet.
So, before you bring home an array of exotic hair loss products to correct your hair loss problem, check your diet. Most of the time, the underlying cause of hair loss is a diet lacking in important nutrients.
Once you correct your diet, you need only a basic set of hair loss products that are free of sulfates and contain keratin substances that help to strengthen keratin bonds of your hair.
Products work externally, while diet works internally. A combination of both can give you shiny, strong, and healthy hair that dazzles everybody.
Robert Getz
The recommendations of Robert, a reputed writer specializing in hair care solutions, has helped many women, and men, manage their hair loss and thinning problems better. He is an avid reader too and keeps track of all the developments happening in the hair care industry.
