Diet and hair, eating poorly can increase baldness?
The risks run by those who undergo an excessively strict diet are well known. However, very often, in order to lose pounds in excess, people decide to deprive their organism of certain foods that are essential for its proper functioning.
An incorrect diet in the long run can compromise the correct functioning of the heart, weaken the immune system and increase the risk of dehydration. Even hair suffers from the deficiency of some nutrients.
To better understand what essential nutrients for hair are, let’s very briefly analyze the structure of the hair itself. The visible part is the hair shaft, while the part that is located in the dermis is called the hair follicle.
This non-visible part can be divided into three parts: the deepest one is constituted by the bulb and papilla, then we find the isthmus and finally the infundibulum. It is precisely the follicle that ensures the growth of the hair and stimulates its life cycle, therefore it is this element that needs nutrients.
Can the wrong diet negatively affect the quality of hair?
As analyzed in previous articles, the life cycle of the hair develops in three phases: anagen, telogen and catagen. Under normal conditions these three phases alternate and after the loss of a hair, it is replaced by a new one.
However, a poor diet, when combined with a genetic predisposition to baldness, can contribute to a modification and/or interruption of this cycle.
The nutrients in our diet that should never be missing for quality hair.
There are several essential elements that must not be lacking for hair follicles to continue to thrive. Most notably, B vitamins, which contribute to hair growth, promote sebaceous secretion and the functioning of energy metabolism,
In particular, folic acid, or vitamin B9, is involved in the synthesis of proteins, including keratin, the building block of hair.
The pyridoxine, or vitamin B6, contributes to the assimilation of proteins by counteracting the production of DHT through an inhibition of the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase.
Minerals also play an essential role for the body in general and for the vitality of hair follicles more specifically. Iron, magnesium, zinc, copper and sulfur contribute to blood oxygenation and melanin synthesis.
Since, as pointed out, hair is made up of keratin, proteins and amino acids, which are essential for the synthesis of the latter, also help strengthen follicles.
It is essential, therefore, not to give up vegetables, legumes, white meat and fish in your diet.
In conclusion, although an unbalanced diet is not one of the triggers for baldness, when combined with a genetic component it can accelerate the process of damage to hair follicles.
