Why Hair Is Lost When Losing Weight

Sudden weight loss especially if accomplished by taking extreme measures, such as following a strict diet, can bring about health problems, including hair loss.

Identification

• Typically, your scalp has 100,000 hair strands so the normal 50 to 100 strands you lose each day is not noticeable, according to the Mayo Clinic. However, hair loss can increase when there's been a change in your life such as excessive or rapid weight loss.

Significance

• Reports from the Mayo Clinic also say loss of hair can occur if there's not enough iron or protein in your diet. A diet that does not provide enough nourishment, such as many popular diets and crash diets, can result in hair loss.

Types

• According to the Mayo Clinic, Telogen effluvium is a type of hair loss that's typically because of a change in the regular hair cycle. Emotional distress or some kind of sudden shock in your life, such as fast weight loss, can result in this kind of hair loss.

Considerations

• "Fad diets" that are followed by people hoping for an instant result in weight loss can cause several health issues, including hair loss, according to HairLossExpert.co.uk. Some of these popular diets include the Atkins diet, the South Beach diet and diets that require you to take pills. Taking laxatives can also result in loss of hair.

Benefits

• There are healthy foods you can eat that will slow down the hair loss process such as fruits, vegetables, dairy, lean and healthy meats and water, according to HairLossExpert.co.uk.