Hair loss as a result of nutrition deficiency is a popular claim made by many selling hair loss cures. However there are several points for you to consider when considering that nutritional deficiency may be contributing to your hair loss.

Promoters of quack hair products like to tell you about minerals and nutrients important for hair growth like amino acids, vitamin B6 and zinc. They tell you about all the wonderful things vitamins and minerals do and the terrible consequences of having a diet deficiency. Certainly being malnourished can cause diffuse hair loss. The color of hair can also change, it becomes progressively orange with long term malnourishment. You may have seen this in news pictures taken of starving people.

However, for hair loss to occur from general diet deficiency you would have to be extremely malnourished and effectively starving. Those suffering from anorexia may have hair loss but even for someone with this condition, hair loss is an unusual symptom. It is possible to have a specific diet deficiency that may cause diffuse telogen effluvium hair loss. A diet deficient in iron can cause telogen effluvium. Women in particular may have an iron deficiency due to the regular loss of iron in blood during menstruation. However, a balanced western diet is more than adequate to provide all the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals needed for healthy hair growth.

Promoters of quack products containing nutrient supplements often claim that the western diet is unhealthy and deficient in the appropriate nutrients needed for hair growth. Certainly if you lived on a diet consisting entirely of junk food you may have hair problems, but most people eat a diet varied enough to provide the nutrients required for hair growth. Minor adjustments to diet in line with government recommendations on daily nutrient intake is more than adequate to assure your hair is receiving all the nutrients it requires. Changing your diet is a significantly cheaper and healthier option than adding expensive supplements "especially formulated" for healthy hair growth. If a balanced diet provides all the nutrients hair needs why are there so many dietary supplements available for healthy hair growth?

Sellers of dietary supplements for hair ignore or even discount the balanced diet recommendations made by governments of various countries such as the USA and UK. They may say the diet system and daily intake recommendations are inadequate or not appropriate for hair growth. However, consider that the recommended daily diet amounts have been developed through many years of research, numerous scientific studies, and a lot of money! The recommended daily amounts for various nutrients have been carefully researched and considered, it is unlikely that the dietary supplement seller knows more about daily food requirements than all the scientists and diet advisors that contributed to the design of government balanced diet recommendations.

Diet supplement sellers are unlikely to tell you that you can obtain all the nutrients you need for your hair from your diet, otherwise they would not be able to create a demand for their product. They may not tell you they earn their living from such pronouncements via public appearance fees, product endorsements, sale of publications, or financial interests in vitamin companies, health-food stores, or organic farms. Your local grocery store has many products with nutrients appropriate for healthy hair growth.