It's common knowledge that eating a well-balanced diet is vital to your health. Vitamins strengthen your immune system and impact the health of every cell in your body. A diet lacking adequate vitamins and minerals can lead to various health issues, including healthy hair growth.
How Vitamin Deficiency Causes Hair Loss
Vitamins and minerals play an essential role in your body, including the health of your hair. A nutrient deficiency throws off your entire system and causes your body to reallocate resources to ensure survival. Since hair growth is not a critical body function, vitamin deficiencies often interrupt the flow of nutrients to the scalp and your hair follicles.
What Is Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays a role in numerous biological functions in your body. The vitamin increases intestinal absorption of calcium, phosphate, and other minerals and compounds. Through a process called hydroxylation, your body converts vitamin D in the liver and kidneys for use in a variety of vital functions.
While not found in many foods, vitamin D is found in milk, soy, some fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines, and fortified foods such as milk and cereal. Most of the vitamin D your body needs is produced when UV rays from the sun come into contact with your skin.
Research shows that vitamin D can reduce cancer cell growth, help control infections, and reduces inflammation. In addition, studies suggest that vitamin D deficiency can lead to thinning hair and even hair loss.
Vitamin D and Hair Loss
While the link between vitamin D and hair loss is not fully understood, researchers have a few theories. One explanation is that vitamin D helps maintain hair follicle health and stimulates them to grow, so hair growth is affected when the body does not have enough. When vitamin D levels are low, follicles can become damaged and miniaturized, leading to hair loss.
Another theory is that vitamin D deficiency causes an increase in the production of the hormone prolactin. High prolactin levels can interfere with the normal hair growth cycle, and the hormone has been linked to hair loss.
The most direct link between vitamin D deficiency and hair loss involves cases of alopecia areata. Vitamin D deficiency is also associated with genetic male and female pattern hair loss and telogen effluvium. Studies have found that people experiencing these hair conditions were more likely to be vitamin D deficient and that lower vitamin D levels increased the severity of hair loss.
Does Vitamin D Help Hair Growth?
Various factors can cause thinning hair and hair loss for men and women, and often, there is more than one contributing factor. While more research is needed to determine how vitamin D affects hair growth, evidence suggests it plays a critical role in maintaining the health of your hair follicles and keeping your hair growth cycle on track.
If your hair loss condition is caused by a vitamin D deficiency, increasing the vitamin may stop or prevent further hair loss. Once vitamin D levels rise, hair follicles may begin to function normally, and hair will regrow.
If you are concerned about thinning hair or hair loss, help is available. At New Look Institute, we help our clients to find long-lasting solutions for their hair loss for both men and women. We offer a variety of different solutions such as hair systems, laser hair therapy, and topical thickening products. To learn more about the importance of vitamin D for healthy hair and what you can do to keep your hair healthy, contact us today and schedule your FREE initial consultation.
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