Vegan Hair Loss: Causes, Solutions & Prevention

About Vegan Hair Loss

Going vegan may be one of the healthiest decisions you can make for your body. But it’s a lifestyle transition that must be done carefully. In fact, a vegan diet must be balanced for you to be more healthier than you were – not the opposite.

Making the move to veganism may leaves people lacking in certain vitamins and nutrients, the ones they previously got from animal sources. And when alternative sources for those vitamins and nutrients aren’t found, it can particularly affect the health of your hair.

1. Protein Deficiency

Hair is made of proteins. As a rule of thumb, make sure you’re consuming enough proteins in order to keep it healthy. While it’s true the highest concentration of proteins is found in animal products, there’re many 100% vegan foods that are incredibly high in protein, too.

Clinical studies found that protein deficiency can cause a lack of several amino acids, essential for growing and maintaining healthy hair. The implication of amino acid deficiency – take L-lysine for example – is the inability of the body to absorb certain essential nutrients.
L-lysine also plays a critical role in zinc and iron intake. In order for your body to absorb the zinc and iron that you’re putting into it, you must have healthy levels of L-lysine.

2. Iron Deficiency

Our bodies needs iron to function properly. As an essential component of red blood cell protein, iron helps to transfer oxygen from the lungs into body tissue. According to the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements, iron also supports muscle metabolism, physical growth, neurological development, cellular functioning, and hormone synthesis. A 40-year long study published in 2006 found that there’s a connection between low levels of iron and hair loss.

Iron deficiency looks very different among different groups of people. Because it’s usually accompanied by a lack of other nutrients too, iron deficiency is hard to diagnose as the single cause of hair loss. Fortunately, it’s easy to charge our body with this essential component as iron is naturally found in both plant sources. It can also be taken as a vegan supplement.

3. Zinc Deficiency

Zinc is an essential micronutrient responsible for healthy metabolism, protein folding, and tissue growth and repair. It helps keep your scalp and hair healthy by ensuring the proper function of your oil glands that surround your hair follicles. When someone’s diet is deficient in zinc, many hair health issues (such as alopecia) can develop.

According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vegan diets tend to contain lower levels of zinc. Get more zinc in your vegan diet by eating more beans, bran, seeds, nuts, or adding a zinc supplement to your diet.

The proper levels of zinc that a person should have depends on weight and gender. Discuss zinc intake with your doctor to make sure you’re getting the proper amount. In fact, too much zinc can have similar effects as too little zinc.

4. Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism occurs when a person’s thyroid and iodine levels are low. When this happens, the body’s processes start slowing down and you frequently feel cold, tired, depressed, and forgetful. Other Symptoms include dull, dry skin, and hair loss.

Typically, thyroid issues are caused by autoimmune disease, genetic predisposition, iodine imbalance, or damage to the pituitary gland. And now, you might be wondering where veganism comes into play with hypothyroidism…

Vegan diets rely pretty heavily on soy-based products. Soy is is a a staple on the menu of vegan aficionados because it’s high in protein and can easily be transformed into meat-replacement substances. However, soy can be a problem: it can make it harder for the body to absorb hypothyroid medication. For this reason, those with hypothyroidism should take care when it comes to their soy intake and ensure that their iodine levels are increased with any soy intake.

5. Vitamin B-12 Deficiency

B-12 is needed to make healthy red blood cells, nerves, and DNA. Yet, it’s only found in animal products and products that are fortified with B-12. People who follow a strict vegan diet are at high risk for developing a vitamin B-12 deficiency because they don’t eat meat, eggs, dairy, or poultry.

When a person develops a vitamin B-12 deficiency, the symptoms can vary and be easily confused with other illnesses. The most common symptoms are a scaly scalp, hair loss, weakness, fatigue, and poor cognitive functioning.

Fortunately, vegan consumers can easily find foods containing B-12 and avoid this kind of vegan hair loss. Just make sure to check the ingredients list to ensure that the B-12 doesn’t come from an animal source. You can also stock up on tempeh, nutritional yeast, and a vegan supplement that contains vitamin B-12.

Conclusion

In order to make the best decisions for our health, we have to be informed about the dangers we face. The above reasons for vegans experiencing hair loss isn’t meant to deter you from veganism nor deter you from cutting animal products out of your diet. On the contrary, it’s meant to educate you so that you can go vegan in a way that keep your hair as healthy as the rest of your body.