Dieting and hair growth.

[dogzdinner]

Just wondering the other day if dieting would have any effect on hair growth?? On the one hand you usually eat more healthily when dieting but on the other you would be taking in less calories which might affect growth...
Just wondering if anybody has any experience of positive or negative effects on the growth rate or condition of their hair when dieting???

[Suzysu]

Just wondering the other day if dieting would have any effect on hair growth?? On the one hand you usually eat more healthily when dieting but on the other you would be taking in less calories which might affect growth...
Just wondering if anybody has any experience of positive or negative effects on the growth rate or condition of their hair when dieting???

Yes, it's well known that crash diets where you suddenly lose a lot of weight frequently lead to hair loss. You can google the horror stories.

(I have become a hair loss "expert" due to my own Brazilian related hair loss!)

In particular, no carb diets seem to trigger this - but usually if they're not eating enough healthy fats (olive oil, protein, nuts, etc). But I'd also say that you should try and get at least 50 grams of healthy carbs each day - brown rice, sweet potatoes, quinoa, etc. And plenty of protein!

You can still be very slim if you are eating small amounts of healthy carbs.

[Frankenstein]

I haven't personally had problems with hair growth while dieting, but I have noticed some shedding before. I will say that there was a period when I was hardly eating, quite unhealthy and underweight (not dieting though) and my hair grew quite slow during that time.

[Nique1202]

Hair requires energy (usually in the form of carbohydrates and/or fats) to make the proteins to grow it, as well as the protein, minerals, and other chemicals and molecules that go into the hair itself. So yes, if you go on an extreme diet, hair loss or stalled growth can absolutely occur depending on what your body is lacking. That's a sign that the diet you're on is too extreme and you should probably find something else or do it less intensely, because if you can see external signs of malnutrition then chances are there's more serious stuff going on internally.

[Ingrid]

Depends on what you mean by dieting. If you eat adequately then hair growth shouldn't be affected. If you become nutrient-deficient or underweight (taking into account body composition), then obviously hair would be one of the first things to go. Slight hair shedding may happen with any diet change/supplement regime at first as your body adjusts.

[two_wheels]

I cut down on the pies between April and August this year, and my hair grew just fine :)
That said, I did it by exercising loads to keep net calories down, not starving myself, so I didn't find it hard to get a decent range of nutrients. On 1200cal intake a day, that would probably be more difficult.

[dogzdinner]

I havent noticed any huge differences in my hair so far but then again Im managing to lose weight fine without any extreme or silly regimes! TBH though Id put up with abit of hair loss as losing weight is more important when you are really big. Sounds like its all about making sure you get the right amount of vitamins, carbs, fats, protein, etc to keep healthy!

[Horrorpops]

Dieting may cause hair loss if:
- you take in insufficient calories (e.g. 500cal a day starvation diets)
- you lose a lot of weight very quickly
- you eat insufficient macro or micronutrients (e.g. if your diet becomes mainly shake or diet food based)
Essentially hair loss will be caused when you stress your body with excessive exercise or dieting.

Dieting is good for hair growth if:
- you eat a variety of whole foods and eat less processed food which means you tend to get more micro and macronutrients from their natural sources (not a supplement)
- you exercise moderately, which is good for circulation in general and can help hair growth

I think with anything it is most important you are eating whole foods, with good variety and getting your nutrient needs and not relying too heavily on supplements, without going overboard and drastically cutting calories or whole macronutrient groups out (e.g. very low carb diets and very low fat diets). You body and hair will thank you for it! :o

However the above are just my opinions - but my hair is way nicer now that I eat as I outlined above and stopping taking supplements etc :D hope this helps