
CHENNAI: You are as busy as can be — whether you are a man or woman, you are juggling tasks and roles both at home and the workplace. The casualty? Your health. You seem to have no time to exercise and even less time to prep meals. An influencer on social media flaunts the ‘ideal’ body and attributes it to ‘intermittent fasting’. You are blown away, ready to jump onto the bandwagon. But before you do so, know that this practice can slow your hair growth and cause it to shed!
What is intermittent fasting?
“Intermittent fasting is a cyclic methodic schedule wherein there are fasting and non-fasting periods in a day. Simply put, you do not eat for a period of time each day,” explains Dr Rajesh Vukkala, chief consultant - Internal Medicine, Renova Hospitals, Sanath Nagar.
Hair loss logic
The doctor adds that though the periods of fasting may vary according to a person’s preference, the practice is, in essence, not advisable. “Intermittent fasting basically deprives your body of important nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and iron. When you underfeed your body, daily internal bodily functions and organs will get affected. So, slow hair growth and hair loss are byproducts of this,” elaborates Dr Rajesh.
Dr Jyotsna Gampa, dermatologist, trichologist, and cosmetologist at Chaitanya Trichodermatology Clinic, AS Rao Nagar and East Maredpally, adds that depriving your body of important nutrients, vitamins, and so on affects the hair growth cycle, which has three main phases:
i) Anagen — growth phase
ii) Catagen — transition phase
iii) Telogen — shedding phase
She warns, “If your nutrition intake is lower when your hair is in the anagen phase, the effects may not be evident just then, but in the telogen phase, there will be increased shedding, which is called telogen effluvium.”
The HFSC factor
“Hair follicular stem cells (HFSCs) are reservoir cells for hair growth and hair regeneration. Intermittent fasting can lead to a temporary shock-like effect on these cells, slowing hair growth and hair regeneration, apart from increasing hair shedding,” Dr Jyotsna explains.
The dermatologist elaborates that when there is deficient nutrient supply, it leads to free oxygen radical damage, which makes HFSCs enter a senescent phase, wherein cells grow old. This ultimately causes apoptosis, where the hair cells get destroyed, causing your hair to fall. “Intermittent fasting can also cause dysregulation of hormones, which again leads to hair fall,” she says.
Three-meal diet
While there are an array of diets that people are going gaga over these days, Dr Rajesh subscribes to a balanced, three-meal diet every day. “I strongly believe that any practice that goes against nature will only work against the body. Eat your breakfast at around 7.30 am to 8.30 am.
Eat your lunch between 12.30 pm to 1 pm, and dinner between 7.30 pm and 8 pm. Eating dinner at the right time is important because hormone regulation, organ function, and repair and restoration happen at night. Again, all these functions affect hair growth. It is all connected.”
Dr Jyotsna seconds this, saying, “I see so many people, especially youngsters, unhappily following diets in a race to slim down. This makes them more stressed and contributes to the hair fall. Eat a balanced meal with the right portion sizes at the right time — you will have healthy and happy hair,” she advises.
So, if you want luscious and lustrous locks, the solution is really very simple — nourish your body well.