9 Worst Foods That Cause Hair Loss

Certain Foods can increase the risk of Hairfall. Beware!!! Sugar, Refined Carbs, Nuts, Dairy Products, Fish With High Mercury Content, Nuts, Carbonated Drinks, Alcohol, Greasy, and fried Food are some of the enemies of hair. 

Who does not want healthy and beautiful silky hair? 

Whether we talk about girls or boys, everyone is concerned about their hair and beauty. But let us not run away and face the unpleasant and annoying truth of hair loss. 

Beauties, do not worry and panic about your hair as stress can also cause hair fall. Just stay tuned with us in the journey of saving our hair before it falls. 

Before grabbing and running after the products for hair growth and for obtaining thick and strong hair, it’s important to understand the root cause of hair loss. 

In this blog, we will cover the foods that cause hair loss, alternatives of the foods that can be taken, the best foods that can give nutritional value for hair growth, and some hair restoration treatments.

Can Foods Cause Hair Loss?

Think about the fact that till now we were asked to have a proper balanced diet for healthy, strong, thick hair growth. Surprisingly, suddenly we came across with a hidden fact about foods that can also be responsible for hair fall and unhealthy hair !!!! Yes, it’s true and hard to believe. 

Hold your seat as now you will be worried that the tasty food that you were enjoying happily has slowly damaged your hair and now you are worrying about the remedies that how can you regain your hair back…

Our hair health is dependent on a lot of factors like age, genetics, and hormones that are beyond our control. Girls and boys !!!! it’s not only about eating healthy but also about eating unhealthy food too.

Intake of some of the foodstuffs can also result in hair loss by decreasing the blood flow and nutrition flow throughout the body, increasing hormones such as testosterone and androgen levels, by clogging and blocking of hair pores and stimulating greasy effects and excessive sebum and oil, by directly affecting the moisture of hair follicles making it dry and dull or by increasing the sugar level instantly and another fact is the decreasing micronutrients in the body such as zinc which is responsible for hair growth.

9 Foods That Cause Hair Loss

Dairy

Who can even think that Dairy products can also be responsible for Hair loss? After birth the first food a child has is mother milk and from then milk and other dairy products become part of our daily diet till the end. 

Starting from those Horlicks and Bournvita days while running for school in the morning till bedtime milk. How can we forget that Dairy products are alternatives to non-veg products for vegetarians!!! But then how can Dairy products be responsible for hair loss? 

Here is the reason: 

• Fat present in Dairy products increases testosterone levels resulting in hair fall. 
• High glycemic foods increase the level of testosterone secretion, which is one of the causes of hair fall.
• Dairy products have a tendency to increase the problem if someone is already prone to dandruff, eczema, or psoriasis resulting in hair fall.

Sugar

Sugar!!! From a child to old age, who does not enjoy sugar-content food or sweet dishes. You must have heard that Sugar Intake increases calories, so when you are in a health and fitness journey, first thing you do is stop eating sugar. Sacrificing !!! Isn’t it? 

But have you wondered if sugar is also responsible for Hair Loss? 

Now the question arises: Sugar and hair loss: What’s the connection between both?

• Can cause poor Blood circulation
• Difficulty of blood to reach all the way up resulting in Insufficient supply of Blood in hair follicles
• Insufficient supply of nutrition due to improper nutrition circulation
• Excessive sugar also results in ‘scalp inflammation’
• Poor Blood circulation results in a very cold scalp leads to damaged hairs
• Raises testosterone levels resulting major reason for hair fall

Alternative Foods 

• Natural sweeteners like jaggery and honey

Refined Carbs

Refined carbs!!! What are the foodstuffs, actually those refined carbs belong to? Do you remember all those sugary treats, sugary foods, white bread, pasta, breads, cakes, pizzas, etc which you have enjoyed happily ever since childhood days? 

So, why Cry now for Hairs looking at mirrors and photographs and searching for the remedies? 

Those were the best tasting food!!!! Who will not say, Yes!!! Now come and explore the role of those pizza days in your hair: 

• Contain large amounts of sugar, they are likely to stimulate androgen levels
• Can lead to insulin resistance that can make you lose hair
• Can Increase sebum production from oil glands attached to hair follicles leading to hair fall.
• Oil production from the scalp can result in dandruff and itching in the scalp resulting in the weakening of hair follicles and hair loss
• Damage to hair follicles and hair loss can be also resultant of inflammation and oxidative stress caused by refined carbs
• Block defences against stress and resulting in hair fall 

Now Hope you will Choose Wisely!!! Hair or Pizza?? Which days are happy days for you !!!!

Alternative Foods 

• Whole grains
• Fresh fruits and vegetables

Nuts

High-content proteins and healthy fats in nuts can also be one of the food items that can cause hair fall. When you will come across this for the very first time, you will surely not believe it.

