After I bothered to get my my hair cut this month a whole year later, I’ve really been taking extra special care of looking after my hair. Not only can using particular treatments on your hair make it look it’s best, what you eat can also have immense effects on your hair. I recently described that the food you eat can make your outside shine in relation to your nails, the same can be said for your hair, Below I have listed some of the best foods to nourish your hair, to make it look its healthiest yet.
Salmon
Salmon is one of my favourite fishes, not only is it rich in vitamin D and protein, but it is also enriched with omega-3 fatty acids. Approximated 3% of your hair shaft are made from omega-3, which your body cannot naturally synthesize, making salmon great for stimulating hair growth.
Eggs
Rich in protein, eggs are also packed with zinc, sulphur and iron. Iron functions to transport oxygen to the hair follicles. Low iron levels as seen in anemia can result in hair loss.
Spinach
Eat your greens! Spinach or any dark leafy greens are rich in iron, which as discussed above helps keeps your hair follicles in check for healthy looking hair.
Blueberries
As well as being a super berry and full of goodness, blueberries are renowned for being bursting with vitamin C and anti-oxidants. Too little vitamin C in your diet can lead to split ends and damaged hair.
Sweet Potatoes
Yay! My favourite potato is actually full of health benefits for your hair. Full of beta carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A, vital for healthy hair follicles. They also help your scalp to produce essential oils to protect against dandruff.
It’s so true that ‘you are what you eat’. This is just a small selection of the foods that can help maintain your hair and to help it to grow. Since adopting a healthier lifestyle and feeding my hair follicles I have really noticed a difference in the health of my hair, it’s improved so much.
Do you look after your hair? Are you aware of which foods nourish you hair and make it look healthy?
I think a general healthy diet is what is needed. Although of course what you eat can affect your hair, in fact the hair that you see is pretty old so to actually improve hair you would need to eat these things for years before seeing any changes. I think most of it is down to your genes – seeing adverts for things that promise thick and shiny hair is rubbish really (like those vitamin capsules)- I think most of it must be a placebo effect. And although eating fruit might help prevent split ends, using hair dryers and straighteners less, and being gentle with hair will have a much bigger effect, in my opinion.
I still can’t believe you waited a whole year for a haircut!!
Since becoming Vegan (and having short hair) my hair just grows at a ridiculously fast rate. I think avocados are another awesome food for healthy hair/skin as well as coconut oil both inside and out (i like to use it as a hair mask every couple of weeks.)
My hair has recently improved so much in terms of texture and shine and I had put it down to the difference in water between the UK and USA, but having read this I think it could be down to all the spinach-based salads I’ve been eating and that I’ve recently started taking omega 3 supplements – yay for healthy hair!!