Give your hair the health it deserves
We tend to focus a lot on eating for weight loss and not so much on other aspects of a healthy diet. We can actually see a change in our hair just with adding the correct nutrients into our daily regimen.
A whole food, properly prepared, nutrient dense diet isn’t just about seeing weight loss its about feeling and looking healthier. This looking healthier includes your hair.
What you eat can provide your body with the right nutrients to get the beautiful long locks you’ve always wanted.
Provide with Protein.
We hear it all of the time, ” protein has the building blocks for the body”. This is true in so many ways. When our body processes the protein we eat it breaks them down into amino acids which then provide us with what we need for so many functions to happen within the body. Our hairs structure is made of proteins called keratin. When protein stores are low this doesn’t allow the body to have the adequate amount of these keratins to grow long and strong hair.
Providing your body with the correct variety of proteins such as lean beef, chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, and protein powders is essential for the generation of the keratins our hair has.
Below are links to some of my favorites:
Amazing Grass Superfood Protein
Collagen.
Collagen is a protein found in all of the body’s connective tissues, including the skin and bones. As a component of these tissues, it helps keep them strong and flexible. These are two attributes that contribute significantly to healthy hair. Strong, flexible hair is less likely to frey or break. Humans’ collagen production naturally begins to decrease around age 25, but by supporting collagen production by adding it in your regimen you can maintain more flexible and strong hair.
Omega 3 Fatty Acids.
These are found in the cell membranes of our scalp skin and the natural oils your scalp and hair provide to hydrate. Getting these essential fatty acids can help you to ward off dry scalp and help the hair to grow and shine.
Adding wild salmon and fatty fish, flaxseeds, and walnuts to your weekly regimen will help maintain healthier hair.
Below is a link to a great website to order seafood and fish you can trust to be clean and wild caught.
Water! Stay Hydrated!
While your locks are made primarily of protein, they’re also made of water and need to maintain their moisture to avoid dryness and breakage. Make sure you’re replenishing yourself by drinking plenty of H20 each day. Eating water-rich fruits and vegetables helps hydrate your mane as well.
Try getting at least half your body weight in ounces per day to be hydrated.
Below is a link to the water bottle i have pictured that contains a filter that can assure you that anywhere you get water is safe to drink.
Berkey Sport Water Bottle with Filter
Some Vitamins and Minerals to Mention
Biotin: a nutrient that has been shown to promote hair growth. When biotin interacts with cell enzymes, it helps produce amino acids—compounds that form those ever-important proteins mentioned earlier. Researchers have even found that too little biotin can lead to hair loss. Carrots, almonds, walnuts and cauliflower are other smart choices to consider. If you’re interested in taking a supplement, speak with your doctor for a recommendation.
Iron: Your hair follicles receive nourishing oxygen from the iron in your red blood cells. While the level of iron in your blood may be considered normal, there is still a chance that you may have low ferritin which is the “bank” of iron your body keeps to draw on when it needs it. Low ferritin has been linked to slow or halted hair growth, as well as shedding. Do your best to avoid this by eating iron-rich foods:
These are oysters, clams, lean beef, eggs, tuna, soybeans, spinach, tofu and garbanzo beans.
Vitamin B’s:B6, B12, &Folate help create red blood cells, which carry oxygen and nutrients too all of the cells in the body, including the ones in the scalp and hair follicles. If you’re not getting enough B vitamins, the cells can starve, making your hair more prone to shedding, slower growth and breakage.
Pork tenderloin is packed with these vitamins, but if you don’t eat pork, load up on beans, chicken, oatmeal and low-fat dairy foods, which are also good sources.
Vitamin C: This essential nutrient does a couple things to help promote healthy hair: Vitamin C helps absorb iron. It’s also used to form collagen, a structural fiber that makes up the connective tissue in the body, which hair follicles require for optimal growth.
Bell peppers, thyme, parsley, kale, Brussels sprouts, oranges and strawberries all have a great deal of vitamin C.
Zinc: This mineral helps strengthen your hair follicles, and prevent hair loss, by binding its proteins. It also plays a role in your oil glands functioning properly, which protects your locks from dryness and dandruff. Shellfish, like oysters, crab, lobster, clams and mussels all have high Zinc content.
Sunflower seeds, peanuts, pine nuts, beef, lamb, pork and cereals with whole grains and bran are some other zinc-rich foods to choose from.
MSM: It is known as a sulfur-rich compound with anti-inflammatory properties. MSM is known for hair growth because the chemical compound contains sulfur, which is one of the primary building blocks for your hair. According to research, MSM sulfur can form bonds essential to strengthening hair and influencing hair growth.
PABA: PABA occurs naturally in the human body. This nutrient is processed from good bacteria which may be found in our intestines. The nutrient improves the body’s ability to breakdown protein and allows our bodies to use it more efficiently. All of which is very important for healthy hair.
A primary cause of hair loss and early hair graying is an insufficiency of B vitamins. If you are losing hair or you have noticed your hair is beginning to grey, you can renovate its original pigment and help regrowth of the hair by using PABA supplements. However, this action is effective only if your hair loss or graying is a product of a vitamin B deficiency. Typically, the hair color can be restored when one practices a vitamin B rich diet, or adds in supplements with Para-aminobenzoic acid. However, even if the color is not restored, the hair will be much stronger and healthier.
All in One:
The vitamin pictured has all of the nutrients listed above in one supplement and can help you increase hair growth fan strengthen strands, not to mention provide your body with better nutrition.
Below is the link to the vitamin Pictured above:
Healthfully Yours,
Krystal Goodman
