Hair fall, truly an annoying problem that can occur to anyone and if left untreated, then the consequences can be severe. If you are noticing more hair in your brush, your comb, and on the floor, then let me tell you that you are not alone suffering from this problem. There are lot more others as well!
While hair fall can occur as a result of stress, medical treatment, hereditary, or any medical condition, the truth is that the problem can be combated with keeping a strict check on your diet.
8 Amazing Foods for Healthy Hair
Pumpkin Seeds
Yes, every time you chop this vegetable, you throw the seeds out. But you must know that pumpkin seeds are rich in zinc that aids cellular turnover, cell growth, and cell division. This helps the formation of keratin, which is an essential protein for healthy and strong hair.
So, if you wish to consume the rich zinc present in the pumpkin seeds, then you can add it to your side dishes, salads, or even dry them and consume them as a snack. If you are not fond of pumpkin seeds, then you can always try other sources of foods rich in zinc, like beef, lamb, sesame seeds, lentils, chickpeas, and oysters.
Avocado
Avocado is the house of a rich mineral copper, which is one of the best nutrients fortifying skin as well as hair. Copper boosts collagen development in the body and helps to maintain skin elasticity that is essential to hold hair follicles in place.
Also, copper is great to balance hormones and helps to combat scalp or skin irritations. Hence, you can include avocado in your daily dietary regimen. Besides avocado, you can try consuming other foods rich in copper, like dark green leafy vegetables, whole grains, beef, veal, legumes, beans, chocolates, shellfish, and nuts.
Whole Grain Cereal
Iron is another important nutrient required by our body for good hair and skin health. The best food item to include in your daily diet is a bowl full or iron-fortified, whole grain cereals that would provide your body with the required amount of iron needed to maintain the hair health.
Dark meat chicken, beef, cashew nuts, and lentils are other sources of iron that can be paired with food items rich in Vitamin C, like kiwi, strawberries, and tomatoes. It is because consuming foods rich in Vitamin C helps the body to extract iron from the other food items.
Iron is also great to supply oxygen to the hair follicles. If you are not getting enough oxygen, then also your hair can become weak. So, make sure you consume food rich in iron.
Almonds
You must have heard benefits of almonds for your skin, brain, and other body parts, but do you know that almonds are also an excellent source to maintain your hair health. Almonds are rich in B-vitamin, and Biotin that promote new hair growth.
Even these vitamins are used to keep the scalp healthy and free from different scalp problems, such as dandruff, itchiness, and more. Therefore, you must consume at least 5 – 6 almonds on a daily basis.
Other than this, you can include other food items in your diet that are rich in these vitamins, like fortified grains, cereals, bread, and eggs.
Chia Seeds
You can have healthy hair only if you have healthy fat in your body. Even, if you follow a low-fat diet then you can have a dry and itchy scalp that can lead to hair loss.
So, consume chia seeds as they are loaded with omega 3-fatty acids. Adding them to your daily diet is easy as you can prepare oatmeal, smoothies, and chia pudding with it. Salmon, walnuts, and flax seeds are other great sources of chia seeds.
Bell Peppers
Available in 3 different colors, red, yellow, and green, Bell Peppers are rich in Vitamin C. As a result, they protect your scalp skin from toxic free radicals and hence aid in healthy hair growth.
Clams
Clam is one such food item that is found mainly in summers. They are not highly delicious but are also a rich source of vitamin B12 that can synthesize Keratin within the body.
Consuming clams is one of the simplest and easiest ways to offer your body with rich nutrients that are needed for appropriate hair growth.
If you don’t prefer consuming clam, or want to add more varieties to your food palette that can provide you with similar rich vitamins, then you can switch to mussels, crab, yogurt, milk, and sardines.
Vitamin B12 is found only in foods from an animal source. For this reason, it is essential to consume supplements, if you are a vegan.
Edamame
If you consume a diet lacking in protein, then your body will not be able to produce enough keratin, which is needed for stronger and better hair health.
This is one of the essential vitamins for stronger and lasting hair health. As per expert nutritionists and dieticians, consuming foods such as fish and lean chicken can provide your body with edamame, which is needed for healthy hair.
But if you follow a vegan diet then you must consume soybeans that can complete your body’s daily requirement of proteins.
Also, such food ingredients have the essential amino acids that are required to maintain the optimal health of the body.
So, include these food items in your daily diet as this will make your body strong from inside and will offer you with healthy and strong hair growth.
Yuan Chen is a Manager at T1Hairs- Online Malaysian Hair Extensions. He has more than 6 years of experience in Hairdressing Industry and has a good reputation in this field.