How Diet Can Impact Your Hair Health

Many things can affect your hair's health, and diet is one of them. Just like any other body part, your hair depends on essential nutrients.

Without the necessary vitamins, amino acids, and fats, it may start falling out or grow thinner.

As your hair is not a vital organ, your body will never prioritize its needs - you won't feel a sudden urge to eat a bunch of avocados one day. 

Moreover, experts from Scissor Tech Online confirm that none of the hair treatments available today is capable of maintaining your hair strong and healthy in the long run. 

You need to take care of that yourself. Examine your diet and make sure it includes all the essential elements your body needs.

Check out this article to find out how your diet can impact your hair health, and make sure to alter your menu if needed. Don't hesitate to contact a doctor if necessary - remember to take care of your health.

Protein

You might have heard that hair is made of keratin, which is true. Keratin is a type of protein, but it's not the only one. Your body requires amino acids to make all kinds of proteins for hair, muscle, skin, nails, and more. 

Your daily intake should contain at least 10% of your RDA for each essential amino acid (EAAs). They are called essential because your body can't produce them on its own, you need to eat them. 

Collagen is a protein responsible for the strength and elasticity of your hair. It keeps your hair healthy and determines the structure of your hair follicles. Without enough collagen, you'll get thinner hair with weak roots.

As with proteins, your body doesn't produce collagen on its own. Collagen comes from the foods you eat - animal resources such as fish, eggs, poultry, beef, and dairy products (milk, cheese).

If you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, you may want to add L-lysine and L-arginine to your menu because soy and grains lack these amino acids. 

Iron

Iron is crucial for blood production, which in turn keeps your hair nourished with oxygen and nutrients. As iron is a critical component of haemoglobin (the part of red blood cells responsible for carrying oxygen), its deficiency leads to anaemia, which manifests itself in brittle and fragile hair.

You can increase your iron intake by eating red meat, spinach, and legumes. 

Vitamin C

Vitamin C helps synthesize collagen and elastin proteins that keep your hair strong and healthy. It promotes healthy skin and tissue structure, which includes your scalp. As vitamin C is water-soluble, it doesn't stay in the body for long.

Therefore, you need to replenish it daily by eating fruits and vegetables with high vitamin C content.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E has antioxidant properties that help fight free radicals that can damage your hair follicles and cause hair loss. It also helps prevent hair breakage and scalp damage, making your hair look shiny and beautiful.

As with vitamin C, vitamin E is water-soluble, so you need to re-supply it every day.

Magnesium

Magnesium is a mineral that protects against hormonal imbalances that may cause hair loss. It also prevents hair from greying by making sure the melanin pigment stays in the hair shaft instead of leaching out into other areas of the body. 

Calcium

Calcium is another essential mineral that helps prevent bone loss through osteoporosis. It also strengthens bones and teeth, including those in your jawbone, which support your skull and face.

This means that a calcium deficiency may cause problems with facial structure as well as hair loss.

You can treat osteoporosis with a diet rich in seafood, green leafy vegetables, and various dairy products to promote bone health.

Fatty Acids

Every cell in your body needs fatty acids to perform vital functions - including the cells in your scalp.

A healthy scalp contains plenty of fatty acids from eating nuts, fish, eggs, avocados, olive oil, coconut oil, or flax seeds. Make sure your diet includes plenty of these foods.

Vitamin B

Vitamin B complex is vital for healthy skin and scalp, as it helps synthesize collagen. Moreover, without enough vitamin B, your scalp tissue becomes dry and itchy. 

Vitamin B promotes faster healing of skin injuries caused by scratching or other irritations, so make sure to eat enough of these essential nutrients with fish, eggs, cheese, dark green veggies, and cereals.

Zinc

Zinc is necessary for the immune system's proper functioning, which can fight off fungi and bacteria that attack your scalp and cause hair loss. It helps keep oil glands around the hair follicles working properly.

You can find zinc in wheat germ, beef, lentils, spinach, and pumpkin seeds.

Conclusion

Your lifestyle and nutrition significantly impact your hair health, making a balanced diet an integral part of a proper hair care routine.

Deficiency of several vitamins or nutrients will soon enough lead to a noticeable worsening of your hair condition. Ensure that your diet is diverse and rich in all the necessary elements to nourish your hair from within.

Because it may not be easy to get the entire essential nutrients from diet alone, many people turn to dietary supplements.

Speak to your doctor to determine whether you need them - remember, the human body doesn't need supplements, but they can help if you cannot retain enough necessary nutrients through food.