Hair falling out after starting vegetarian diet?

Hello.

I recently started a vegetarian diet according to sparkpeople.com, I have been following the vegetarian diet recommended by that site. Everything is going fine so far, I have lost 6-7 pounds in one week but now my hair is falling out in the shower which can be a symptom of protein deficiency. I am afraid the weight that I lost is all muscle. What do you think?



I don't want to go back to eating meat but I don't want my hair to thin anymore than it already is. Please help.Hair falling out after starting vegetarian diet?
First- protein deficiencies are only found in those with a severe eating disorder, or people who live in an area struck by famine.



Also known as kwashiorkor, protein deficiency is incredibly rare in industrialized nations. Symptoms include swelling of the feet, a distended abdomen, an enlarged liver with fatty infiltrates, loss of teeth, skin depigmentation and dermatitis.



If you consume enough calories to sustain existence, even if you eat nothing but potatoes, you鈥檙e getting enough protein.



Second- it takes longer than a week to suffer from any nutritional deficit.



If you're concerned about thin hair, try taking prenatal vitamins- they're great for the hair and nails.
I, too, experienced excessive hair loss on a strict vegetarian diet.



(I'm not familiar with sparkpeople.com).



What I did was two things...



1. Vegan vitamin everyday... I think the brand I use is Daya

2. Protein shake 4 to 5x a week



The protein shake I use now is called Syntrax Lemon Tea. It uses whey protein though (milk protein). It is about 100 calories and 24 grams of protein.



Also I want to get some protein shakes from http://www.trueprotein.com which has custom vegan blends like soy protein, rice protein, hemp protein, and pea protein. These protein shakes run about 100 calories for 20 grams of protein.



The RDA (recommended daily allowance) of protein is 50 grams a day.



The problem with sources like beans, lentils, etc is that they have a lot of carbs and a lot of calories for how much protein you get. A serving of chickpeas for example is 140 calores with only around 8 grams of protein.



By using vegan vitamins and also protein shakes, my excessive hair loss stopped.Hair falling out after starting vegetarian diet?
A bad diet can certainly affect your hair. Not getting enough zinc or iron, eating enough lysine (protein), or eating too much soy can be connected to hair loss. All of those are difficult to get on a veg*n (shorthand for vegetarian or vegan) diet. Have your iodine levels checked. Thyroid disease affects your hair and if you eat a lot of soy, that could affect your thyroid function.



Here's a link to a VEGAN registered dietitian's website abut Hair Loss: http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/hair鈥?/a>



BTW, 3 oz of beef every day will take care of your zinc requirements, half of your protein and is a good start on daily iron requirements. I know, you're a vegetarian; just saying......
I've seen the sample diet plan on sparkpeople, and they don't include a lot of beans (iron!), most of the protein comes from milk/dairy. (The calcium also interferes with iron uptake, so double whammy)

Eat more beans in your diet, and if it really is a nutritional deficiency, then it should improve.

But losing 6-7 lbs doesn't seem healthy. Everywhere on the site they only recommend 1-2 per week. It may be that you just plain need to eat more.

*Edit* try logging your nutrients at fitday.com or cronometer.com to see if you're meeting your RDI of nutrients. Spark is more concerned with calories, while these sites show how much NUTRITION you're getting for your cals.Hair falling out after starting vegetarian diet?
Actual protein deficiencies are extremely rare. Those kids from starving countries with the big bellies, they have protein deficiencies. All food has protein. As long as you are consuming enough calories you are getting enough protein. High protein foods are seeds, nuts, legumes, peas, tofu, etc.
i take vitamins and eat egg whites also, u can always eat a variety of beans, high in protein also, lentils tomato's is a great combo also. there are many speciality flours made out of beans also. read about indian food to get recipes
Eat protein substitutes like beans and tofu. Also the weight that you lost is likely not muscle. your body only consumes its own proteins as a last resort after the fat that it would default to is all gone.
if you have the money, you can go to GMC and get some kind of shake or pills to give you that protein. OR you can look for vegies that can give you them
Loosing 7 pounds in one week is unhealthy. Weight loss to that degree by changing diet indicates that you are not giving your body the necessary nutrition it needs.
Eat some protein substituted like beans and protein bars ect...and since you lost weight soo rapidly its more likely then not a protein deficiency.
Wow