Hair fall?

Are you struggling with post- COVID hair loss?

Hairfall could be because of multiple underlying conditions. Recently, post-covid hair fall is a major reason for rising hair fall issues among most of my clients.

It is normal to lose 50-100 hair strands every day, but let's be honest, how many of you will sit and count every possible strand of hair that falls? But honestly, with the amount of hair in the head, a loss of 50-100 hair strands isn't even noticeable. So if you are noticing hair fall, it’s mostly above normal.

What can you do to prevent this?

The body reacts according to what you feed it, so your diet will significantly determine the different causes of hair fall.

When you switch to a plant-based diet essential with fatty acids, you can see an improvement in your hair health.

Though, one reason why people experience hair fall when they make a sudden switch in the diet is an amino acid called carnitine. Carnitine is ideally made by the body and is essential for hair health.

However, people who eat a lot of meat get carnitine from meat, and the body stops producing the same. Now when you switch to a healthier plant-based diet, your body has to re-learn to make its carnitine. During this transition (a few weeks), you might experience hair fall.

Including foods that are rich in antioxidants will help you reduce hair fall. I don't mean supplements or a bucket full of antioxidant pills because it does more harm to you than good.

Instead, include foods that are higher in ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) value. These include goji berries, blueberries, pomegranates, and all green leafy vegetables, among many others.

Anything else I can try?

A study conducted in 2012 showed that rice extract treatment, an antioxidant treatment on hair, worked well and improved the mechanical properties of irradiated hair.

If however, you have been struggling with post-COVID hair fall, then make sure to include a good B12 and D3 supplement. Besides this, eating foods high in zinc, like pulses and lentils. Also, drop alcohol and sugar from your diet.

A plant-based diet usually keeps your hair more robust, because it is naturally high in antioxidants.

Trust this helps,

Roshni Sanghvi.