Marie Brace
Natural beauty can hardly be more true than the old adage, “you are what you eat.”. A healthy body fueled by excellent nutrition supports a great head of hair best. Including enough fruits and vegetables in your diet is usually enough to keep your hair healthy, but you can take your commitment to beautiful hair one step further by adding some super foods to your diet.
It’s hard to overdo it on healthy foods, but you can go overboard on vitamin supplements. You can have too much of a good thing, so consult a doctor or nutritionist before adding supplements to your diet.
Omega 3 Fatty Acids
Fish such as salmon, sardines, trout, and mackerel are high in omega-3. As the hair shaft contains about 3% Omega-3 fatty acids, this particular fatty acid is essential for maintaining healthy hair. You need these types of fatty acids in your diet since your body does not produce them. Hair growth can be slow or low quality when fatty acids are lacking. Don’t worry if you don’t like seafood. You can also get Omega-3 from plants, such as walnuts, flax seeds, and soybeans.
Biotin
Skin and hair require biotin, a water-soluble B vitamin. Eggs, peanuts, almonds, whole wheat, avocados, and peanut butter are foods that contain biotin in large quantities. Adding foods rich in Biotin to your diet is a great way to keep your hair and skin healthy, since your body can create it easily. You can also use biotin-based products from Odylique or Organic Cosmetics to enhance hair growth even further.
Iron-Rich Protein
Protein is essential to the growth of healthy hair since it is a building block of the skin and hair cells. Proteins provide your hair with its structure, which is why your hair needs a lot of it. Also important for hair health is iron, which is found in many of the same foods as protein. Iron-rich proteins can be found in shellfish, lean meat, poultry and eggs. Beans and legumes, along with lentils, tofu, tempeh, and tofu are also good vegetarian sources of protein. Kale, chard, and spinach are leafy green vegetables that contain iron and protein, and are best absorbed when eaten with foods rich in vitamin C.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C assists your body in absorbing iron as well as distributing oxygen to your cells and building collagen. The body uses collagen as a structural fiber to strengthen the hair. Many delicious foods contain Vitamin C, fortunately. Peppers, citrus fruits, kiwis, berries, melons, and pineapples are some of the best raw Vitamin C foods that you can eat alone or in salads. Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and kale are also high in vitamin C.
Vitamin A
Another vitamin necessary to healthy cell growth is Vitamin A, which is found in foods such as orange vegetables such as sweet potatoes, carrots, and butternut squash. In addition to lettuce, tomatoes, kale, and asparagus, this vitamin is also found in red and green leaf lettuce. A healthy hair regimen requires the right amount of Vitamin A, but too much can actually harm your hair. To get the right amount of Vitamin A, salads are often a better (and tastier) alternative to supplements.
