Proteins are large macronutrient molecules made up of a long chain of compounds called “amino acids.” And it’s the building block of all life. All the structures and functions in our bodies are dependent on these minerals.
Protein is vital for our functioning. But what happens when we have protein deficiency?
Among the many problems that can be caused by protein deficiency, one potentially aesthetic one is hair loss.
Protein Deficiency
Since protein is essential to our bodies functioning well, the lack of it produces rather noticeable effects.
- Oedema, or more colloquially known as “swelling.” When caused by protein deficiency, it will localize around the hands, legs, feet, and abdominal area. The disruption of regular blood flow causes it to build up in your tissues.
- Fatigue. Lack of protein makes you tired for two reasons. First, it weakens your muscle tissue, making it hard to keep a straight posture or move around. Second, the decrease of proper blood flow starves the blood cells of oxygen, which in turn makes you more tired.
- Illnesses. When one is protein-deficient, they get sick much faster and get cured much slower. The immune system does not perform well, delaying the production of white blood cells. This is great for viruses and terrible for you.
- Skin, nails, and hair problems. Yes, protein deficiency can cause hair loss and hair thinning as well. It also can cause flaky, dry skin along with ridge lines forming in your nails. These are telltale signs of the deficiency.
As the mentioned conditions make it abundantly clear, you need protein every day, and lots of it if you want your body to function properly.
Preventing Protein Deficiency
Since protein is abundant in many of the foods people consume on a daily basis, making sure that your diet includes this mineral daily is the way forward. Said in another way, eat lots of this stuff:
- Lean meat, poultry, and fish
- Eggs
- Cheese, yoghurt, and milk
- Sunflower seeds
- Lentils and most beans
To have your body working properly, you should consume around 0.36 grams of protein for every pound of your weight. Consult a protein chart to see just how much protein contains your regular portions of those foods.
Treating Hair Loss and Thinning Caused by Protein Deficiency
Once the protein deficiency is addressed, the hair should slowly start growing back. However, people afflicted by androgenetic alopecia might not be so lucky.
Protein deficiency forces all your hair to enter the resting phase of the hair growth cycle, which is particularly propense to fall off.
Hair shed because often accelerates the hair loss from androgenetic alopecia, which does not grow back. For those cases, only an FUE hair transplant can restore hair into the balding zone.
Our surgeons are experts in performing high-quality, natural-looking FUE hair transplants with affordable prices. If you are looking forward to having a head full of hair once again, contact us to help you achieve just that.