The way you eat can alter the way you look, far beyond your weight. Some nutrients from foods can improve your skin, the health of your bones and, naturally, your hair.
We put together a list of food and nutrients that you might be missing to have the great hair you always want.
To add volume
Hair thinning is part of the natural aging process, but there are things you can eat to reduce your hair loss. Each hair is made out of protein, so to replace the average 70 hairs we loose every day, the body needs to get enough of it.
The most direct way to ingest protein is with meat, seafood, eggs and whole diary, but if you are vegan or follow a meat-free diet make sure that you eat a variety of nuts, legumes, whole grains, superfoods, fruits and veggies to ensure that you’re getting a variety of amino acids.
To sooth your scalp
An itchy scalp and dandruff can be gross and difficult to get rid of, even when washing your hair frequently. Mostly dandruff is just dead skin cells, and less often, it’s caused by overly oily skin, eczema, certain hair products and a fungus.
To help prevent your scalp to weaken and get sick, you should eat some zinc-rich foods, like pumpkin seeds, pork, yogurt, cashews, beef and poultry. If you want to try other foods as hair treatments, try those.
To make your hair shine
You already tried all the latest hair shine-boosters with little result? Well, you might be lacking of Omega-3 fatty acids.
This type of highly healthy fatty acids are present in fatty-fish -such as salmon, mackerel, herring and sardines- and shellfish. If you are vegan, try increase the intake of flax, chia and hemp seeds and their oils, or follow these recommendations.
To prevent gray hair
The age and the amount of gray hair you have depends mostly on genetics, but if you observe a prematurely graying can be a B12 vitamin deficiency. This deficiency might carry some other more serious illnesses, so you should ask your doctor to check your blood levels to be safe.
To rise your B12, include meat, fish, dairy and eggs to your diet. If you are vegan, there is a higher chance that you need this vitamin because there are no reliable, unfortified plant sources of vitamin B12, so you will need to take supplements.
To strengthen your hair
A full natural mane can become a thin memory -to the point of leaving patches of scalp visible- with an iron deficiency. This problem is very common in women, so you should consult with your doctor. If you have that tendency, start a diet high in iron with red meat, beans, dark green leafy vegetables and dry nuts.
But, anyway, if you find yourself with a kind-of-sudden lose of hair, visit your doctor because that can be a symptom of more serious issues like thyroid illness, stress or alopecia.
Have you experienced a hair enhancement with a change of diet? Share it with us in the comments!