Can a Vegan Diet Lead to Hair Loss?

Perhaps the most important part of hair growth is your diet. It is a well-known saying that ‘we become what we eat’. Our diet influences our body constitution, our skin and even our hair. A high protein diet filled with lean meats, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates is great for the body.

Nutrients nourish our hair strands making them long, beautiful and shiny. Since our air is mainly made up of Keratin, which is a structural protein, eating a high protein diet is naturally good for the body. Healthy fats, on the other hand, leads to great skin and nails.

On the other hand, complex carbohydrates help in better digestion, thereby improving our hair quality. But what about those who eat a vegan diet? Bereft of protein can our hair sustain?

This blog deals with the question of a vegan diet for hair loss and what can we do to ensure that our hair continues to grow even after we switch to a vegan diet.

Vegan Diet and Hair Loss

First of all, veganism is not just a dietary fad. It is rather a way of life that rejects the philosophy of treating animals as a commodity. From the diet point of view, a vegan diet avoids all forms of animal protein, including meat and dairy.

However, it must be understood here that a vegan diet does not do away with protein altogether. A vegan diet relies on plant-based proteins, fats and carbohydrates to nourish the body.

But can plant proteins make up for the loss for animal proteins? Does it lead to hair loss? And what sort of hair loss solution can we adopt if we are all turning to a vegan diet?

Will a Plant Based Diet Help Hair Loss?

Plant-based diets like vegan diets lack protein and iron. Although at first glance a vegan diet may appear to be full of iron, however, human bodies typically poorly absorb iron, thereby leading to an iron deficiency or depletion in our iron stores.

Therefore, it is important to stick to a clean, unprocessed plant-based diet to have healthy hair, skin and body. Alternatively, you can also add vitamin and mineral supplements to your vegan diet to make up for the loss of certain essential nutrition components.

Can a Bad Diet Lead to Hair Loss?

A bad diet lacks the essential nutrients that are needed for good skin and hair. Protein is needed for hair growth. Animal flesh contains a protein that is needed for hair growth. However, plant protein lacks the essential amino acids that are needed for hair regrowth.

Nonetheless, a vegan diet contains other essential nutrients that are great for the hair. For example, sweet potatoes, kale, carrot and pumpkin contain vitamin A that helps skin make an oily substance called sebum.

Vitamin B called Biotin is also linked to hair growth. Vitamin B also helps in creating red blood cells that carry oxygen and nutrition to the scalp and hair follicles. Another important source of nutrition is omega 3 fatty acids that add natural shine and volume to your hair.

The best source of fatty acid is seafood. But since the vegan diet cannot contain seafood, make sure that you gorge on flax seeds, chia seeds and walnuts, which are also a good source of fatty acids.

In short, even when you are opting for the vegan diet, make sure that you are taking all the essential nutrients through food to prevent the side effects of protein deficiency.

What Foods Stop DHT?

DHT, which is also known as dihydrotestosterone, is a by-product of testosterone. As per the American Academy of Dermatology, DHT weakens and thins out the hair follicles, eventually leading to hair loss.

However, there are plenty of food items that block the excessive formation of DHT. These include green tea, coconut oil, onions, pumpkin seeds, edamame seeds. Apart from providing hair loss solutions, they are also good for hair regrowth.

Is Peanut Butter Good for Hair Loss?

While for several years, mothers have used peanut butter as a quick-fix solution to remove chewing gum from the hair, it now turns out that peanut butter is great for hair growth as well. Peanut contains alpha-tocopherol – a type of vitamin E – that helps in hair regrowth and prevents hair fall.

Conclusion

While it is true that a plant-based diet or a vegan diet lacks some of the essential nutrients, like protein, that are necessary for hair growth, vegans can ensure that there is no deficiency by adding iron supplements, green leafy vegetables, legumes and nuts to their diet.

While dairy products and fatty fish are out of bounds for vegans, there are plenty of healthy plant-based alternatives for healthy hair. It is important to eat a clean and healthy diet to avoid unnecessary hair fall and hair loss.

However, those who are already suffering from hair loss or certain specific diseases like alopecia areata should seek professional help. For treating hair loss of all kinds, one can trust Advanced Hair Studio — one of the leading hair loss solution providers in the world, which has scientifically proven solutions for your hair care.

Our hair experts will carry out an Advanced Hair Check to specifically let you know the stage of hair loss you are suffering from and what you can do about it. For advanced stages of hair loss, we recommend either Strand-by-Strand Ultimate – our version of FUE hair transplant or Strand-by-Strand Cosmetic, which is a non-surgical procedure.

However, vegans who may be suffering from hair loss should consider our Fitness Program. True to its name, this program is four months in duration and combines a powerful FDA-approved laser therapy to strengthen hair follicles and give them natural bounce and shine.

So if you are a vegan and worried about whether or not your hair deserves something extra, we can come to your rescue. A combination of a hair-friendly vegan diet, along with our treatments for hair, will help you to get back the hair you always wanted.