All women love to have bouncy, shiny, lustrous and healthier hair. Who doesn’t want healthy hair anyways? Unfortunately, our present environment, pollution, external care is not enough. Proper nutrition, balanced diet and good hair care (keeping scalp clean, regular oil message, shampoo & conditioning) are vital to ensure strong, long and shiny hair.
There are many foods rich in minerals, selenium, iron, magnesium, potassium and calcium which are necessary to keep your scalp and hair healthy. One of the major reason for hair fall is protein deficiency which causes brittle or weak hair. These brittle or week hair produced due to low quality protein are often result in hair loss and loss of hair color.
Most proven methods to ensure stronger, shinier and healthier hair talk about having balanced diet, including minerals or protein in diet. So, here are 10 super foods you should include in your daily/ weekly diet to make your hair stronger, shinier, and healthier.
Healthy Hair Food 1: Dark Green Vegetables
Eat plenty of dark green veggies i.e. Swiss chard, broccoli or spinach are excellent source of vitamins C & A required by your body to generate sebum. Sebum is the oily substance secreted by our hair follicles which works like natural hair conditioner. Dark green veggies are also super rich in calcium and iron.
Healthy Hair Food 2: Salmon
Salmon is one of the wonder food for hair care which is highly rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Salmon is also rich in iron and vitamin B-12. Omega-3 fatty acids provides the required support to our scalp’s health and that’s why no other food can beat salmon when it comes to beauty punch. Omega-3 fatty acid’s deficiency can lead to dull looking hair or dry scalp which are weak enough to fall. You can also include 2 tablespoon Flaxseed in your diet which are a natural source of plant based omega-3 fats.
Healthy Hair Food 3: Poultry Products
Poultry products are extremely rich in protein and they are known to supplement our body’s protein demand. Turkey’s chicken or eggs are extremely good for your hair’s grown. Low quality protein or protein deficiency can lead to loss of hair color or weak brittle hair. Poultry products filled with protein also consists of high degree of bio-availability which helps the body to reap it’s benefits.
Healthy Hair Food 4: Nuts
Nuts, walnuts are known to provide thickness & volume to our hair. Nuts are also responsible to make our hair shinier. Loaded with selenium, Brazil nuts consist essential minerals to help the health of our scalp. Walnuts are rich in alpha-linolenic acid and omega-3 fatty acids which are known to condition your hair. Cashews, almonds, pecans are rich in zinc required to make your hair stronger. Zinc deficiency can make your hair week which can further result in hair shedding.
Healthy Hair Food 5: Lentils & Beans
Believe me or not but lentils and legumes like kidney beans are vital for your hair care because they provide ample protein, zinc, biotin and iron which are required for hair growth. Sometimes brittle hair are also caused by biotin deficiency. Add 3-5 cups of beans and lentils in your weekly diet to supplement your protein requirement thus helping your hair grow stronger.
Healthy Hair Food 6: Oysters
Since ages oysters are known for being aphrodisiac but they are also helpful in growing stronger and healthy hair. Oysters consist plenty of zinc which is also a powerful antioxidant responsible for boosting hair growth. Although, eating Oysters weekly is not feasible but you can still supplement it with beef and lamb which are also rich in zinc.
Healthy Hair Food 7: Eggs
Honestly speaking everyone knows about the benefits of eggs. As long as you are eating eggs i.e. omelet, fried, scrambled etc. you are good as they are known for their protein source. You will be surprise to know that eggs also include B-12 and biotin which are essential beauty nutrients. Using eggs on your hair doesn’t fall in this category as that is just a tactics for conditioning your hair.
Healthy Hair Food 8: Carrots
To promote good vision and healthy scalps one must add carrots in their diet. There are plenty dishes made up of carrots so adding this in your weekly diet is not difficult. You can eat carrots as salad toppings, snacks or you can even cook food including carrots. Carrots will help you keep your hair shiny and properly conditioned.
Healthy Hair Food 9: Low-Fat Dairy Products
To supplement your body’s calcium requirement you should add low-fat dairy products in your daily diet. Low fat dairy products like yogurt, skim milk contains casein and calcium which are quite high in protein. Eating yogurt or cheese daily even as snacks will help improve your hair strength.
Healthy Hair Food 10: Whole Grains
Whole grain foods like cereals, fortified whole grain or whole grain supplements a hair healthy dose of vitamin B, iron and zinc. Whole grain food are also good to provide quick energy boost.
How, When Which Foods to Eat
Variety is the key so keep rotating these hair friendly healthy foods in your diet for healthier and shiny hair. Balanced diet consists of vegetables, legumes, fatty fish, salmon, fruits, low fat dairy products whole grain and lean protein are the way to go to keep you hair stronger and healthy.
Keep in mind that cutting these things from your diet for the temptation of loosing extra kilos under your belly will leave you with weaker, brittle hair. Most of the diets which are known as low calorie diets are usually low in nutrients as well. Keeping omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A and zinc out from your diet is not advised especially if you are shedding hair. Our hair also have a cycle and crash diets disrupt that very cycle badly. You will straight away realize that you are loosing hair after loosing significant weight. If that’s the case then don’t worry as this is merely a temporary thing which can be corrected by balanced and well rounded diet.
I know that these super foods will help you maintain shinier, healthier and stronger hair. I would love to hear your thoughts, experiences of fighting hair fall after introducing these foods in your diet. Please leave me a comment and let me know. Subscribe our RSS to receive latest hair care updates.
