Your diet assumes great importance when it comes to hair growth and the general health of your hair. Thus, the effects of your daily nutrition to the growth and appearance of your hair should not be neglected by any means. Unknown to many, hair comprises the second fastest growing cells in the body- intestinal cells being the first. Additionally, you have roughly 120,000 hairs growing on your scalp at any given time, and out diet should ideally support all of them. However, arguably the most challenging part of sustaining hair growth is that hair is not a vital organ or tissue, which implies that your body will never prioritize its nutritional needs. The following are some of the nutrients you need to have shiny, lustrous, and long hair –
- Protein: as your hair is made up of protein, an optimum amount of protein is crucial to keep your hair strong and healthy. If you do not consume enough protein in your diet, your hair is likely to become dry, brittle, and weak. In fact, if your diet is extremely low on protein, it can lead to restricted hair growth and even hair loss. Chicken, turkey, fish, dairy products, and eggs are excellent sources of protein, besides vegetarian sources like legumes and nuts.
- Iron: this is an essentially important mineral for your hair. Since the hair follicle and roots and fed by blood supply that is rich in nutrients, iron levels falling below a certain level can lead to anaemia, which in turn disrupts the nutrient supply to the follicle, affecting the hair growth cycle. Animal products such as red meat, chicken, and fish make iron readily available to your body. If you follow a vegetarian diet, you can derive good iron content from lentils, spinach, and other leafy green vegetables such as broccoli, kale and salad greens.
- Vitamin C: This facilitates the absorption of iron, so foods with high vitamin C content should be taken with iron-rich diet. Besides, vitamin C is an antioxidant, so is readily used by the body. Black currants, blueberries, broccoli, guava, kiwi fruits, oranges, papaya, strawberries, and sweet potatoes are excellent sources. Vitamin C is one of the most important vitamins for hair as it promotes the production of collagen which strengthens the capillaries supplying the hair shafts.
- Omega-3: omega-3 fatty acids cannot be produced by our body, so must be obtained through diet. Oily fish such as salmon, herring, sardines, trout, mackerel, and plant sources including avocado, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts are rich in omega 3. Omega 3s are found in the cells lining the scalp and also provide the oils, thanks to which our scalp and hair remains hydrated.
- Vitamin A: our body needs vitamin A to produce sebum, an oily substance created the sebaceous glands, which acts as a natural conditioner for a healthy scalp. Without optimum production of sebum, we might experience an itchy scalp and dry hair. A diet rich in vitamin A includes, animal products, carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, etc. You can also opt for the best multivitamins for women if your diet is deficient in vitamin A.Additionally, out diet should also comprise zinc, selenium, vitamin E, biotin, etc. for improved hair growth.
