Long and healthy hair is adorable. Our diet can either worsen or better your hair health. Learn about the healthy foods to eat to keep your hair growing and healthy.
As people advance in age, hair health becomes an issue, with the hair slowly falling off. Still, even many people of the young to middle ages suffer from poor health. Many factors influence the health and growth of hair, including diet, age, health, and genetics. While there is barely anything you can do about age and your genetic makeup, taking foods that contain nutrients needed for good hair health boosts your hair’s health. Learn several of such healthy foods that will not only keep your hair healthy but will help it grow consistently.
Fatty fish
If you are a fan of eating fatty fish, chances are high that you will have healthy, shiny hair. For those who don’t fancy fatty and oily fish, it’s high time they considered adding them to their diet to boost their hair health. Such fish include mackerel, salmon, and sardines. Their major contribution in boosting healthy hair has to do with the fact that they are rich in omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. Besides promoting cognitive abilities, these fats help with good quality of hair. Not only do they help the hair remain healthy and shiny, but also boost massive growth of hair, by approximately 15cm per year with all other factors remaining constant.
Eggs
Proteins are the best dietary components for good hair health, and eggs are a rich example of proteins. Hair growth starts with the hair follicles, which are primarily making proteins good for hair growth. Besides having proteins, eggs are rich in biotin, another nutrient for hair health. Most biotin-deficient people often suffer from hair loss and poor hair health. Thus, biotin supplements have been sold to such people with goods results in hair growth. However, research has not revealed so much as to whether biotin supplements can boost hair growth among individuals with the required amounts of biotin in the body.
Greek yogurt
If you want your hair to grow fast and have good health, you surely need to consider including Greek yogurt into your diet. Greek yogurt favors hair growth, especially because of the proteins that take care of the hair locks. In addition, Greek yogurt is enrichened with a key ingredient that supplies the scalp with constant blood flow, ensuring hair growth. The ingredient is known as vitamin B5 or pantothenic acid and keeps blood flowing to the scalp, promoting hair growth and health.
Berries
Berries are among the healthiest foods for hair growth. One reason for this is that they are rich in ascorbic acid or vitamin C, a critical nutrient in hair growth. At any time, the body possesses free radicals, which are molecules from metabolic activities that can be dangerous when they saturate the blood system and result in oxidative stress. Yet, ascorbic acid battles these free radicals and minimizes the effect of oxidative stress, which would otherwise lead to the deterioration of hair health. In addition, vitamin C is rich in collagen, a fibrous compound necessary for good hair health. Besides, vitamin C also promotes the body’s absorption of iron, a nutrient that prevents hair loss among anemic people.
Spinach
Spinach is definitely one of the vegetables you want to include in your diet if you want your hair to grow. The vegetable is rich in iron, vitamins A & C, and folate, key nutrients needed for good hair health. As said before, vitamin C helps fight free radicals and reduce oxidative stress. Iron, on the other hand, helps fight anemia, which is closely linked to hair loss. For your hair to remain healthy, sebum is needed to make the scalp moist and oily. Vitamin present in spinach encourages the production of sebum, promoting the moistening of the scalp.
Guava
If you love eating guava as one of your favorite fruits, it’s time you looked at this tropical fruit as not just a good fruit, but a healthy food for good hair growth. Like many other fruits, guava has a whole package of vitamin C, and that’s why it would be one of the key foods in your diet for growth. Imagine that a normal-sized cup of guava has a whopping 377mg of vitamin C, a measure that’s close to four times as much as the daily recommended intake. Guavas will help your hair grow, and remain silky and healthy.
Sweet potatoes
Besides helping you feel full for long, sweet potatoes have a role in helping you have a healthy hair. Research has revealed that sweet potatoes are packed with beta-carotene, which the body easily converts to vitamin A, a critical nutrient in hair growth. Vitamin A promotes the production of sebum, keeping the scalp moist and prevents hair loss. Beta-carotene also helps boost the hair volume.
Nuts
Besides enjoying them as snacks, nuts help with healthy hair. Almonds are an example of nuts required for hair growth and health. Just a handful of almonds adds to you about 37% of the daily recommended intake of vitamin E, which promotes hair health. Besides, nuts are rich in selenium and zinc, which are all needed for massive hair growth. People who suffer from these nutrients’ deficiencies experienced hair loss but upon boosting the nutrients, their hair quality notably improved.
Lean poultry
Many people with hair loss have experienced improved hair health after taking lean poultry. Poultry is rich in proteins, which promote hair growth right from the hair follicles from which the strands grow. Although beef and pork are seemingly good options for proteins, they are rich in saturated fats which are not good for health. Even as old hair falls off, taking moderate amounts of lean poultry like chicken and turkey helps promote hair health.
Seeds
Just like you need nuts for hair health, you need seeds. These have low amounts of calories, yet they supply the body with selenium vitamin E, zinc, and other nutrients needed for hair growth and health. Besides, seeds like flax and sunflower seeds are rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids, dietary components known for hair health. Although you cannot compare them to oily fish, seeds are also good for hair growth.
Bottom Line
Age, diet, genetics, and health are among the key factors that influence hair growth and health. Although you may not be able to do anything about age and generic makeup, controlling your diet can help boost your hair growth and health. This article has shared some of the major foods that when you include in your diet, you will promote your hair health.
I believe that nutrition science is a wonderful helper both for the preventive improvement of health and adjunctive therapy in treatment. My goal is to help people improve their health and well-being without torturing themselves with unnecessary dietary restrictions. I am a supporter of a healthy lifestyle – I play sports, cycle, and swim in the lake all year round. With my work, I have been featured in Vice, Country Living, Harrods magazine, Daily Telegraph, Grazia, Women's Health, and other media outlets.
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