You may choose to diet to improve your health, gain muscle, or other factors. Dieting, including the keto diet, can have undesirable side effects, such as hair loss. Here’s a detailed look into the keto diet and hair loss.
Can the Keto Diet Cause Hair Loss?
Yes, the Keto diet, and any drastic changes in your diet, can cause hair loss. Telogen Effluvium (TE), also known as temporary hair loss, is a condition when your hair follicles prematurely enter the resting phase of your hair’s growth cycle. When your hair follicles enter a hair phase too early, it ends the active hair growth phase, resulting in excessive shedding and hair loss.
What Are the Three Hair Growth Phases?
The three hair growth phases are:
Anagen (during this phase, your hair grows approximately one cm every 28 days.)
Catagen (in this phase, hair growth stops for two to three weeks.)
Telogen (this hair growth is known as the “resting” phase when your hair stops growing for as long as 100 days.)
How Can the Keto Diet Cause Hair Loss?
Like any diet, the Keto diet has different restrictions that can trigger hair loss, including a reduction of calorie intake and consuming less protein. Because of these dietary restrictions, you lack the essential vitamins and minerals you require for adequate hair growth. Gut health issues can also result from nutritional changes, resulting in hair loss.
Excessive Calorie Restriction
Rapidly losing weight causes your body to distribute your available energy to your most essential bodily functions. On the keto diet, your hair transitions from the growing phase to the restoration phase because you’re not replacing the calories you lose with foods that are full of healthy fats and proteins.
Inadequate Protein Intake
Limiting your protein intake may help you lose weight, but your weight loss will derive from a loss of hair and muscle. If you’re considering trying the keto diet, you may have concerns about eating too much protein when you’re already consuming little protein. People who are on a carnivore diet can enter ketosis, regardless of eating high-calorie meals every day.
Lack of Vitamins and Minerals
Drastically changing the food you eat can lead to different mineral and vitamin deficiencies. Substantial hair growth requires you to consume foods that are high in vitamins A, C, D and E. It’s also a good idea to eat foods that contain iron, biotin and zinc.
The keto diet can help you achieve weight loss and other health goals, but it’s essential to consider any diet’s potential side effects before committing.
If you’re concerned about hair loss, Genesis II can help. To schedule a free consultation click here.
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