The science is relatively simple: in order to have healthy hair, skin and nails, you must eat a healthy well balanced diet. More specifically, for the healthiest hair you need a diet rich in protein, iron, vitamin A, B - 12, omega 3 fats, zinc, folic acid, selenium and biotin.
This is a fairly short list, and there is such a wide variety of tasty foods that you should never have any issue with including each of these essential elements into your healthy hair diet.
Once you know which vitamins and minerals you need, you can quickly compile a reasonable list of tasty foods with variety and map out a diet.
Lets first identify what each of these dietary components does for your hair, then we can identify the foods that contain them.
Why Do these Nutrients Help the Hair?
B - 12 - Promotes a healthy scalp and prevents dandruff. B - 12 also helps the body to absorb iron.
Biotin - Promotes cell regeneration and thickens hair strands.
Protein - Promotes growth and hair strength
Vitamin A - Promotes cell growth by helping the body to process protein and absorb calcium.
Iron - Strengthens hair growth and helps to prevent hair from falling out.
Folic Acid - Promotes cell renewal and therefore promotes growth.
Selenium - Aids in the production of sebum, the natural oil produced by hair follicle.
Zinc - Prevents shedding, promotes hair growth, and helps keep hair shiny with its natural color (prevent graying).
5 Healthy Hair Foods
Eggs - Eggs provide a simple source of protein, biotin, selenium and iron. Starting each day off with one or two boiled eggs with the yolks can be an excellent way to add these essentials to your daily plan.
Salmon - Salmon is one of the best natural dietary sources of omega 3 fats. It is also an excellent source of protein, B - 12 and iron.
Kale - Green leafy vegetables provide iron, calcium and vitamin A. In particular, kale is an extraordinary source of all of these healthy nutrients and more. It is one of the darkest green vegetables, and therefore contains high concentrations of the nutrients that it contains.
Poultry - Eat chicken and turkey for protein, but also for zinc and iron.
Black Beans - Legumes and beans provide protein, iron, zinc and biotin. Black beans, in particular, are a high performing super bean with high concentrations of nutrients.
Supplements
Of course, it is not enough to simply eat these vitamins and minerals, you must eat enough of them. Given this, it is reasonable to incorporate a Hair and Nail supplemental pill or other multi - vitamin into your daily routine to ensure the you get enough of each of these vitamins and minerals. One down - side to these supplements is that they are often quite large and hard to swallow. A simple solution to this is to also pick up a pill cutter when you purchase the supplements. Specific hair and nail enhancing formulas also often have a very strong and unpleasant odor to them. There's not much you can do about this other than to hold your breath and swallow!
I am a writer and artist with a broad spectrum of interests including hair care, health and general beauty. Please visit http://flatironreviewsguide.com/ for more hair and beauty tips. Learn easy ways to find recipes incorporating healthy hair foods by visiting http://recipeappreview.com/.
