Surprisingly, there is no amount of shampoo or conditioner that could give truly beautiful and shiny hair, other than eating healthy foods. Indeed, the flexibility, strength, and texture would be highly dependent on how the person feed himself with nutritious and right diet.
To fully understand this logic, try to look at the basic parts of hair, wherein the greater and most observable part of it is the protein called Keratin. This is the hair that people see, and its outer layer is called cuticle which is the one responsible in protecting the hair.
Normally, the average growth of hair is only 1 centimeter in a month, this has been influenced by several factors like age, genetic, and hormonal level of the person.
Aside from these factors, other things could actually intervene and affect the component of hair, such as:
- Protein, zinc, and Iron deficiency
- Changes in hormonal level
Above all these factors, the most basic and first line of defense of hair is still the food that we ate each day, including:
This is one of the essential nutrients that body needs to have healthy hair. In the first place, protein is the major component that is present in every strand of hair. The keratin is a type of protein that actually gives and maintains the flexibility and strength of the hair. There are many foods where people could get enough supply of protein, such as chicken, salmon, omelet, soya, beans, corn, beef, pork, and many others from daily meals.
Another important nutrients that is so beneficial to hair. In fact, people who decided to take low to no-carbohydrates diet usually experience hair shedding in just a few months. Thus, restricted diet could also have a negative impact to the thickness and texture of the hair. There are foods that are rich in carbohydrates, like the brown rice, pasta, wholegrain brad, and breakfast cereals.
Iron rich foods are necessary to have healthy hair. It is true that those individuals who are suffering from iron deficiency are also having problem with hair loss. Most often, lacking of this mineral could result to anemia, leading the person to feel a different level of tiredness, fatigue, and dizziness. Again, there are many types of foods where people could get iron, such as red meat, fish, egg yolk, liver, as well as green vegetables and breakfast cereals.
Fats and Fatty Acids
People usually get fats in many types of food; however, they often neglect to take the fish oil which is the omega-3 fats. This is important to have beautiful and healthy hair.
Vitamins and Other Minerals
Indeed, taking up crash diet could result to hair loss especially when the body starts to suffer from micronutrients deficiency. Among other vitamins, Vitamin C is very helpful because it could not only improve the immune system, but it could also support in cell growth. The most common source of Vitamin C is the fruits like Oranges and Kiwi fruits. This can also be taken in vegetables like leafy green vegetables and carrots.
This is another important mineral in order to have healthy hair. This is usually present in foods like eggs, cheese, yoghurt, cereals, and chicken.
Zinc can be found in most foods that are rich in protein, as well as in breakfast cereals. Lacking of Zinc in the body could result to hair loss, flaky and dry scalp. This element also plays an important role in cell growth. Foods that are rich in zinc include, beef, meat, beans and eggs.
Supplements and Healthy Lifestyle
Aside from the daily diet, some people are advised to have supplements like one-a-day multivitamin that could fill the gap in nutrients. However, despite all these healthy foods, still people could experience hair loss, especially if they are taking certain medications or suffering from illness. Like those cancer patients who regularly undergo radiation treatment and chemotherapy. All these food groups, vitamins and minerals could be very effective if taken properly and well balanced. Furthermore, to get the optimum benefits of all these nutritious foods, it is also advised to combine it with good habits and healthy lifestyle.
You can read more about hair growth which will give you a better understanding of how your body works.