Eat your Christmas sprouts! Here’s how they can help with hair growth

Love them or loathe them, sprouts are a staple food in any standard Christmas dinner across the UK. While the round, green vegetables may have a, well, acquired taste (some might say their flavour resembles sweaty socks), they’re something of a nutritional powerhouse – which is probably why your mum always used to nag you to “eat your sprouts” when you were younger. And potentially still nags you now.

Sprouts are rich in a number of nutrients that are beneficial to our health, including vitamin K and C, protein, folate, magnesium, phosphate, and other words that are hard to pronounce. The nutrient that we’re looking at today, though, is a lesser known one: ferritin.

What is ferratin?

As reported by the clever heads at Medical News Today, ferratin is a protein that stores iron for the body to use when it needs it. Lots of body parts contain ferritin, including the blood, liver and, importantly for this blog post, hair follicles. If you have a low ferratin count, you’ll also be low in iron, which is needed for a whole host of essential processes in the body.

Namely, we rely on iron to create enough red blood cells, which are needed to carry oxygen from the heart to every single working cell around the body. If we have a limited supply of available red blood cells, we’ll find it more difficult to carry oxygen to every location it’s needed, which can lead to a range of health problems, including anaemia and hair loss.

This has been backed up by a number of studies over the years. One study found that generally, people who had pattern hair loss also had lower iron levels compared to those who didn’t.

Why does a lack of iron cause hair loss?

The basic reasoning behind why a lack of iron can cause hair loss is that when the body is low in iron, it resorts to stealing the ferritin stored in your hair follicles and using it in other places in the body. The reduced levels of ferritin in the hair follicles results in weaker hair and hair loss.  

If your ferratin levels are low, you might experience other changes to their hair, like breakage, or stilted growth. If your hair is naturally curly, decreased levels of iron might result in your curls falling flat.

How can I increase my iron count?

If you’re certain that your hair loss is being caused by low ferratin levels – and therefore a low iron count – all you’ll need to do to reverse it is to restore your body’s natural iron levels. It’s worth keeping in mind though, that hair grows slowly, so don’t expect your new hairs to grow back overnight.

If your doctor thinks that your hair loss is linked to low ferritin levels, they’ll most likely advise you to take iron supplements, helping to bring back your hair health. But don’t forget that iron can be absorbed naturally, too, through the foods that we include in our diets. And that’s where your Christmas sprouts come in…

If you don’t like sprouts, though, don’t worry – there are plenty of other Christmas foods that are great sources of iron. Unfortunately, we’re not on about that glass of brandy you plan to have to get you through Christmas eve, or the excessive number of Quality Street chocolates you may or may not have devoured during the Christmas present wrapping process. Foods like roast turkey, chestnuts, potatoes, and peas are also high in iron, so pile up on your Christmas dinner and your hair will thank you for it.

Too much ferritin?

You should always go and see your doctor before upping your iron intake if you think your ferritin levels are too low. That’s because there might be another cause for your hair loss – one that’s actually completely unlinked to low ferritin levels. In fact, your ferritin might be absolutely fine, and only a professional evaluation (and probably a blood test) will be able to let you know.

If you already have enough iron in your body, supplementing with extra can sometimes be dangerous. Your body is only equipped to handle so much iron, and if you’re giving it more than it can take, you might end up causing more problems than good. Too much iron is even linked to symptoms like stomach pain, a fast heart rate, sickness and low blood pressure. Don’t risk it – go and see your doctor before purchasing a buy-two-get-one-free deal of iron supplements.

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