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.