The review included 17 English and Portuguese language studies focused on food and hair, and included more than 61,000 participants, almost all women.
Here is what the evidence has revealed:
- Sugary drinks More than 3,500 milliliters (ML) per week (about 10 cans of 12 ounces) were linked to hair loss, especially in men.
- Alcohol was linked to an increase in hair loss.
- Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to the severity of hair loss in AREATA alopecia (autoimmune disease) and androgenetic alopecia (male or female baldness).
- Iron supplementation was linked to better hair growth, especially in women.
- Proteins, soy products and cruciferous vegetables (Think of the curly and broccoli cabbage) were linked to improvements in hair growth and hair density.
What is hair loss and how is diet linked?
“We know that nutrition is intimately linked to hair biology,” explains Adam Friedman, MD, professor and president of dermatology at the Georgeton University School of Medicine and Health Sciences by Washington, DC.
Sweet foods and drinks are known to exacerbate the conditions of the inflammatory scalp, he says, which in turn can cause or worsen hair loss. On the other hand, “vitamin D and iron were constantly involved in maintaining a healthy follicular function”, notes Dr. Friedman, referring to the hair follicles, the skin openings from which the hair grows.
According to Friedman, the journal results support what experts already know about diet and hair loss – but he should not encourage anyone to make sudden food changes and expect immediate results for hair health.
“The results align with clinical intuition: a balanced diet supports healthy hair, while excess food or deficiencies can tip the balance to loss,” he said.
He adds: “Reducing alcohol and sugary drinks can reduce more alopecia and create a scalp environment more favorable to growth, but there is no solid evidence that it will reverse the hair loss established or repudiated the hair once the follicles have miniaturized or that the scalp has marked.”
In other words, making healthier choices can help prevent hair loss but not treat them.
But “in the end, the message to patients is stimulating: what you eat and drink influences your hair, and small sustained changes can help preserve what you have,” explains Friedman.
What are the limits of the research review?
This review has a certain number of limitations, in particular the inclusion of research beyond randomized controlled studies (considered as the Order stallion), the basin of participants mainly women and self-declared eating habits, explains Susan Massick, MD, associated clinical professor of dermatology at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Review.
Dr. Massick warns against the problem of “group everything”, given the many types of alopecia. “Remember that hair loss can be multifactorial, with a treatment objective to reverse the reversible, target the cause of hair loss and adopt the primordial themes of a healthy diet, stress management and adequate sleep as a pilanes of any health regime,” she said.
“Not all alopecia are the same, with a wide range of causes, triggers, physical examination characteristics and therefore different treatments, forecasts and results.”
Scientists behind the new research review noted that other studies are necessary to deepen the understanding of the association between nutrition and hair loss before any recommendation based on evidence on diet and supplementation can be made.
When to see a doctor on hair loss
Deborah A. Scott, MD, co -director of the hair loss clinic at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Associate Professor of Dermatology at the Harvard Medical School in Boston, said that these health professionals can test all the shortcomings suspected of vitamins as part of a hair loss treatment plan.
“I would simply make sure that your vitamin D levels are in the normal beach. And especially if you are a vegetarian, make sure you get adequate iron. ”
