Stop and Reverse Hair Loss from Eating Too Few Calories
Edited by Donna, Eng
Signs and Symptoms That You Are Eating Too Few Calories
People who eat too few calories may find themselves suffering from:
- Premature greying or whitening of hair
- Thinning hair
- Patchy hair loss
- Total hair loss
These symptoms could be permanent depending on the severity of your calorie deprivation. The longer you are malnourished, the more at risk you are for permanent hair loss.
Aside from hair loss you might also experience the following symptoms:
- Extreme weight loss
- Dizziness
- Foggy thinking
- Fatigue
- Irritability
- Low blood sugar, also known as hypoglycemia, a condition where you body does not have enough fuel to run itself so it shuts down unnecessary functions such as growing hair
- Lowered body temperature
- Anemia, which is low iron levels in the blood, in itself a cause of hair loss
- Low blood pressure, which shuts off circulation to the hair follicles on the scalp
- Damage to the digestive system that impairs nutrient absorption thus starving hair follicles of nutrients
- Impaired immune function leaving the scalp open to fungal and bacterial infections that can cause hair loss
The Causes of Hair Loss Due to Eating Too Few Calories
The causes of hair loss due to eating too few calories are:
- Fad dieting
- Eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia that involve starving yourself or regurgitating eating food
- Addiction to a recreational drug that cuts appetite such as heroin, meth, oxycodone and other pain killers
- Addiction to diet drugs that contain stimulants, caffeine and appetite suppressants
- Smoking cigarettes, which reduces appetite
- An addiction to working out and lean body-building
- Weight loss surgery, including the implanting of a gastric band around the neck of the stomach to reduce appetite
- An inability to eat due to a medical issue such as having to go through chemotherapy
- Malnourishment due to a natural or man-made disaster during which food is not available
How to Stop and Reverse Hair Loss Due to Low Calorie Intake
- 1If you want to regrow your hair then you will switch your focus from losing weight to regrowing your hair and eat at least the number of calories needed to sustain your hair growth.Ask your doctor or a qualified dietitian to help you calculate the number of calories you should eat a day.
- 2Fad dieting, yoyo dieting and taking pills that reduce your caloric intake are causing the caloric deficit that is causing you to lose your hair. This includes caffeine pills that suppress the appetite, codeine based pain-killers and starch and carb blockers like PGX and Metamucil.Stop dieting and throw away all diet aids.
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- 6If you want to regrow hair you need to keep your cortisol levels low. This means working out hard less and taking nice long slower walks instead. When cortisol levels rise, as the do during a hard workout, your body produces the hormone DHT which causes hair loss.Exercise less and walk more.
Top 8 Foods That Restore Hair After Extreme Dieting Or Malnourishment
Protein provides former dieters and sufferers of malnutrition with the amino acids needed to regrow hair. These foods will give you all that you need to rebuild hair follicles and replace hair that is lost from low caloric intake.
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- 4Kiwi fruit has about three times the Vitamin C of an orange, a bit of protein and it full of beneficial enzymes and antioxidants that fight scalp infection and support hair growth.Eat Kiwi fruit.
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- 8Sweet potatoes contain beta-carotene and constituents that help your hair produce more sebum, which is the oil that a hair follicle produces to nourish new hair strands.Eat sweet potatoes.
Tips and Tricks
- At My Fitness Pal there is a free online tool that can help you calculate your BMI and daily calorie needs, so that you never need to be risking hair loss because you have been eating less calories than you should be
- If you are anorexic or bulimic avoid counting calories as it is a habit that may trigger a desire not to eat; follow the advice of your health providers for best results
If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.
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Article Info
Categories : Hair Loss
Recent edits by: Donna