Can Dieting Cause Hair Loss?

Can dieting cause hair loss? In a word—absolutely! We tend to take our hair for granted—assuming that it will always be there for us; however, hair isn’t just something we "wear;" it is a part of us. It is the creation of our body as a whole, and it’s tied to so many of our systems. Our hormones and nutrition play enormous roles in the creation of our hair, and hormones and nutrition are dependent on our diet!



I was fascinated when I learned that drug testing can be conducted on strands of hair. How is this possible? Hair follicles are nourished by blood from our bloodstream. Essentially, the bloodstream leaves a residue inside our hair; in the case of drug testing, drug molecules are inserted into the hair follicles—remaining until that hair is cut. The creation of our hair is so interconnected with our health that it’s like a record of the condition of our blood at a given time!



Yo-yo diets and crash dieting are terrible for our bodies, and what’s bad for your body is bad for your hair! In some ways, crash dieting is similar to turning your computer on and off rapidly and in short succession—you’re burdening your processing unit by giving it inadequate resources and asking it to work on overdrive. Doing this to your body is guaranteed to mess with your hormones, and our hormones are the chemicals that our body uses to transmit messages. Growth, development, metabolism, reproduction, and moods are a short list of the functions that are controlled by hormones. It pays to keep hormones in balance!



The bottom line: nutrition is perhaps THE single most important aspect of hair growth! If you want a high-quality product, you have to start with high-quality resources. If you want gorgeous, glorious, shiny, healthy hair, you MUST be willing to give your body what it needs. If you’re jerking it around with quick-fix, gimmicky diets, then there’s a very good chance that your body will start shutting down "non-essential" functions—hair production will be one of the first things to go!



Spencer Forrest is a leading provider of hair thinning treatment and hair loss products. Spencer Forrest prides itself on offering effective hair loss solutions.