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The Healthy Hair Diet: This is a comprehensive guide on how to stop hair loss and promote healthy hair growth.
First things first….Diet
By diet I do not mean that you need to start calorie counting, but you do need to make sure you are getting the right amount of nutrients into your body to help. Unless you are very healthy or lucky you will experience some hair thinning or even loss at some point in your life.
There are many reasons why your hair can start to thin or fall and there are lots of lifestyle changes you can make to help this problem. For more details read ‘Stop Hair Loss Now’.
Here is a list of nutrients, where you can find them and how much you need to help grow healthy hair.
Protein : Protein is the building block of hair. Hair is 88 percent protein. Protein will give the shaft of your hair more strength, and will reduce the probability of damage. Excellent sources of protein include tuna, shrimp, and cod, snapper, venison, halibut, salmon, scallops, turkey, chicken, lamb, beef, calf's liver, spinach, tofu, mustard greens, crimini mushrooms, soybeans, and mozarrella cheese, eggs, milk, collard greens, cauliflower and many legumes including lentils, split peas, kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans and garbanzo beans.
For information on how much you need to eat of any of the foods listed please click here.
For further information on the function of zinc, any drug/nutrient interactions and how it can help with other diseases please click here.
Vitamin B : The B vitamins are necessary for healthy hair. Lack of B vitamins can lead to oily hair conditions. Good sources include: animal products (meat, poultry), yeast extracts (brewers' yeast, Marmite), asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, bell peppers, turnip greens, bananas, potatoes, dried apricots, dates and figs, milk, eggs, cheese, yoghurt, nuts and pulses, fish, brown rice, wheat germ, garlic, tuna, wholegrain cereals, avocado, herring, salmon, celery, crimini mushrooms, sunflower seeds and walnuts.
For information on B6 click here and for B12 click here.
Vitamin C : It strengthens the immune system, and assists in metabolizing B vitamins and amino acids into the body. Lack of vitamin C can cause dry hair. Excellent food sources of vitamin C include: broccoli, bell peppers, kale, cauliflower, strawberries, lemons, mustard and turnip greens, brussels sprouts, papaya, chard, cabbage, spinach, kiwifruit, snow peas, cantaloupe, oranges, grapefruit, limes, tomatoes, zucchini, raspberries, asparagus, celery, pineapples, lettuce, watermelon, fennel, peppermint and parsley.
For information on how much you need to eat of any of the foods listed please click here.
For further information on the function of zinc, any drug/nutrient interactions and how it can help with other diseases please click here.
Vitamin A : Vitamin A is important for the health of your scalp. A lack of it can lead to dry hair. Good sources include: Calf liver, Cow's milk , eggs, carrots, apricots, mangoes, squash, sweet potatoes, spinach, kale, collard greens, tomatoes, guava, and pink grapefruit, salmon, shellfish, Cayenne pepper and chilli pepper.
For information on how much you need to eat of any of the foods listed please click here.
For further information on the function of zinc, any drug/nutrient interactions and how it can help with other diseases please click here.
Vitamin E : Vitamin E provides lots of benefits for growing vibrant hair. Good sources of vitamin E include: mustard greens, turnip greens, chard, sunflower seeds, almonds, spinach, collard greens, parsley, kale, papaya, olives, bell pepper, brussel sprouts, kiwifruit, tomato, blueberries, and broccoli.
For information on how much you need to eat of any of the foods listed please click here.
For further information on the function of zinc, any drug/nutrient interactions and how it can help with other diseases please click here.
Vitamin K : Vitamin K helps to maintain healthy hair. Good sources of vitamin K include: spinach, Brussels sprouts, Swiss chard, green beans, asparagus, broccoli, kale, mustard greens, green peas and carrots, fig, brewer yeast, asparagus, broccoli, lettuce, cabbage, egg yolk, oatmeal, rye, soybean, liver, wheat, yogurt, tomato paste, Swiss Emmental cheese and Norwegian Jarlsberg cheese.
For information on how much you need to eat of any of the foods listed please click here.
