Indulging Health presents: Foods That Cause Hair Loss Over Time
Hair loss affects all of us. It’s an unpleasant thing that most of us deal with at some point in our lives. While it’s normal to lose a few strands of hair every day, it’s important to understand when it ceases to be normal and crosses the threshold to become an issue.
Your hair health is linked to several factors, like age, hormones, and genetics, that are beyond your control. This sounds bad, but there is good news, though. One of the most important influences on the appearance of your hairline remains your diet, which is something that is well within your reach to manage.
In other words, you could say that the saying “you are what you eat” applies to your hair too. If you’re experiencing hair loss and you can’t figure out why this happens, it may be due to what you eat. This being said, we’ve rounded up eight of the foods that cause hair loss. Check this out!
1. Sugar
If you love sugar, you may not like that you found it on this list. Unfortunately, everything that contains sugar is on the list of foods that cause hair loss. When you consume sugar, it becomes hard for your blood to reach all the way up to your hair follicles.
Another issue that arises with this impaired blood flow is that the nutrients no longer reach your hair follicles properly. This is basically what happens when hair falls because of a high sugar intake.
Some people who eat lots of sugary foods also experience what is known as scalp inflammation. While this may make you think of a burning sensation, this isn’t the case; scalp inflammation actually leads to you having an extremely cold scalp caused by poor blood circulation. This eventually affects the appearance of your hairline.
But that’s not all; sugar is also among the foods that cause hair loss because it tends to raise testosterone in your blood. This is also one of the main reasons for hair fall across the world.
This being said, if you’re wondering how to stop losing your hair, the answer is to try and cut back on sugary foods.
2. Dairy
One of the top healthy hair tips is that milk proteins do wonders when it comes to preserving the health of your locks. Many professionals agree on this point, and we’re not here to negate them.
However, it’s important to note that dairy products contain a certain amount of fat in them. What fat basically does is boost testosterone levels in your body. Similar to sugar, dairy is another category of foods that cause hair loss.
Due to high testosterone secretion, a lot of people are losing their hair, and they don’t know that this is because they consume lots of high-glycemic foods.
Moreover, if you’re prone to eczema, psoriasis, or dandruff, then dairies tend to exacerbate the issue. This, in turn, causes the hair to fall.
3. Refined carbs
Next on the list of foods that cause hair loss are refined carbs. Probably the best-tasting food ever, refined carbohydrates score highly on the glycemic index and include pasya, pizza dough, break, white flour, pastries, white rice, sweet desserts, and many breakfast cereals.
Refined carbs cause a rapid spike in insulin levels and blood sugar. This eventually leads to an increase in androgen secretion, a hormone that can cause hair follicles to shrink in both women and men, leading to thinning hair and hair fall.
Moreover, a diet high in refined carbs can pave the way for inflammation and oxidative stress. Both of these factors can affect your hairline. So, if you’re already facing stress-induced hair fall, you should stay away from these foods because they aren’t doing you any favors.
4. Swordfish
Next on the list of foods that cause hair loss is swordfish. Seafoods like swordfish are a great source of protein, and most people won’t think of them as a potential threat to their hairlines. Well, experts may not agree with this. According to them, swordfish is one of the richest fishes when it comes to mercury. The thing about mercury is that it is one of the top hair fall reasons.
So, what really happens is that this metal interacts with the other mineral traces in your body. The main mineral you should be worried about is zinc. You see, mercury and zinc don’t really like each other, and when the two meet, it usually results in a zinc deficiency in the body. Since zinc promotes hair growth, its deficiency can cause several hair problems.
Other sea foods that cause hair loss because of the high amount of mercury are tuna and mackerel.
Read on to discover other foods that cause hair loss!
5. Nuts
You’re probably wondering why and how nuts are on the list of foods that cause hair loss. After all, they’re packed with protein and healthy fats, which is pretty much what your hair needs anyway, right? Well, experts point out that it’s more than that.
Some people are pretty allergic to nuts, and this makes them experience a certain reaction as soon as they eat them. But this doesn’t happen to everyone who’s allergic to nuts. Some people have only a mild allergy, which usually means that they have a rather delayed reaction after consuming nuts.
Yes, in most cases, this translated into a receding hairline. If this sounds familiar, you may want to get tested for any such allergies.
Moreover, most nuts contain selenium, which, while your body needs it in traces, can become one of the causes of hair loss if consumed in large quantities. For instance, the Brazil nut is one type that has high quantities of selenium, so keep this in mind if you often eat those foods that cause hair loss.
6. Greasy foods
Greasy foods are a guilty pleasure. The texture grease adds to the food basically warrants the “yummy” feeling. But here’s the problem: Greasy foods are, yes, you guessed it, greasy.
As you probably know, the scalp releases an oily substance called sebum. This substance provides moisture to the scalp as well as to your hair. However, when you overindulge in greasy foods, your body tends to get greasy. The result? Your hair looks a bit too limp and greasy. But that’s not all.
Foods like fries, pizza, chips, and doughnuts are among the foods that cause hair loss. With the sebum covering your hair follicle, it becomes difficult for your hair to grow, making it one of the reasons for hair fall.
7. Alcohol
Probably the main ingredient of every party ever, alcohol isn’t very hair-friendly. While it isn’t food, it definitely deserves a special mention on this list of foods that cause hair loss.
On a very basic level, alcohol is known to dehydrate the hair follicles. Once your hair doesn’t receive the moisture it needs, it becomes brittle, resulting in a damaged hairline.
Another problem with alcohol is that it slashes the zinc levels in your boy. As we’ve mentioned earlier, zinc is essential when it comes to hair growth, so if you have a zinc deficiency, it may take a toll on your locks.
While it’s important to avoid drinks and foods that cause hair loss, it helps a lot to use the right products (here’s an option that has lots of positive reviews).
8. Carbonated drinks
Similar to alcohol, carbonated drinks are usually a must when it comes to drink options at a party. These beverages can have a great taste, but they’re quite harmful for your health.
Basically, what carbonated drinks do is that they affect the insulin level in your blood, making it less responsive to sugar. This results in an increase in the sugar found in your bloodstream, which later goes on to impair your blood flow and lower the nutrient supply your hair fillecles need. In other words, carbonated drinks can have a negative effect on your hairline.
If you liked our article on foods that cause hair loss, you may also want to read Food Poisoning: 8 Home Remedies to Feel Better Fast.
2 Responses
thank you for all this great information. i have been battling lool blood counts and anema for years. god bless you for the great news. carolin wright.
Who needs hair if you can’t eat greasy foods or alcohol.