If your hair is growing slower than you’d like, your diet could have something to do with it.
A new study from Westlake University in Zhejiang, China found that intermittent fasting can significantly reduce hair growth in humans.
The intermittent fasting method involves a shortened period of eating during the day, usually an eight-hour eating window and 16 hours of fasting.
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Studies have shown that intermittent fasting can help with weight loss and managementheart health and memory, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
But researchers have found that it can have some unwanted side effects, e.g Chinese studies stated that some intermittent fasting regimens have been shown to “inhibit hair follicle regeneration” in mice.
The mice analyzed in the study were shaved and followed different intermittent fasting schedules.
The group that followed a normal diet saw their hair grow back after 30 days, according to an analysis by BBC Science Focus. The fasting group showed only partial hair growth after 96 days.
The study, published in the journal Cell by Cell Press, concluded that prolonged fasting activates the adrenal glands, which then halt tissue regeneration during “periods of unstable nutrient supply.”
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It is also caused by stress on hair follicle stem cells, the BBC announced. These follicles “died off” in the intermittent fasting group after long periods of starvation.
Although the study found that the mice experienced improved metabolic health and slower hair regeneration, the effects may not be the same in humans, who have a slower metabolism and different hair growth patterns.
Below clinical trial on humansresearchers studied 49 healthy young adults who followed a regimen of 18 hours of fasting per day.
This time has been found to reduce hair growth by an average of 18%.
dr. Brendan Camp, a board-certified dermatologist at New York-based MDCS Dermatology, reiterated that a “small animal study” suggests that fasting can affect the growth cycle of hair follicles.
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“Metabolic changes associated with fasting can affect hair growth causing it to slow down,” Camp, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.
“Oxidative stress that develops during fasting—when the body switches from metabolizing fat instead of glucose—is thought to prevent hair growth.”
To encourage hair growth, Camp suggests several dietary changes, with an emphasis on vitamins and nutrients such as iron, selenium, zinc, biotin, folate and vitamin D.
“[This] can prevent nutritional deficiencies that can potentially contribute to hair loss,” he said.
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The dermatologist warned that “crash” or fad diets, or even illnesses that result in significant weight loss in a short period of time, can trigger the development of a condition called “telogen effluvium.”
“In this condition, significant hair loss occurs in response to some type of health eventwhether it’s a physical illness or an extremely stressful life event,” he said.
The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Zhejiang Key Research and Development Program, the Westlake Laboratory for Life Sciences and Biomedicine, the Research Center for Future Industries (RCIF) and the Center for Synthetic Biology and Integrated Bioengineering at Westlake University, according to the release. for the public.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the authors of the study for comment.
