Things To Avoid When You Have Alopecia Areata

Have you noticed people with irregular bald spots on their heads? This is due to a condition called alopecia areata. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition characterized by sudden hair loss and begins with one or more circular bald patches. It destroys certain hair follicles and can be triggered by extreme stress. By adhering to certain dietary suggestions, you may be able to reverse alopecia areata or at least lessen some of the most distressing symptoms. Let's talk about the things to avoid when you have alopecia areata. Before learning about them, let’s have an overview of this condition and discuss the potential causes and symptoms associated with it in the next few sections.

Understanding Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata is one of the autoimmune conditions, affecting about 2% of the population, once in their lifetime. It is marked by the attack of the immune system on the hair follicles that causes hair loss. Such a condition affects different body parts that may include scalp, beard, eyelashes, chest, and eyebrows. The severity of hair loss can vary from one person to another. The symptoms associated with it can be triggered by many factors such as underlying medical problems, iron or protein deficiency, inflammation, or abnormal stress levels. 

What Are the Causes of Alopecia Areata?

In general, your immune system defends your body against outside attackers such as viruses, fungi, and bacteria. As alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition, it occurs when the immune system misidentifies healthy cells as foreign substances, and your immune system attacks your hair follicles by mistake. Hair follicles are structures from which your hair grows. Eventually, hair loss occurs when the follicles shrink and stop generating hair. 

Researchers are unsure about the exact cause of this sickness. However, some potential causes may include:

• Genetics or family history of alopecia areata.

• Possessing other health conditions, such as vitiligo, Down's Syndrome, psoriasis, thyroid disease, etc.

• Vitamin D deficiency.

• Cancer drug, nivolumab: Nivolumab-induced alopecia areata happens in persons undergoing cancer treatment with the cancer drug nivolumab. In many circumstances, hair loss indicates that the medication is functioning.

What Are the Symptoms of Alopecia Areata?

The most prevalent symptom of alopecia areata is hair loss. Typically, hair falls out in places on the scalp. These patches are frequently a few centimeters to millimeters in size. Hair clumps on your pillow or in the shower may be the first signs. Other regions of the face, such as the brows, eyelashes, and beard, as well as other parts of the body, may experience hair loss in patches. Someone may call your attention to the spots on the back of your head.  But the point to be noted is that alopecia areata is not diagnosed just by hair loss.

According to doctors and experts, hair loss caused by alopecia is unpredictable and spontaneous. According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, this hair loss is not necessarily permanent. Because the hair follicles are living and hair can often regenerate. It can also grow slowly and reappear after a long period of inactivity. The degree of hair loss and restoration varies substantially across individuals. 

Can Diet Help Improve Symptoms Associated With Alopecia?

Alopecia is challenging to treat as there are mixed responses of medications used to improve associated symptoms. Well, inflammation is the contributing factor in alopecia areata which causes the inflammatory cells to suddenly attack hair follicles, leading to hair loss. This might be the reason why people living with such autoimmune conditions can benefit from following anti-inflammatory eating habits and avoiding certain foods.

One research shows that a boy of 8 years of age who followed a diet rich in whole, unrefined foods and consumed supplements of zinc and vitamin D for about 5 months found a complete reduction of Alopecia symptoms. Another study reports that a gluten-free diet that consists of protein, raw veggies, and soy causes improvement in symptoms in alopecia-affected people.

Things To Avoid When You Have Alopecia Areata

There is currently no treatment for alopecia areata, but there are certain things you may do to improve your view of the disease. The following are the foods to avoid for alopecia areata: 

Diary

Dairy products are one of the foods to avoid for alopecia areata as they are rich in fats, which raises your body's testosterone levels. Increased levels of testosterone are one of the various causes of hair loss that have bothered many people. Dairy products also tend to aggravate skin conditions, including eczema, psoriasis, and dandruff, in people prone to them. In turn, this results in hair loss.

Sugar

High sugar intake causes poor blood circulation. This makes it challenging for blood and nutrients to reach your hair follicles. Hence, sugar is the worst food for alopecia areata. Some people who consume too much sugar report scalp inflammation. When your scalp is inflamed, you get a burning feeling instead of a very cold scalp because of insufficient blood flow. It, again, leads to damaged hair.

Refined Carbohydrates

Refined carbohydrates present in bread, cake, spaghetti, and pizza are one of the many factors that contribute to hair loss. Your body's defenses against stress are blocked by foods containing refined carbohydrates. And once you eat them, they turn into sugar. We've already talked about what sugar does to your hair, so, yeah.

Polyunsaturated Fats

Polyunsaturated fats are among the unsafe foods to avoid for alopecia areata as they can worsen the symptoms associated with such a condition. Harmful Polyunsaturated fats are found in corn oil and sunflower oil. As a result, it is preferable to eat steamed foods rather than foods fried in these oils. Bake or lightly eat your food.

Excessive Nuts

If you have an allergy to nuts, avoid it. Most nuts contain selenium, which, while necessary in trace amounts, can contribute to hair loss if consumed in significant amounts. Be careful of the Brazil nut because it is high in selenium.

