Hair Fall After Bariatric Surgery

There are lot of concern regarding hair fall after the bariatric surgery. Normal hair growth is dependent upon a healthy, balanced diet and hair fall is a sign of micronutrient deficiency. Hair fall usually begins after 2-3 months of undergoing surgery and is a temporary phenomenon which can be corrected by taking a proper diet with the required supplements.

Healthy hair growth needs proper intake of Vitamins A, B complex, C, E and biotin and micronutrients like iron, zinc and copper.

Other than these, a daily intake of protein of 1 g/kg body weight is essential for the maintenance and growth of all body tissues.

Hair fall is a sign of deficiency of one, or many of these essential nutrients. It is precipitated in people having a borderline nutritional status before surgery who fail to maintain the normal RDA of these nutrients postoperatively.

This can be corrected by a balanced diet containing fresh green vegetables, salads, yellow fruits, milk, eggs, etc and capsules with multivitamin supplements.

Rich sources of the required micronutrients are listed below-

• Vitamin A – Sweet potatoes, Carrots, mangoes, lettuce, bell peppers, liver

 

• Vitamin B complex – Legumes, whole grains, oats, oranges, milk, poultry
• Vitamin C – Citrus fruits, Amla, Lemon, broccoli, sprouts
• Biotin – Almonds, Nuts, whole grains, eggs
• Iron– whole grains, green vegetables, nuts, cereals, red meat
• Zinc– Whole grains, nuts, beans, red meat, seafood

 

• Protein– Milk products, Egg white, poultry, Fish, Soyabean

 

The normal hair growth cycle takes around 3 months so these supplements are required for a minimum of this time frame. However, the diet modifications need to be continued and maintained life long to avoid having these problems in the future.