Hair loss is linked to health. What you eat has a direct effect on the strength of your hair, and how much of it you have. If you’re losing your hair, it might be because of your diet.
While many factors affect hair loss, eating a nutrient-dense diet gives you the best chance of maintaining or regrowing your hair.
Here we explain if a carnivore diet can help with hair loss.
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The Truth About Hair Loss
Hair loss affects roughly 50% of males and females. It may manifest as gradual thinning of the hair on top of the scalp, patchy bald spots, or even full-body hair loss.
Causes of hair loss include family history, medicines, persistent stress, and hair treatments. The age at which hair loss starts may vary from person to person. Some people may experience hair loss in their 20s and some in their 50s to older ages.
Hair loss is not always inevitable. Proper hair care and adequate intake of certain nutrients can strengthen the hair. The carnivore diet provides us with all the essential nutrients that strengthen our hair and make it healthy.
How the Carnivore Diet Helps with Hair Loss
Here’s how the nutrients prioritized by the carnivore diet help with hair loss:
Hair Needs Protein
If you are eating a low-protein diet, you are increasing your chances of losing your hair.
A low protein diet can weaken your hair strands, and extreme protein deficiency can result in hair loss. Research proves the role of various amino acids (building blocks of proteins) in hair growth.
The carnivore diet provides premium sources of protein. High-quality meat, eggs, and fish can fulfill your protein requirements, helping delay hair loss, or potentially reverse it completely.
Iron Makes Your Hair Healthier
To understand how iron helps with your hair health, you need some background knowledge.
Better scalp circulation promises better hair growth because blood contains hemoglobin — and iron is an essential component of hemoglobin. When there is adequate iron in your diet, hair circulation improves, and your hair health gets better.
Hair is a rapidly dividing cell in your body. Dividing cells need adequate genetic machinery, and iron acts as a cofactor in DNA synthesis.
Organ meat is the best source of iron. When on a carnivore diet, include organ meats such as beef liver in your diet to give your hair a health boost.
Zinc and Niacin are Vital for Hair Growth
A diet low in zinc can break your hair, weaken its strands, and make it lose its moisture. Zinc is an important component of various metalloenzymes, which play an essential part in protein synthesis and cell division.
Niacin or Vitamin B3 increases scalp blood circulation. Research has shown improved hair growth in women who applied topical niacin for alopecia.
Carnivore diet staples like liver, salmon, turkey, pork, and beef are rich sources of zinc and niacin. Adult men should take 11mg zinc daily, while women should take 8mg daily — amounts that are easily covered by a carnivore diet.
Lack of Omega-3 Fatty Acids Causes Hair Loss
Deficiencies in omega-3 can cause hair loss. Studies show that hair growth increased in women taking omega-3 supplements. Research has also shown that eating marine protein supplements helped women with hair thinning.
Fish oil and salmon are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Make sure you include wild-caught fish on your carnivore diet.
Vitamin D Improves Hair Cycling
Hair follicle cycling is partly regulated by vitamin D, and research has shown that vitamin D improves hair cycling. To prevent hair loss, it is advised to take 600 IU or 15 mcg of vitamin D daily.
Vitamin D is found in foods such as eggs, fish, meat, and dairy products, which are the core of the carnivore diet. A true ancestral lifestyle also involves a lot of sunlight and outdoor exercise to get vitamin D naturally.
Conclusion: Carnivore Diet vs Hair Loss
While there is no specific research on the carnivore diet and hair loss, numerous studies have shown the link between diet and healthy hair.
The carnivore diet contains all the nutrients necessary to slow hair loss, or even regrow your hair:
- Protein
- Iron
- Zinc
- Niacin
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- Vitamin D
A carnivore diet could improve many aspects of your health, including your hair.
The carnivore diet can also help other health conditions:
- Carnivore diet and arthritis
- Carnivore diet and erectile dysfunction
- Carnivore diet for IBS
- Carnivore diet and inflammation
- Carnivore diet and insomnia
- Carnivore diet and kidney stones
- Carnivore diet and menopause
- Carnivore diet and multiple sclerosis
- Carnivore diet for psoriasis
- Carnivore diet and rosacea
- Carnivore diet for SIBO
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