For further information on the function of zinc, any drug/nutrient interactions and how it can help with other diseases please click here.
Iron : Healthy hair needs iron in the body. Iron is needed to help carry oxygen to the hair. Without enough iron, hair gets starved for oxygen. Good sources of iron include: chard, spinach, thyme, and turmeric, romaine lettuce, blackstrap molasses, tofu, mustard greens, turnip greens, string beans, and shiitake mushrooms, beef tenderloin, lentils, Brussel sprouts, asparagus, venison, garbanzo beans, broccoli, leeks, and kelp.
For information on how much you need to eat of any of the foods listed please click here.
For further information on the function of zinc, any drug/nutrient interactions and how it can help with other diseases please click here.
Magnesium : Magnesium deficiencies lead to hair problems. Good sources: of magnesium include Swiss chard and spinach, mustard greens, summer squash, broccoli, blackstrap molasses, halibut, turnip greens, pumpkin seeds and peppermint, cucumber, green beans, celery, kale and a variety of seeds, including sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and flax seeds.
For information on how much you need to eat of any of the foods listed please click here.
For further information on the function of zinc, any drug/nutrient interactions and how it can help with other diseases please click here.
Copper : Copper is needed for hair structure and is involved in the pigmentation of hair.
Good sources of copper include: calf's liver, crimini mushrooms, turnip greens and molasses, chard, spinach, sesame seeds, mustard greens, kale, summer squash, asparagus, eggplant, and cashews, peppermint, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, ginger, green beans, potato, and tempeh.
For information on how much you need to eat of any of the foods listed please click here.
For further information on the function of zinc, any drug/nutrient interactions and how it can help with other diseases please click here.
Zinc : A lack of zinc can lead to hair loss. Zinc is necessary for building hair protein.
Good sources include: Calf's liver, crimini mushrooms, sea vegetables, basil, thyme, spinach, pumpkin seeds, yeast, beef, and lamb, summer squash, asparagus, venison, chard, collard greens, miso, shrimp, maple syrup, broccoli, peas, yogurt, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and mustard greens.For information on how much you need to eat of any of the foods listed please click here.
For further information on the function of zinc, any drug/nutrient interactions and how it can help with other diseases please click here.
Potassium: Potassium is found in abundance in many foods, and is especially easy to obtain in fruits and vegetables. Good sources of potassium include : chard, crimini mushrooms, and spinach, potassium include fennel, kale, mustard greens, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, winter squash, blackstrap molasses, eggplant, cantaloupe, and tomatoes, parsley, cucumber, bell pepper, turmeric, apricots, ginger root, strawberries, avocado, banana, tuna, halibut, cauliflower and cabbage.
For information on how much you need to eat of any of the foods listed please click hereFor further information on the function of Potassium, any drug/nutrient interactions and how it can help with other diseases please click here.
Water : Water is important for hair. Water makes up one-fourth of the weight of a strand of hair. Moisture makes the hair supple and helps keep your hair silky and shiny. Eight to ten glasses of water a day are absolutely necessary to nourish healthy hair.
Essential Fats (EFAs) : Healthy hair also needs two essential fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6, that are not produced naturally by the human body. Omega-3 fats sources: flax oil, algae, cold-water fish, dark-green vegetables, hemp oil and pumpkin seed oil. Omega-6 fats sources: borage, evening primrose oil, safflower oil, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, corn and pumpkin seeds.For information on how much you need to eat of any of the foods listed please click here
For further information on the function of Potassium, any drug/nutrient interactions and how it can help with other diseases please click here.
Lastly…things to avoid
Eating dead food can lead to lifeless hair. These are sugars, chocolate, cakes, cookies, starches, soft drinks, snacks, Caffeine, alcohol, nicotine and recreational drugs destroy important hair growing nutrients. If you can’t resist keep these to a minimum.
References:
The Worlds Healthiest Foods: ‘Essential Nutrients in the World's Healthiest Foods’; http://whfoods.org/nutrientstoc.php