Protein Question

brunettegoddess

brunettegoddess

New member
Hi all!

Recently I've been noticing that I've been losing/shedding much more hair than usual. Someone suggested that my intake of protein was low. After making sure this had nothing to do with my thyroid (my mother has thyroid disease and I still show no signs of it), I checked into other reasons for hairloss and lack of protein was listed. I don't think that I'm getting any less protein than I have before, but even at almost 23, I'm still getting older and the body is always changing. I looked into how much protein (in grams) I should be getting and I found a website that told me to multiply my weight (in pounds) by .37 and that's what I need. This means I should be getting 70 grams of protein per day. I looked up a list of high protein foods that are good for you and picked up some protein powder at Target over the weekend. Yesterday I had one protein shake (20 grams), 2 eggs (12 grams), one serving of cheese (8 grams), tilpia (21 grams), and then I just assumed that between my lunch and some other foods that I made up the last 9 grams. This morning in the shower when I washed my hair, there was considerably less hair shedding than expected.

So my question is, is it possible that increased intake of protein made that much of a difference so quickly or is it just a coincidence that after the first day I shed less hair?

Any info, articles are highly appreciated. And I hope that everyone has a spectacular week:)
 
brunettegoddess said:
Yesterday I had one protein shake (20 grams), 2 eggs (12 grams), one serving of cheese (8 grams), tilpia (21 grams), and then I just assumed that between my lunch and some other foods that I made up the last 9 grams.
Click to expand...

Not to seem lame quoting my own post but I just wanted to give a list of what I ate yesterday before everyone thinks I only ate the items listed.

Breakfast: Protein shake and 2 eggs with 2 tbs shredded cheddar
Snack: one cup of grapes
Lunch: Turkey and cheese sandwich with granola bar
Snack: cheese and one tsp alouette on four reduced fat triscuits
Dinner: Tilapia with a balsamic vinegar sauce and 1/2 c mashed potatoes
Guilty pleasure: 1/2 cup Edy's slow churn French silk ice cream
 
I can't answer you, but I'm interested in the topic myself since I have had hair loss in the past. I believe mine is due to medication, but it's only recently that I have begun to pay more attention to how much protein I'm getting, and I am now getting a lot more than .37 times my weight (about 1.5 times that on average).
 
It may be something to bring up to a doctor or dermatologist if it causes you to worry or maybe you just had a case of dry scalp where you might shed a little more than usual. An overnight change isn't that likely and most westerners have a diet sufficient in protein to where hair loss isn't a problem.
 
If it were protein related, it would take 4-6 months for you to tell a difference. Also your hair would be thin and your fingernails wouldn't grow much at all.
 
I was reading through my text again, and i came across a vitamin/mineral deficiency that has something to do with the body lacking this micronutrient and not being able to use the protein to make some of the more resilient fibers in the body (like hair and such). Not the greatest wording there, lol, but i am just reciting off the top of my head. however, it seems like this would have a more all-encompassing effect on the body as well, and that you would have issues with other body tissue that was similar in structure.

how about stress? perhaps you are over-stressed and pulling your own hair out without realizing it. lol. sorry for the lame joke...

id suggest keeping track of both your macro and micronutrients for a little while, and seeing if you have any tendency to omit nutrients. at least you might be able to rule this factor out completely, which would be good since deficiencies usually do far more damage overall than just hair loss.
 
Thanks everyone for the input. I did increase my protein intake and I've seen a dramatic difference. I really wasn't getting enough protein, some days less than 30 grams, but I've fixed that and there is a big difference now:)

And as an aside, my nails have also become much stronger and healthier.
 
brunettegoddess said:
Hi all!
...I found a website that told me to multiply my weight (in pounds) by .37 and that's what I need. This means I should be getting 70 grams of protein per day.
Click to expand...

A note on this.. when they say multiply your weight in lbs by the .37, they mean that you should multiply it by your target/healthy weight. If I multiplied by my current weight, I'd be eating almost as much protein in a day as you would and it turns out it might not be so healthy! I'd say 70 is the high end of what I would aim to eat but 50-55 is probably plenty.

Here are a couple articles you could skim over.



There have also been reports on excess protein intake done by the American Heart Association, American Public Health Association (I think it was them...) and the National Library of Medicine. Something about calcium loss and kidney damage... Its a hot topic right now with the high protein diets being the fashionable way to lose weight.

Is your hair coming out at the root or breaking? If its breaking, adding a little pectin (Jello, pudding, etc) to your diet might help you strengthen your hair.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top