Greasy Foods

The scalp produces an oily material known as "sebum." This sebum moisturizes both your hair and the skin on your scalp. But this sebum also gets oily when your body is overloaded with grease. Your hair will appear a little too limp and greasy. As a result, it causes hair loss as the grease covering your hair follicles makes it difficult for your hair to grow.

Carbonated Drinks

Carbonated beverages interact with the insulin in your blood and reduce its sensitivity to sugar. It causes blood sugar to rise, impairs blood flow, and reduces the nutrients reaching your hair follicles. Thus, this leads to hair loss. 

Caffeine

Caffeine is a terrific hair growth stimulator when applied topically. However, excess caffeine isn't great for people with hormonal issues, specifically those with low or high cortisol levels.

Avoid Nightshades Foods

Peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and potatoes are some of the nightshades that should be avoided if you have alopecia areata. This is because such types of foods can trigger inflammation.

Ideal Alopecia Areata Diet To Focus On

If you retain your immunity throughout time, you have a decent chance of avoiding this condition. However, there are techniques to control hair loss and encourage regeneration if you have the condition. You should have an appropriate alopecia areata diet that consists of the following things:

• Essential Vitamins: The most important vitamins and nutrients needed to control alopecia areata are:

• Biotin: It is responsible for hair growth and increasing hair volume.

• Zinc: It plays an essential role in hair tissue growth and repair. Moreover, it aids in the normal functioning of the oil glands surrounding the follicles.

• Thiamine: It prevents nerve damage so hair follicles can grow without any hurdles.

• Vitamin C:  It strengthens the capillaries that supply blood to the hair shaft.

• Antioxidants: They increase blood flow and nutrient-rich blood to the cells of the scalp, which promotes hair growth. There are many different kinds of these supplements, including vitamins, minerals, and bioflavonoids.

• Healthy Fats: The body's inflammatory response is broken by healthy fats. Therefore, the use of canola, avocado, and olive oil for cooking is recommended as they are rich in healthy fats. 

• Fruits and Vegetables: Increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants are found in foods, including apples, strawberries, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, pineapple, green cabbage, and apricots. They contribute to blood circulation and supply of nutrients to the cells of the scalp, thus, increasing the hair numbers.

• Onions: An excellent source of antioxidants is onions. You need it because it lowers inflammation, cholesterol levels, and your risk of heart disease. Include raw onions in your food, sandwiches, and salads.

• Fish: Fish are extremely nourishing, high in protein, and provide omega-3 fatty acids. Wild fish consumption can aid with alopecia symptoms. Increase your consumption of fish like herring, sardines, mackerel, trout, salmon, and fish. 

• Bone Broth: Bone broth in soups and stews might work wonders for alopecia patients. It is nutrient-dense and easy to digest. It contains collagen, phosphorus, glycine, gelatin, magnesium, and calcium. These assist in enhancing immunity, nourishing your skin, hair, and nails, and reducing inflammation.

According to Harvard Health, many foods encourage inflammation, promoting and exacerbating autoimmune symptoms.

Effective Treatment Options For Alopecia Areata

If dietary changes do not help, dermatologists may recommend some treatments to manage the root cause of alopecia areata. Those may include:

• Corticosteroids: These are some anti-inflammatory medications that are helpful in treating autoimmune conditions. These drugs can be consumed orally as a tablet, injected into the scalp or other body parts, or directly applied over the skin as a cream or ointment. With such drugs come certain side effects such as increased appetite, blurry vision, mood swings, or weight gain.

• Minoxidil: This topical medication typically treats baldness in approximately 12 weeks. Some side effects associated with its use are unusual hair growth, headache, or irritated scalp.

• Platelet-rich plasma: In this procedure, blood is taken out from the body, processed, and then injected into the scalp. This helps promote hair growth. The associated side effects are nausea, scalp irritation, dizziness, scalp pain, and vomiting.

• Phototherapy: This procedure uses ultraviolet light combined with a drug called psoralen that can treat alopecia areata.

• Topical immunotherapy: During this treatment, an allergen is rubbed into the skin to produce an allergic reaction, stimulating hair growth. Side effects of this procedure are scalp irritation, skin discoloration, swollen lymph nodes, and eczema.

• Styling techniques: If other treatments won't help, doctors may suggest some styling techniques such as wigs or hair weaves to hide your baldness.

Summing Up

Alopecia areata is hair loss from various body parts like the scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows, face, beard, etc. People with autoimmune illnesses such as psoriasis, thyroid disease, or vitiligo are more likely to develop alopecia areata. Although there is no cure for this condition, there are some things to avoid when you have alopecia areata. You may be able to reverse alopecia areata or at least lessen some of the most distressing symptoms. Avoid peppers, dairy products, sugar, tomatoes, caffeine, eggplant, potatoes, and polyunsaturated fats in your diet. Instead, include fish, fruits, vegetables, onions, bone broth, and healthy oils in your diet.