When combing or washing your hair, you suddenly lose a lot more hair than before; The hair on the pillow and on the floor is visible to the naked eye; Even by gently pulling the hair with your hand, you can fall several strands...
Experts interviewed
Wang Yu, nutritionist, Department of Clinical Nutrition, Peking University People's Hospital
Dermatology team, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University
What does the body lack and lose a lot of hair?
In life, many people are deeply troubled by hair loss. In addition to genetics, stress and other factors, dietary nutritional status can also affect hair loss.
Li Zheng, deputy chief physician of the Department of Burn Surgery of Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, said that a large amount of hair loss may be related to the following four nutrient deficiencies.
protein
A lack of protein can lead to slow hair synthesis and even bring hair into the telogen phase earlier. Not only is it easy to fall out, but the hair quality will also deteriorate, and the hair will become thinner, brittle, dry and lighter in color. Eggs, beef, chicken, dairy, beans and their products are rich in high-quality protein and should be eaten frequently.
iron
Iron deficiency mainly affects collagen synthesis, which not only causes hair loss, but also causes anemia.
Studies have found that iron deficiency is the leading cause of hair loss in postmenopausal women. There are also some people's anemia because of long-term vegetarian diet, non-heme iron absorption in plant foods is very low, among which oxalic acid and other antinutrients will further hinder iron absorption. Iron-rich foods include red meat, animal blood, animal liver, etc.
vitamin
In particular, a lack of B vitamins can cause persistent hair loss. This type of vitamin is involved in protein and amino acid metabolism, indirectly protects hair, and grains and lean meat help supplement B vitamins.
zinc
Zinc deficiency can cause a lot of hair loss and can cause hair to grow slowly. Dietary zinc supplementation can eat more lean meat, oysters, nuts, grains, etc.
Some foods can also make people "bald"
Hair loss can occur when the body lacks nutrients, and excessive intake of some foods can also easily cause hair loss:
1
Sugar and white staples
Eating too many foods with a lot of sugar can lead to an increased inflammatory response in the body, which in turn can lead to hair loss. In addition, sweets and white staple foods such as rice and steamed buns will increase postprandial blood sugar, and high blood sugar and insulin levels will directly lead to increased androgen synthesis, causing hair loss.
2
Fried foods
On the one hand, high-fat foods such as fried can cause testosterone levels to rise, causing hair loss in men. On the other hand, it can cause disturbances in the body's immune balance, stimulate inflammatory states, and may also lead to hair loss.
3
High mercury fish
Studies have found that excessive intake of fish high in mercury such as tuna, sailfish, and mackerel may cause hair loss.
4
High selenium foods
Selenium is an essential nutrient, but excessive amounts can harm hair, do not blindly consume a lot of "high selenium foods" or supplements.
To treat hair loss, we must first distinguish the type
Hair loss is very common, and there are many people who are troubled, but there may not be many people who are really clear about the cause or type and severity of their hair loss.
Androgenetic alopecia
A common non-cicatricial alopecia, formerly known as "seborrheic alopecia", has a prevalence of about 21.3% in men and 6% in women.
Pathogenesis: related to genetic factors and androgen effects. Women also have more complex mechanisms involved, so the clinical presentation is different from that of men.
Clinical manifestations: most men have a receding frontal hairline, sparse and thin top hair, and converge with the receding frontal hairline, and finally only cranial and occipital hair remains.
Women often have no forehead hairline receding, forehead and top hair is diffuse and sparse, often at the same time temporal (near the temple) and even occipital sparse, rarely occur top baldness.
A small number of men can also present with female pattern alopecia.
Treatment: improve lifestyle, regular work and rest, light diet, avoid staying up late, nervous tension.
Commonly used drugs, such as topical minoxidil, oral finasteride (men only), oral spironolactone (some women), etc.
Other treatments: hair transplantation, low-energy laser, etc.
Alopecia areata
Alopecia areata is often well circumscribed, local skin is normal, and asymptomatic.
Pathogenesis: It is currently thought that this disease has a genetic predisposition, and T lymphocyte-mediated autoimmune non-scarring alopecia occurs in individuals affected by environmental factors.
Clinical manifestations: sudden patchy alopecia, mostly round or oval, can be one or more pieces, mainly in hair, can also involve beard, eyebrows, eyelashes, pubic hair, armpit hair and body hair.
Treatment: Avoid stress, stay up late, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and actively treat complicated inflammatory or immune diseases.
The self-healing rate is high, and patients with a single type or a small number of hair loss spots and a small area can be followed up for observation, or only topical drugs can be used; For those with large hair loss area and rapid progression, early active treatment is advocated.
Local treatment: topical glucocorticoids, intralesional injection of glucocorticoids, contact immunotherapy, topical minoxidil, photochemotherapy, laser therapy, etc.;
Systemic therapy: systemic glucocorticoids, biological agents, immunosuppressants, etc.
Other treatments: wigs and grooming, etc.
Telogen effluvium
When scalp hair follicles enter the telogen phase in large quantities from the anagen phase for various reasons, telogen effluvation occurs.
Pathogenesis: may be due to endogenous stress, such as metabolic disturbances, nutritional deficiencies, or severe systemic diseases; It can also be exogenous, such as the use of drugs; It can also be physiological, such as neonatal occipital baldness, postpartum hair loss.
Clinical manifestations: the number of daily hair loss increases, and the diameter and length of hair shed are generally normal; Diffuse hair thinning may occur, with consistent hair density across all parts of the scalp. Gently pull about 50 hairs, and several can fall out with them.
Acute patients will not notice hair loss until about 3~4 months after the inducing event, and it is chronic for more than 6 months.
Treatment: The key is to find and remove the cause, and there are no other specific treatments. Most patients can recover on their own within 6 months ~ 1 year. ▲