Wait!! Don’t be stressed, until you are allergic to nuts. Nutrition present in those proteinous needs is healthy for your hair until it comes to allergy and extreme intake of nuts in your diet. 

• Allergic to nuts can translate into a receding hairline
• The selenium content of some nuts can cause hair fall when consumed in large amounts

Swordfish: Fish With High Mercury Content

Is there any relationship between zinc and hair loss? Then how mercury content of fish is connected with zinc? Eating fish is very beneficial and is rich in protein and Omega-3. The Bengali population is most famous for eating fish in their diet. But have you ever wondered if someday you will be learning that fish can be harmful to hair growth? Surprisingly, Yes!!!! 

High mercury-rich fishes can experience people with hair loss and even baldness. 

But why and how? Here we go: 

• Contains a high percentage of mercury leading to zinc deficiency in our body 
• Mercury has tendency to interact with zinc
• Zinc plays an important and major role in healthy, thick, strong hair strands

Fish To Avoid

• Shark
• Swordfish
• Barramundi
• Sea Bass
• King mackerel
• Tuna

Alternative Fish To Eat

• Sardines
• Salmon
• Cod

Greasy, Fried Food 

Pakodas!!! Born into an Indian family and never miss enjoying pakodas and Bhajiyaas with family and when it is a rainy day, it adds another level of memories to it. Who thought those yummy street fries and those greasy tasty delicious foods could also affect our hair and even overall health benefits? 

Loving those memorable tasty oily greasy foods with friends and family or loving your hair and health, now it’s time to choose anyone. 

How can our favourite pakodas harm our hair growth? 

Here goes how: 

• Scalp releases an oily substance called sebum to provide moisture to the skin and scalp
• Greasy food tends to make the sebum greasy and make your hair more greasy and oily
• Fried foods can result in Clogging of pores and miniaturization of hair follicles. 
• Grease covers your hair follicle making it difficult to grow and thereby affecting hair growth
• Sticky and greasy hair and scalp result in fungal infections that are harmful to hair health and scalp

Alternative Foods

• Fresh fruits
• Fresh vegetables
• Fresh juices

Carbonated Drinks

Mocktails, Cold Drinks, and Parties!!!! Who can think of a party without a carbonated drink? 

No one indeed!!! Hot Summer days and a glass of a cold drink can say goodbye to your thirst and bring another level of satisfaction. 

But have you ever wondered, how Carbonated and aerated beverages containing large amounts of artificial sweeteners like aspartame are harmful to our health and even can result in hair fall. 

Here’s how: 

• Interact with insulin in your blood and less responsive to sugar
• Increase in sugar level in your bloodstream and hampers blood circulation
• Lowers the nutrients and blood supply to your hair follicles resulting in hair loss 

Alternative Drinks

• Sparkling water infused with a slice of lemon or your favourite fruit
• Coconut water
• Herbal tea
• Freshly squeezed fruit juices

Alcohol

Alcohol !!! the word itself can arouse you to enjoy with friends and party. When it comes to health you will only strike with the word “Liver” initially. But we will never have thought of how alcohol can also effect the hair resulting in hair fall. 

Let’s explore how this alcohol can slowly become our enemy for hair and here’s how:

• Alcohol makes your hair dry, dehydrated, and brittle making it unhealthy and later resulting in hair loss.
• Depletes and decreases the zinc levels in your body which can cause hair loss
• Effects and interferes with the moisturizing level of hair scalp and hair.

Alternative Drinks

• Fresh fruit juice
• Vegetable juice
• Green tea
• Coconut water

Raw Eggs

Are you an Egg lover, then you are loaded with proteins and biotin, so good healthy hair. Biotin is the main component of the hair growth and hair protein keratin. Deficiency of biotin can cause hair fall. Eating raw eggs can reduce the amount of biotin in the body resulting in hair loss. 

• Avidin present in raw egg reduces the absorption of biotin in the intestine

Alternative Foods

• Cooked eggs

Best Foods for Hair Health and Growth

Hair Restoration Treatments

• Hair transplants
• Exosomal hair restoration
• Follicular unit extraction (FUE)
• Regenerative treatments (like PRP therapy)
• Prescription medications
• Low-level laser treatments

The Bottom Line

“Unveiling the Culprits: Discover the 9 Worst Foods That Might Be Secretly Sabotaging Your Luscious Locks”. No doubt Good, strong, thick, and healthy hair adds beauty to your look. We all love to have healthy hair but we are unaware of the food and nutrition that should be avoided and included in our diet to maintain the results. 

Growing new hairs is more challenging than preserving the old ones. Instead of running behind all the products for good hair, it’s advisable to focus on diet plans and include healthy food in our daily routine. 

Never forget to consult a doctor or health care professional before planning a diet or even to rescue and treat in case of heavy hair fall. A recommendation from a doctor is necessary for proper treatment and direction.