Diet &
Dandruff
The year is nearing is full cycle. It is the season for
feasting whether to bid Old Year goodbye or welcome to a fresh New Year;
marking the longest night of the year or celebrating the rebirth of the new
Sun, people will offer a spread of mouth-watering rich foods, tempting desserts
and sweets accompanied by toasting. Gaily decorated shops enticed shoppers with
an enormous variety of gift that included hampers filled with boxes of
chocolates, sweets, fruits preserved in honey or sugar, crispy potato chips, buttery
baked goods, fine wine or liquor… a sweet end leading to a sweet beginning.
Sugar (High
glycemic index food)
The glycemic index (GI) indicates how fast and how high
blood sugar rises after eating a food. Food that can increase our blood sugar
rapidly has a high GI.
Why is sudden, rapid increase in blood sugar bad? The sudden
increase lead to insulin spikes, which in turn lead to stimulation of hormone
surges that can trigger the output of fatty acids (sebum). Your body deals with
the excess sebum by expelling it through the pores of the skin and scalp. Studies
have found that when there is excessive sebum, the oil-loving malassezia grow
rapidly, irritates your scalp leading to excessive shedding of skin or
dandruff.
Moreover, high sugar level in the blood depletes Vitamin B6
and Zinc which are known to fight dandruff. It also has a negative impact on the
antioxidants, vitamins C and E, both of which are necessary for healthy, lustrous
hair.
Sugar and saturated fats triggers inflammation. Blood sugar
spurs the pancreas to produce high levels of insulin thus causing inflammation.
Inflammation triggers the immune system to ramp up and the body produces more
free radicals that attack collagen (a type of connective tissue). Collagen
binds all tissues together and provides structure and strength to organs, skin,
bones, walls of blood vessels etc.
Limit the following foods in your diet:
Chocolates, processed potatoes, soft drinks, candies and
food made from refined flour such as white bread, pasta, and cakes etc.
processed food may contain high amounts of hidden sugar and refined
carbohydrate. The GI also increases in carbohydrate food that had been cooked
for a long time and became gelatinized.
Some food scientists found dairy products such as cheese and
whole milk can acerbate dandruff problem perhaps due to a combination of fats
and other elements. Therefore, some people suggested drinking skim milk to
reduce fat intake. However, a Harvard study on the effect of drinking skim milk
on the skin and acne found that skim milk caused the worse breakouts with an
increased 44% likelihood of developing blemishes. They suggested hormones in
skim milk may be higher perhaps due to concentration during processing (and
caused hormonal imbalance in the body).
Foods to avoid during yeast attack:
Limit sugar because it fuel yeast growth. I notice whenever
I take marmite /vegemite, I get yeast infection. So I avoided it now.
Some experts also suggested minimizing fermented foods and
drink such as beer, wine, cheese, mushrooms, soy sauce, vinegar and certain
types of bread using yeast as rising agent. Some experts suggested taking
probiotics (found in yogurt, miso, and sauerkraut) to crowd out yeast in the
intestine; others said such food should be avoided. Diet therapy is still in
its infancy in the West. We need more evidence backed by research and long term
human studies to validate expert advice on specific food to eat or avoid.
