Crash diets are restrictive plans targeted for quick weight loss. In some instances, these plans restrict people to eating specific foods, such as the cabbage soup diet. In others, dieters stop eating entirely, as with The Master Cleanse, or severely restrict their food intake to less than 1,000 calories a day. According to The Online Clinic, a U.K.-based health website, crash diets put dieters at risk for dangerous fat deposits around the organs and do not encourage sustained weight loss. In addition, these diets can cause nutritional deficiencies, which The Mayo Clinic cites is a major cause of nonhereditary hair loss.
Hair and Hair Growth
To understand how crash diets cause hair loss, it is important to understand what hair is and how it grows. Hair has two major components: the root, which is below the skin, and the strand, which is the visible part of the hair. The root is the living part of the hair and rests in a pocket called a follicle. The follicle has a rich blood supply, which provides nutrients to the root, and an oil gland, which keeps the scalp and hair strand moist. The strand is non-living, much like the ends of the fingernails. Hair grows at a rate of 1/4 to 1/2 inch per month and, according to Family Doctor, grows steadily for approximately three years before entering a three-month resting phase. At the end of the resting phase, the old hair falls out and a new hair grows in its place. Roughly 10 percent of all hairs go into resting phase at any given time.
Nutrition and Hair Growth
Dietary factors, such as crash dieting, affect all phases of hair growth. During the growth phase, a lack of nutrients may slow the rate of growth. During the resting phase, the nutritional deficiencies caused by crash diets may prevent new hairs from forming. When the hair sheds, at the end of the cycle, there is no new hair to take its place. In addition, per the Mayo Clinic, the stress from excessive weight loss and crash diets can cause a condition known as telogen effluvium. With telogen effluvium, the hair follicles go into resting phase prematurely, and the hairs fall out. It can take up to two months for new hairs to form in the empty follicles.
Nutrient Deficiencies and Hair Loss
The hair needs several nutrients to remain healthy. The hair root uses protein as a building block for the hair strand, and the body uses iron to carry oxygen in the blood. A deficiency of both these elements, per the Mayo Clinic, can lead to hair loss. The National Anemia Council also sites iron deficiency as a major cause of hair loss in women of childbearing age. The hair also uses vitamins A, E and C as nutrients for the hair and scalp. The B vitamin group, specifically B6, B12 and biotin, also contribute directly to hair growth and the prevention of hair loss. Crash diets that severely restrict calories, or eliminate entire food groups, put the dieter at risk for vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
Fat Deficiencies and Hair Loss
The body uses fat, along with water, to make the oil that lubricates and protects the scalp and hair strand. Without this protective oil, known as sebum, the skin and hair become dry and prone to damage. Scalp damage not only hinders hair growth but, according to the The Diet Channel, can also cause hair loss. Dryness and damage to the hair strand can also cause the hair to break off. If the follicle is compromised by poor nutrition, the broken hairs may not grow back.
Energy Deficiencies and Hair Loss
The body converts all the food we eat into energy in the form of glucose. According to the Franklin Institute, the brain cells need two times the amount of energy as the rest of the cells in the body. The brain also controls all the other processes in the body, from breathing to hair growth. Energy deficiencies, such as from crash diets, force the brain to shut down nonessential processes to conserve energy. Hair growth and oil production are both considered nonessential, as compared with life-preserving processes.
Member Comments